England U16s Go 2-1 In Ipswich

The England Under-16s continued their preparation for the Division B European Championships last weekend with a three game series against the Netherlands which saw them go 2-1 after suffering a heartbreaking loss in their final game.

Speaking to Hoopsfix after the series, Head Coach Simon Fisher, who celebrated his 100th cap over the weekend, is pleased with the team’s progress:

“Anyone that saw the games over the weekend, I hope would testify to the fact this group is a tight team
playing with an intensity & desire, playing passionate & committed basketball. Defensively we are improving, and starting to understand the roles on offense – including the fact every player is now committed to improving their own game to help the team (including moving to different areas of the country to train with team-mates). This team, including the staff, have brought into the concept of we never have done enough, we always have to be ready and willing to learn & put the time in”

The team motto for the summer is “relentless”.

Game 1 (Friday 1st July)
In the first game of the series, England ran out comfortable victors, 70-54, after dominant defensive performance from big man Kingsley Okoroh.

Okoroh finished with 9 blocks along with his 10 points and countless rebounds, Luke Nelson led all scorers with 11, whilst Tyrell Isaacs, Mo Soluade and Tamas Okros all hit double figures with 10 points each and Ben Mead added 9.

Game 2 (Saturday 2nd July)
With 350 people in attendance, the Saturday game was the main event, with England being able to go 2-0 up in the series with a 71-62 victory.

Despite being down 49-42 against the Dutch going into the fourth quarter, highly ranked point guard Tyrell Isaacs took over the game, scoring 13 points in the final period to will his team to victory.

Luke Nelson once again led all scorers with 17, Nicholas Bohling added 14, Isaacs 13, Mo Soluade 12, and Kingsley Okoroh 9.

Game 3 (Sunday 3rd July)
It was heartbreak for the England side in their final game of the series, as Tyrell Isaacs saw a potential gamewinning 3 pointer waved off for being released after the buzzer, as his team went down to the Netherlands 48-46.

England rested several players after knocks in the previous days games, providing extra opportunities for the squad to compete for places for the trip to Macedonia. The game was played with 8 minute quarters due to the timing of the Dutch’s flights back.

With 25 seconds remaining, and the game tied at 46, the Dutch ran the clock down, and hit a 12 ft jump shot which turned out to be the eventual gamewinner.

Tyrell Isaacs led England with 13, whilst Kingsley Okoroh added 9.

Did you attend the games? Thoughts?