MANCHESTER SWARM 71-70 LIVERPOOL
(Q1: 11-21, Q2: 20-14, Q3: 20-16, Q4: 20-19)
TOP SCORERS:
- MANCHESTER SWARM: Elgin Govan (21 Pts); Jayden Johnson (12 Pts); Joseph Swindells (11 Pts).
- LIVERPOOL: Deveney (23 Pts); Kildisas (12 Pts); Burgess (10 Pts).
The budding rivalry between Manchester Swarm and Liverpool continued to entertain in barnstorming fashion, as the two North West outfits battled out a hair-raising 1-point thriller in the National Cup Round 2 at NBPC Belle Vue to close out the double-header weekend.
Undeterred by their defeat the previous day, Liverpool hit the ground running, as they sought to even the score with their hosts, and ran out to an early 10 point lead. Manchester Swarm struggled to get out of the blocks in the first period, trailing 11-21 at the end of the quarter.
With the memorable 4th quarter comeback still fresh in their minds, Swarm were able to call up more of the same fighting spirit in the second quarter to begin chipping away at their defict. Rookie guard Jack Sankey connected on a corner 3 point shot to add the exclaimation mark to a quality offensive possession as the hosts closed to within 4 point of Liverpool.
Play continued at a furious pace in the 3rd quarter, as Manchester battled foul trouble. Making full use of the bench in response, coach Mpofu introduced under-18 Anastasos Okwo into the contest, where the youngter was able to provide stout defence on the perimeter in his short spell making his senior men's debut. A series of transition opportunities saw the home side level up the scoreboard at the end of 30 minutes.
The only fitting way for the weekend to end would be in thrilling fashion, and both sides contributed to providing such a finish. With no inch being given, Swarm and Liverpool traded blows for the entirety of the period. A tough turn-around jumper by Phil Deveney nudged the visitors ahead by 2 points with 29.1 seconds remaining in the game. Following the inevitable timeout, Swarm had a couple of good looks that wouldn't drop, but captain Nathan Schall battled to keep the possession alive, with the result being a show-stopping 3-pointer by Louis Weaver to give Manchester the final lead.
🗣️HE CALLED GAME! 🗣️
— Manchester Swarm™ Basketball (@McrBballClub) October 9, 2022
Young newcomer Louis Weaver knocks down the clutch 3 with 1.2 seconds left for the win in the National Cup. #HearTheBuzz🐝 | #JoinTheSwarm | #DefendTheHive | #BritishBasketball | #MCRactive | #NBL2223 pic.twitter.com/b6sWZRHIUd
Coach Mpofu offered his thoughts on the game: "If anyone was in any doubt about the mental toughnes of this group of guys, it can no longer be in question. We have trailed for probably 75 of the 80 minutes we've played this weekend. It's not ideal to be in that situation too often, but it's good to know we have it in us. Also i want to give credit to Jack Sankey, Louis Leyland, and Anastasos Okwo for being able to step up in key spots when we needed them. Two of them are recently graduated juniors and the other is a current junior, and they represent the patheway we hope to provide in our programme. We're still not quite where we want to be, but we're in a good spot and we'll continue to push for improvement."
Read the Basketball England National Cup Round 2 recap here.
The reward for Manchester Swarm is welcoing 2021/22 Division 3 Playoff winners Teesside Lions to NBPC Belle Vue in the National Cup 3rd Round. Details to follow soon. Next up is a home tie against Preston on 15 October at 17:00.
