Following a difficult Under 15's campaign last season, Coach Seb Benford's young Under 17's squad travelled to Dereham to compete in the Anglian Basketball Alliance, with a double-header on the opening weekend.
Up first was an older, physical Kings Lynn Basketball team who made use of their experience and physicality en route to a 30-68 loss for Bulldogs.
The second game against Basketball in the Community (BBiTC) of Norwich, was a far more competitive and low scoring affair, with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aiden Steel leading the Suffolk side's tough defence, as they looked to bounce back immediately from the heavy loss to Kings Lynn.
At the other end Patrick Ambrose, making his debut, showed great potential as he attacked the basket. However, it was Steel and Captain Jim Walker who stole the show, with Steel nailing a pair of free-throws with just 30 seconds to play to tie the game at 25 apiece, before Walker knocked-down a clutch buzzer-beating three-pointer to seal a 28-25 win, and end the day on a high.
"This group has come so far already, and got that win because of how thoroughly they'd prepared, and how they stayed together as a team through the contest. They showed fantastic resilience to bounce-back from a disappointing first game, and I'm incredibly proud of them." - Coach Benford
"Under 17's is such a wide age group" said Head Coach Arron MacDonald, "and sometimes, for a young side like ours, they're going to come up against bigger, more physical and more experienced sides - particularly when we're missing the likes of Patrick Laycock and Brandon Marshall - what's really important to take from those losses is a lesson - and today, they won one and learned one, and they'll be a better team for it."
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