Manchester Magic Cruise To U18 National Cup Title

Manchester Magic proved too much for the London Spartans on Sunday as they cruised to a 103-75 victory, sealing their place as the 2011 Under 18 National Cup winners.

With the Spartans making history as the only conference team to make the Cup final, and only suiting up 8 players, they were in for a battle from the beginning as Manchester came into the final having won all their cup games by an average margin of 43 points. Big man Jack Crook ensured Manchester got off to a strong start, having a 14 point first quarter to put his team up 35-26 after one. Manchester didn’t take the pressure off there, dropping 62 points on London in the first half and never relinquishing the lead to secure a 28 point rout in a game that never seemed in doubt.

Crook was named MVP on the back of a 20 point-12 rebound effort on 10/17 shooting. John Gould added 20 points on 6/11 shooting (8/9 free throws), Tom Devitt chipped in 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, whilst Josh McGinn had 7 assists and Luke Meakin added 11 rebounds.

Orlstyne Wilson was the man for London, finishing with a 24 points-10 rebound performance, whilst Joseph Odejimi had 11 points and 15 boards. You can find full stats for the final here.

Notes

• Both the England U16 Head Coach Simon Fisher and England U18 Head Coach Steve Bucknall were in attendance, keeping an eye on all proceedings.
• Jack Crook (1993 born), at 6’10” and having only played basketball for 2 years is an intriguing prospect who is only getting better. With his first England call up being given, it will be interesting to see how he does at the combined camp with a team that is looking for a more polished big man.
• Josh McGinn remains as one of the few real point guards we have in this country at Junior level. Has the pass first mentality with great vision to boot.
• Orlstyne Wilson was strong for London, making an array of tough shots in the lane. Still very raw, he has a man’s body with great potential.
• Jamal Smikle, the Spartans point guard who is still in the 26 man England U18 squad (but wasn’t invited to the combined camp this week), had a tough game, going 3/13 from the field (1/10 from deep) for 12 points and 6 rebounds.
• Highlight of the game was Jack Crook throwing down a huge two handed poster over a hapless Spartans big man. Unfortunately it was waved off for travelling-regardless, expect the video later this week!

Were you at the game? What did you think? Drop a comment and let us know!