Eagles Weekly Wrap - Issue:27

OUR FINAL WEEKLY ROUNDUP – CHECK OUT THE SCORES AND COACHES’ COMMENTS ON THE TEAM’S PERFORMANCES ON THE FINAL WEEKEND OF THE SEASON!

Wednesday 20th March

York Eagles II vs Newcastle Eagles II

U16 JNBL North Conference 1

Result: 26-75 (Loss)

Player of the Game:

Coach Reece Horton commented on the U16s II performance:

"Last game of the season against top of the league was always going to be tough and we weren't up to the task.  Newcastle showed the level we need to be at to compete for a title in the conference.  A summer of development in preparation for next season."

Saturday 23rd March

U13 Yorkshire Regional Tournament:

Results:

Group Stage: York Eagles 60-6 Barnsley Leaders

Group Stage: York Eagles 30-24 Leeds LDM

Final: York Eagles 24-20 Bradford Dragons

York Eagles’ Player of the Day:

Jack Bishop – 36pts (12pts/9rebs in the final)

Coach Steve Hardisty commented on the U13s Performances throughout the day:

“It was great to see Jack Bishop reunited with his rightful team, that enjoyed lots of success last season, we had a strong line up, with Jack playing alongside Bertie, Cameron, Fin, Freddie, Jack, Leo, Maks & Taylor. In a tournament that featured Barnsley Leaders, Leeds LDM, Derbyshire Arrows, City of Leeds and the undefeated Bradford Dragons, expectations were high. Our first game saw us ease past Barnsley with a 60-6 victory, with a fine offensive performance that put more points on the board within 20 minutes than we have scored in most of our full 40 minute games in the U14 NL. Our second game against LDM, who put up a better fight but again we outplayed them on all parts of the court to win 30-24, to book our place against a well drilled Dragons team that had put in some fine performances to reach the final.  Despite a tentative and slightly nervous start in the championship game that saw Bradford open an early lead, we slowly clawed our way back into the game, and there was very little to separate the teams going into the final minutes. A layup converted by Bertie to make it 22-20 with 5 seconds left, and then Jake being fouled allowing him to get a shot to kill the game from the free throw line, which he calmly dispatched to seal the win!  It was a great team performance and nice to see all the boys get on the scoresheet, and to finish the season on a high before our trip this Saturday to Los Angeles!”

York Eagles @ City of Birmingham Rockets

U16 JNBL Northern Premier

Result: 96-76 (Loss)

Player of the Game:

George Andrews – 19pts

Coach Paul Pickering commented on the U16s Performance:

“We went into this weekend with a short handed squad due to injuries, illnesses and holidays but non the less, we travelled to Birmingham the first of our season finale double header. We started with pace and passion and took an early lead shocking Rockets, but then by the middle of the 1st Q, the athletic Rockets side found their stride and started to make our poor rebounding an advantage. Throughout the 2nd Q and 3rd Q, we struggled on offence and allowed Birmingham to drive the ball. Mentally, we were not prepared for this and then additional challenge of missing one of our key players meant the we struggled to dominate inside,. We got some good looks but they didn’t drop on the day and it was a disappointing long drive back north. After the game we decided that we were going to become a demolition crew and finished .500 for the season.”

York Eagles v Myerscough Academy

U18 JNBL Northern Premier

Result: 35-76 (Loss)

Coach Kostas Kotidis commented on the U18s Performance:

“A very short one due to a double header, but we lost to a far superior and more experienced side that showed their ability to score in abundance. Yes, it was a large margin, but it was close throughout the first half only down 36-26 at HT. second half was a forgettable one as we struggled to make things happen on offence, but a depleted team and lack of stamina.”

Sunday 24th March

York Eagles v Sheffield Elite

U18 JNBL Northern Premier

Result: 73-68 (Win)

Player of the game:

Dimitri Kotidis – 20pts/3rebs (x4 3PM)

Notable Performances:

George Andrews – 15pts/4rebs/2blks

Freddie Marshall – 14pts/6stls (x4 3PM)

Korbin Evans – 13pts/8rebs

Coach Kostas Kotidis commented on the U18s Performance:

“What a difference a day makes!

The day before we lost unceremoniously by a good Myerscough team, that though stronger and more experienced, did not seem to be unbeatable. However, we failed to compete, and the result was what we all expected. Nonetheless, Sunday’s game, the boys have managed to transcend themselves and emerge victorious through a battle that tested both mental and physical capabilities. The Sheffield team came with a lot of confidence and perhaps a bit of an arrogant attitude, perhaps thinking that our team would roll over and die, without a fight. And what a fight they got instead.

Our lads were Eagles and Lions altogether. It’s not that we played the perfect game (<40% in FTs) and countless turnovers and early foul trouble doesn’t do good reading in the stats sheet. However, these boys found the mental strength and squeezed every physical “juice” from in them, and they showed the togetherness required to get to the end.no matter how much they played, they were a punch in the court and on the bench. From Maximos who didn’t play a minute but he’s lost his voice from screaming every second to encourage his teammates, to George Pearcy who joined the team for a “last dance” and it felt as if he had never left, to Ias and Makoto who for as long as they played contributed with all their hearts, to George Andrews who didn’t hold back for a moment despite having a game straight afterwards, to Alex, who offered great strength under the basket when the team needed him, to Billy, who was never hesitant to throw himself into the fire until he actually got injured, to Radlie, who expertly led the team when required, to Hayden, who today had his best game of the season, stepping up when necessary, to Korbin, who despite playing injured played as much as he could offer before fouling out, to Freddie, who his first half killer shooting got us going, to Dimitri, who showed leadership when getting into early foul trouble, leading the way in scoring in the 2nd half with 4 threes, and led his team to the promise land… all the boys should be proud of their achievement on Sunday. Yes, it was a difficult season from every aspect that could have been examined. If this win proves to be the invitation to play u18s Prem again next season, I think that it's up to the players to decide…”

Coach Rod Gimarangan also shared some words:

“Prior to the game, Sheffield viewed us as inferior based on current standings and seemed to be over-confident, but they didn’t know what hit them after 10 minutes. We were relatively unknown to them, and they obviously underestimated our ability. The final game was a testament that our young men have great potential when they play skillfully and when working as a team, they can create magic! This just proved that York Eagles is well deserving of a spot in the Premier league come 24/25.”

York Eagles v Trafford Magic

U16 JNBL Northern Premier

Result: 104-51 (Win)

Player of the Game:

George Andrews – 30pts/11rebs

Lukas Karmazyn – 21pts/7rebs/7stls

Notable Performances:

Ben Wells – 13pts/4rebs

Travis Greening – 10pts/3rebs

Ias Morys – 10pts/3asts

Eddy Wragg – 9pts/5rebs/5stls

Coach Paul Pickering commented on the U16s Performance:

“We were ready, we had a rousing team talk in the locker room pre-game and warmed up with intensity that any Manchester team would be alarmed from. We then went on to do what what Manchester do to other teams. Press, out-hustle and when we go ahead, we showed no mercy! Early in the 2nd Q we really put the hammer down and ended the half well up. With the desire to finish the season on a high, I decided to continue to press the Magic team and ensure that they suffered a comprehensive loss and our highest score of the season. The 3rd Q was not a good one as I think we got complacent but after that we pushed on and finished with 104pts and Andrews with a 30pts double double. Chants of MJ and MVP went to Karmazyn as he took off and had his best game of the season. It was an emotional end to a great season and on paper a .500 one but morally it was a winning one with the Sheffield game outcome still unfinished. It has been a pleasure to coach such a committed set of young men this season and we have come a long way, sometimes the mental toughness has been tested but we have come out stronger as individuals and a team. Let’s see if we still have something to fight for in the post season…”

LET’S GO EAGLES