Monday, 16 April 2018

Match Results - Glozball U14 CVL

Sunday, 15th April 2018
Glozball U14 CVL
@ Gloucestershire College, Dock Campus


Okay, so let's get the clarifications out of the way first: We know that being in Pool A meant that we were in the weaker of the two pools. We also know that our opponents were missing some key players (as were we) and we totally accept that a shot sinks for our opponent whilst one of our shots doesn't and the result of any given match could have been different. But a win is a win, is a win and our U14s recorded their first ever 3 out of 3 at Glozball; hot on the heels of the U16s doing the same last time out.
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Bristol Storm 12 - 14 Leadonites Basketball (ht: 6-6)
A very tight match with a nip and tuck first half before Leadonites squeezed out a 4-point lead late in the second half. Back came Storm to level the match in the last minute. A late basket from the Ledbury boys, with just 7 seconds left to play, seemed to have secured victory but a needless foul in the front court put Storm on the line with a chance to take the match into golden basket overtime. The shot hit the rim, bounced off right and into the hands of a Leadonite with 1.5 seconds left to play.
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Stroud Sharks 17 - 26 Leadonites Basketball (ht: 10-10)
Leadonites first victory over Sharks U14s at this season's Glozball came after a first half spent chasing the game as twice Sharks pulled out to a 4-point lead before the Leadonites leveled the match just before the half-time buzzer. The second half saw Leadonites stretch to an 8-point advantage before Sharks made their first basket at the start of their own mini scoring run. But Leadonites were in the ascendancy and powered through several Sharks fouls to win out.
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Gloucester Saxons II 12 - 18 Leadonites Basketball (ht: 4-8)
Saxons 2nd team left their best performance of the day until the last match of the pool. Showing hustle and fight they pushed this match all the way until the last few minutes. With two players leaving early Leadonites were down to just seven players but a good spread of scoring saw the boys home without too many scares.
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The Under 14s (including U14s B-team matches) now move to a season's record of 10 wins and 9 defeats; with a Glozball CVL record of 10 wins and 5 defeats.

"I am always immensely proud of every girl and boy that pulls on the black or traditional white of Leadonites Basketball but what pleased me most today, and more so than the victories, was the togetherness and work ethic of these boys; sharing the ball and the responsibilities around everyone of the nine. Today was a good coaching day."
Coach C
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Sunday, 8 April 2018

BASKETBALL REFEREES WANTED

Leadonites Basketball is trying to find a Basketball England Level 2 qualified referee who is willing to travel to Ledbury to officiate U13, U15 and U17 Youth Basketball League C.I.C. matches on Saturdays for the 2018/19 season that starts in September.
Alternatively, if you, or someone you know, would be prepared to undertake the training course then please contact us. Ideally this would be a current Level 1 qualified referee or otherwise an adult player who would be willing to undertake the Level 2 course. If interested the Leadonites Basketball would fund the course fee. ***
Please read on...
*** The Level 2 course requires four modules to be completed (each module is covered in a day's attendance at a course) and costs a total of £120.00, however, Leadonites Basketball would be prepared to pay the course fee for any candidate who would commit to refereeing our home matches for a season; we would also pay the standard referee's match fee plus travel expenses.
Any potential candidate can contact us either via email on leadonitesbasketball@gmail.com otherwise through our Facebook page.
About us...
Leadonites Basketball is a youth basketball club from Ledbury that is totally staffed by unpaid volunteers. This season we have run teams from Under 12 to Under 17, with special focus on our U13s and U15s teams who play in the Birmingham based Youth Basketball League C.I.C. (YBL).
For next season we plan a small expansion by entering our U17 team into the YBL as well as our U13 and U15 teams. As I'm sure you are aware, Herefordshire is something of a backwater when it comes to basketball with a very small history of the sport and virtually no culture of the game and this leads us to our most pressing problem for the 2018/19 season; namely a lack of Basketball England Level 2 qualified referees.
For our YBL matches we must have a minimum pairing of one Level 2 and one Level 1 referee and both must be independent of our club. For this season we have used two referees from Worcester for our home matches, however, the Level 2 referee is due to return home to the Czech Republic at the end of this season. So if anyone knows of a Basketball England Level 2 referee (or even a Level 1), who would be willing to travel to Ledbury to referee Saturday matches please share this post with them.
Any potential candidate can contact us either via email on leadonitesbasketball@gmail.com otherwise through our Facebook page.
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Match Results - Glozball U16 CVL

Sunday, 25th March 2018
GLOZBALL U16 CVL
@ Gloucestershire College, Dock Campus

Abingdon Eagles U16 21 - 31 Leadonites Basketball U16 (ht: 10-20)










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Leadonites Basketball U16 25 - 9 Exeter Spartans U16 (ht: 11-3)


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Gloucester Saxons U16 8 - 28 Leadonites Basketball U16 (ht: 4-14)









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So 3 out of 3 and a first in doing so for any Leadonites team of any age playing at a Glozball CVL. And yet it very nearly didn't happen with 5 withdrawals from the original squad, 1 reinstatement and 4 late call-ups!
Predictably our two U16 players dominated and drove on the team but were ably supported by the six U15s and one U14. Especially pleased with the overall effort on defence.
Our U16s are now 6&3 for the season having won the last 6 matches they have played.
All in all, a nice way to finish up the regular season.
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Match Result - Mid-season Friendly U14s-B

Saturday, 24th March 2018
Mid-season Friendly

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Leadonites Basketball U14-B 29 - 65 Worcester Bears U14-B
(Q1: 8-13 /Q2: 10-24/ Q3: 4-10 /Q4: 7-18)

This was a match where Leadonites players who do not normally enjoy regular matches got a chance to play. Despite lots of effort Bears were able to dominate this match from start to finish with Coaches Dudley and Chalkley able to make a sizable list of skills to work on.


Rufus_W made it into the Leadonites Double Digit club with a team top-score of 12-points. Tom_S was dominant on the boards and Seb_F turned in a nice debut but we need to teach him the rules of the game!
Overall very happy with the attitude and effort showed by every boy in the team but now we need to start tightening up on many of the fundamental skills of basketball to become competitive.
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Match Result - Mid-season Friendly U17s

Saturday, 24th March 2018
U17 Mid-season Friendly













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Leadonites Basketball U17 58 - 51 Abingdon Eagles U17

(Q1: 12-13 /Q2: 12-3 / Q3: 4-19 /Q4: 30-16)

A big thank you to Chris Dowsett and his Abingdon Eagles team for travelling 70 miles to play us today. The six-man squad for Eagles did themselves proud to make this such a close scoreline come the final buzzer with so few players to share the burden amongst.
For the home team this match marked the end for some of the senior players' time with Leadonites. Highlights were Kaisan_T getting a new PB of 26 points whilst Tom_D managed to finish the match on the court despite early foul trouble and finally a quick fire 11-points from late arrival James_S who played less than 7-minutes of the match. But all round a good effort from the boys with five of them playing in their second match of the day.


We wish our now ex-seniors well with their future ambitions and remind them that 'Once a Leadonite, always a Leadonite'.
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Match Result - YBL U15s

Saturday, 24th March 2018
YBL U15 South Division

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Redditch Rockets U15 55 - 52 Leadonites Basketball U15
(Q1: 10-10 /Q2: 19-16 / Q3: 18-13 /Q4: 8-13)

A disappointing end to the season but much to be positive about and with a little more composure going down the home straight this could have been a winning finale to the U15s first season in the YBL.

Coaches Robb and Davis should be pleased with turning last season's U14s 3 and 27 record into an 8 and 6 record as U15s.
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Match Result - U13s YBL South

Saturday, 17th March 2018
YBL U13 South Division


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Redditch Rockets U13 53 Vs 69 Leadonites Basketball U13
(Q1: 14-20 / Q2: 14-13 /Q3: 13-18 /Q4: 12-18)

So it's official, Leadonites take the YBL South Divisional title by potentially the most slender of margins - 1 match point!
Congratulations to the boys and girl of the squad throughout the season.
Match report and stats to follow.
Now the hard works starts ahead of April's post-season play-off semifinal at Nechells Well Being Centre, Birmingham.
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CONGRATULATIONS
\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/

We know that other clubs look in on our social media sites from time to time so forgive us for this small indulgence but it means a lot to a small club from a small rural town and most of all to our players... Plus it is our website after all 
Stand up and take a bow the following 16 players for contributing to Leadonites Basketball's first ever title...
- Elliot_B, Rich_J, Ben_D, Adam_D, Katie_D, Alfie_F, Joe_F, Ben_L, Sami_M, Harry_P, Joseph_P, Fraser_R-C, James_S, Michael_S, Harry_U, Harry_W.
and Coach Dudley. 
Good luck to all who represent us in the post-season play-offs.
...'ballers from the sticks!...
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Match CANCELLATION

YBL U15 South Division
Saturday, 17th March 2018
F45 - Frankley Falcons Vs Leadonites Basketball
This is due to having too few players fit and available to play.
The game has now been forfeited to Frankley Falcons.
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Match Results - U14s-B team friendlies


Saturday, 10th March 2018
Mid-Season Friendlies

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Match 1
Worcester Bears U14-B 40 Vs 24 Leadonites Basketball U14-B (HT: 24-9)
Match 2
Worcester Bears U14-B 42 Vs 22 Leadonites Basketball U14-B (HT: 22-14)
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Two matches and two defeats. Leadonites probably could have won the first match having got back to 4 points down by midway through the second half so that defeat was purely Coach C's for following the pre-match goals rather than the win.
These were matches for the players that do not get the chance to shine and all eleven boys did themselves proud for the amount of effort made (some tired bodies by the end of the second match) and for their sterling attitude. Every goal that they were set they either met or did their best to achieve. Some personal best performances were witnessed today and a couple of boys have played their way into next week's YBL squad.

Thanks to our hosts today and we'll see you in Ledbury in a couple of week's time.
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Saturday, 7 April 2018

Match Result - YBL U15s

Saturday, 24th February 2018
YBL U15 South Division


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Leadonites Basketball U15 59 Vs 66 Frankley Falcons U15 
(Q1: 12-12 / Q2: 28-16 / Q3: 7-25 / Q4: 12-13)
If ever Leadonites were going to beat Falcons impressive U15s team then it was at home today and at half-time the boys were 12-points ahead. But a disastrous third quarter effectively snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and with it the fate of their season is now dependent upon the results of others.
After a very poor start allowed Falcons to go up 10-3 the introduction of JJ_H sparked some much needed life into the Leadonites offence and the boys clawed their way back to parity by the close of the first quarter.
The second quarter, with a 3-pointer from Mike_F. Further 3s from George_R and JJ_H together with scores from Finlay_C, Alessio_M and Teo_C-W, saw the Ledbury team run riot as the Leadonites enjoyed their best quarter of the season to finish the half ahead by 40-28.
But if the second was their best then the third was easily their worst as they stopped doing the things that made the big difference in the second, namely fast breaking. This allied to some woeful defence as they failed time and again to resist the Falcons dribble drives to the basket led to an 18-point turnaround as a 12-point half-time lead turned into a 6-point deficit going into the fourth and final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a fairly even affair as Falcons always did just enough to maintain their lead and thus their season's 100% record.
Next week Leadonites' U15s travel to Redditch Rockets for a season's do or die match and without the defensive rebounding of Teo_C-W after he limped off court today. Results from an A&E X-ray are awaited. 

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Match Results - Glozball U14 CVL

Sunday, 18th February 2018
Glozball U14 CVL


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Gloucester Saxons U14-II 28 Vs 30 Leadonites Basketball U14 (ht: 10-16)
With an 8-point lead half-way through the second half poor substitutions from Coach C nearly lost this match. With two minutes left Saxons were leading 26-22. Full court pressure and a succession of offensive rebounds won pulled Leadonites back to a slender victory.
















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Stroud Sharks U14 16 Vs 10 Leadonites Basketball U14 (ht: 8-8)
Probably the least said about this match the better, other than we felt tighter officiating may, not definitely but may, have seen a different result here. It's all part of life's great learning curve.

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Bristol Storm U14 16 Vs 22 Leadonites Basketball U14 (ht: 8-8) 
Against a Storm team with only six players it was always a matter of simply keeping the pressure on until tiredness became a factor and so it proved as Storm were unable to maintain their early match pace.
So 2 out of 3 isn't too shabby and well done to the eight boys who represented us in Gloucester today.












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MATCH RESULT - U13s YBL

Saturday, 17th February 2018
YBL U13 South Division


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Frankley Falcons U13 43 Vs 70 Leadonites Basketball U13
(Q1: 13-10 / Q2: 3-17 / Q3: 17-28 / Q4: 10-15)
This match was scheduled to be played in Ledbury but re-arranged to be played at Bournville College, Longbridge.
Leadonites went into this vital match in the run in for the YBL U13 South Divisional title with a match day squad of 12 players as coaches Chalkley and Dudley tried to balance the need for players to get promised game time whilst still going for a victory.
Falcons twin threat of their number 9 and the excellent number 13 gave Falcons the first quarter. Number 9 got into foul trouble and Leadonites were able to take a stranglehold of the match in the second quarter.
Dominance of the scoring in the third settled the match from a result perspective though Falcons fought their corner until the final buzzer in a match that, whilst not a dirty match, saw a whopping great 56 fouls called!
Match Stats:
- Elliot_B = 0 pts & 2 fouls
- Michael_S = 10 pts & 4 fouls
- Harry-W = 1 pt & 3 fouls
- Harry_U = 2 pts & 3 fouls 
- Ben_D = 16 pts & 3 fouls
- James_S = 5 pts & 4 fouls
- Ben_L = 11 pts (Inc. a 3-pointer) & 3 fouls
- Adam_D = 4 pts & 3 fouls
- Sami_M = 10 pts & 2 fouls
- Katie_D = 4 pts & 3 fouls
- Joe_F = 4 pts & 2 fouls
- Harry_P = 3 pts & 2 fouls

All players played well but a special coach's mention for Harry_P for defensive endeavour.
One more regular season match to go now, away against Redditch Rockets, on Saturday, 17th March where victory will send our U13s to the play-off semi-finals in April.
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MATCH RESULT - U15s YBL LTG Cup

Saturday, 17th February 2018
YBL U15 Lorna Tull Griffiths Cup - Semi-final


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Frankley Falcons U15 80 Vs 57 Leadonites Basketball U15
(Q1: 14-10 / Q2: 21-12 / Q3: 26-17 / Q4: 19-18)

And so comes to and end Leadonites Inters' participation in the YBL Cup competition.
This semi-final started well with a 3-pointer from George_R and our boys were leading half-way through the first quarter but with too few players available it meant foul trouble and players playing with injuries were never going to win the day against the YBL's best team at the U15 age level. More disappointing though were the number of turnovers from poor passes and travels with the ball; very basic errors.
Ultimately, Falcons were well worth their victory and we wish them luck in the final with West Brom BC in May.

On the plus side the team returned to +50 points scoring in a match and for the first time in club history all Leadonites players participating in the same match scored and the relevant facts are:
- George_R = 3 pts & zero fouls
- Mike_F = 5 pts & 5 fouls
- Finlay_C = 11 pts & 3 fouls
- Teo C-W = 15 pts & 2 fouls
- Alessio_M = 2 pts & 1 foul
- Sam_N = 9 pts & 4 fouls
- Josh_S = 10 pts & 3 fouls
- Ethan_W = 2 pts & 5 fouls

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