FORMER NATIONAL TEAM PLAYER MAKING MARK IN BRITISH BASKETBALL
Last Updated: January 11, 2010
WORTHING, England - Former Canadian Developmental Men's National Team member Evaldas Zabas (Toronto) scored 15 points as the Worthing Thunder remained in the hunt for a playoff spot in the British Basketball League (BBL) with a 109-94 win over the Cheshire Jets on Jan. 2.
Zabas, who also participated in the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) in Hamilton, Ont., was 4-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line in 28 minutes off the bench. The point guard joined the team only last month and is averaging 16.3 points in the three games he has played.
The Thunder are in the middle of the pack in the 13-team BBL, tied at 16 points with four other teams. The Jets are in fourth place with 18 points.
The win was the fourth straight at home for Worthing and their sixth victory in their last nine games.
Reggie Bratton led Worthing with 28 points while Ville Makalainen scored 17. James Hamilton, for the Jets, led all scorers with 29 points.
The Thunder, who have taken a share of the final playoff spot (eighth place), had a remarkable start as Bratton netted 18 points in the opening period. His team raced into a 23-9 lead as he scored all of their points, including two three-pointers, in a 14-6 run. The Jets responded immediately with an 11-4 run of their own, and when Paul Peterson made a triple with the last play of the period, they had narrowed the gap to 31-26.
The visitors took that momentum into the second stanza and swiftly tied the game at 31. Back-to-back three-pointers from Sherrad Prezzie-Blue got the Thunder back on track, and the Thunder held that edge until John Simpson’s three tied the teams once more at 44. But the Jets could not take a lead in the first half, and the last six points of the quarter put the Thunder back on top.
The picture didn’t change a great deal in the third period, despite the Thunder managing to re-establish their double-digit lead at 66-55 on two Zabas free throws. Peterson responded with a three-pointer and the Jets were still within six at 74-68 going into the final quarter after Hamilton scored with six seconds remaining in the third.
The Thunder were briefly threatened in the fourth as an 8-0 run got the Jets to within two, but the hosts managed to pull away as the Jets finished the game with four players through a combination of foul trouble (Peterson and Chez Marks) and injury (Steven Gayle and Calvin Davis).
(with information from the British Basketball League)
Zabas, who also participated in the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) in Hamilton, Ont., was 4-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line in 28 minutes off the bench. The point guard joined the team only last month and is averaging 16.3 points in the three games he has played.
The Thunder are in the middle of the pack in the 13-team BBL, tied at 16 points with four other teams. The Jets are in fourth place with 18 points.
The win was the fourth straight at home for Worthing and their sixth victory in their last nine games.
Reggie Bratton led Worthing with 28 points while Ville Makalainen scored 17. James Hamilton, for the Jets, led all scorers with 29 points.
The Thunder, who have taken a share of the final playoff spot (eighth place), had a remarkable start as Bratton netted 18 points in the opening period. His team raced into a 23-9 lead as he scored all of their points, including two three-pointers, in a 14-6 run. The Jets responded immediately with an 11-4 run of their own, and when Paul Peterson made a triple with the last play of the period, they had narrowed the gap to 31-26.
The visitors took that momentum into the second stanza and swiftly tied the game at 31. Back-to-back three-pointers from Sherrad Prezzie-Blue got the Thunder back on track, and the Thunder held that edge until John Simpson’s three tied the teams once more at 44. But the Jets could not take a lead in the first half, and the last six points of the quarter put the Thunder back on top.
The picture didn’t change a great deal in the third period, despite the Thunder managing to re-establish their double-digit lead at 66-55 on two Zabas free throws. Peterson responded with a three-pointer and the Jets were still within six at 74-68 going into the final quarter after Hamilton scored with six seconds remaining in the third.
The Thunder were briefly threatened in the fourth as an 8-0 run got the Jets to within two, but the hosts managed to pull away as the Jets finished the game with four players through a combination of foul trouble (Peterson and Chez Marks) and injury (Steven Gayle and Calvin Davis).
(with information from the British Basketball League)
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