Betway British Basketball All-Stars Championship

Worcester Wolves completed their pre-season action by participating in the Betway British Basketball All-Stars Championship at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday.

Having won their double of friendlies last week at the University of Worcester Arena against Sheffield Sharks and Bristol Flyers, Wolves lost out to both those sides in this weekend’s tournament.

With the competition featuring a raft of one-off introductions such as ten-minute matches, a running game clock and an opportunity to take five-point shots, the entertainment came thick and fast.

Another innovation was a two-minute power-play period where all points were doubled. In the opener against Sharks, Brandon Parrish and George Beamon both connected with six-point outside shots while Elvisi Dusha thrilled spectators by sinking the afternoon’s first ten-pointer.

However, Worcester fell victim to one of the new rules as the match wound down. A 35-32 lead was overturned by a desperation five-point buzzer-beater from Sharks’ Edgar McKnight.

“I guess we should have fouled them and run out the clock rather than give up the five-pointer,” commented Wolves’ coach Paul James wryly.

Worcester’s second outing, versus Surrey Scorchers, featured a rare opportunity for assistant coach Alex Radu to take the spotlight. A fraction before Parrish floated home one of four long-distance successes, Radu was on hand to slam down the golden buzzer and thereby double Wolves’ points tally.

The 33-20 win over Surrey set up a final match against Bristol. A by-now tiring squad were unable to stay with their opponents, eventually succumbing to a 21-36 reversal.

Hometown London Lions became the tournament’s inaugural winners by edging past Newcastle Eagles 26-25 in the final match of the afternoon. London’s point-guard Justin Robinson was voted Player of the Tournament.

Lions will visit the University of Worcester Arena this Friday, 29 September, (7.30), for Wolves’ British Basketball League regular-season opener.

“London looked good today. They have a host of talent, including Robinson who I coached in the Great Britain Under-21s. Friday should be a corker,” added James.

Tickets for Friday’s game here