Sunday 05 October 2014 Manchester Giants 93-83 Worcester Wolves

Former Worcester Wolves’ forward David Watts came back to haunt his former employers in astounding fashion on Sunday. Converting all but one of seven long-distance shot attempts, Watts led his Manchester Giants to a 93-83 upset victory over the previously-unbeaten Wolves.

In the early going, there was no indication that Worcester would not carry on the fine form that had allowed them to overcome two of the British Basketball League’s pre-season favourites, Newcastle Eagles and Cheshire Phoenix. With three minutes remaining in the first-half, a healthy 48-33 lead had been established and the match looked to be on cruise control. However, an explosion of three-pointers from Watts ignited an astonishing turnaround that propelled the hosts to just a single-point interval deficit. The momentum was maintained after the half-time break, leaving the Wolves players to wonder at what had taken place.

A succession of spin moves from Jamal Williams and a trio of dunks from Robert Thurman asserted early authority early for the visitors. When Alex Owumi then barreled over another ex-Worcester favourite, Callum Jones, to further add to the Wolves tally, it looked like a case of men versus boys.

A 28-16 first quarter advantage soon widened. Once Remi Dibo had hit a double of three-pointers to stretch his side’s lead to 15 points, Manchester coach Jeff Jones had seen enough, calling for a much-needed time out. Watts was on target straight from the re-start. Four consecutive misses from the Wolves and a double of successes for Watts quickly slashed the deficit to 48-51 entering the final minute. Callum Jones iced the comeback with a buzzer-beater.

Exiting the locker rooms to the roars of a large Sunday afternoon crowd, the Giants soon rewarded their fans’ enthusiastic support. British point guard Stefan Gill raced past transfixed Worcester defenders to nudge his team in front. Moments later he floated home a triple and once more dribbled through a static defence for another basket. Wolves’ guard Chavis Holmes was the only player able to put forward a significant response, notching seven third-period points, with all of his teammates only able to muster a similar total between them.

Watts continued to have the hot hand, including an outrageously-lofted score from the corner of the court as the period expired. At 73-65 entering the last quarter of the game, there was no easing of the Giants’ intensity. Their big men, Ben Eaves and Mike Bernard now confidently patrolled the area underneath each basket, repeatedly muscling their way to the ball. With Gill and Jones also in charge around the perimeter, it was an easy task for Manchester to dance to victory.

Wolves’ coach Paul James expressed his disappointment at what had taken place, saying: “We were cruising at the start because we were playing team basketball, both on offence and defence. But there was a collective collapse in the second quarter, and we were unable to get back to the level we started at. Giants were inspired. They played hard, they made tough shots and everything was falling for them.”

Wolves now take a near-fortnight break in action, returning to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 17 October to host Surrey United. Referring to this next fixture, James added: “We need to go back to practice and work harder. We scored enough points to win today, but our defence let us down.”