The year 9 boys’ basketball team has had a very busy season. However the month of March provided its toughest test of the year.
It began on 11 March when the team qualified for the English Schools Final 16 round and travelled to Helsby School in Cheshire. The winner would advance to the final 8 competition. After a four hour journey and arriving at their destination, the boys were quickly put to the test as they found themselves matched up against a bigger team that was well coached.
The first quarter was a tight affair with our boys keeping the score close, only trailing by 3 points. The second period saw the home team take control of the game by jetting out to a 15 point lead.
With five minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, physical plays and tough defence from Jo Boafo and Ralph Pemberton helped to cut Helsby’s lead to 4 points going into the final 10 minutes of play. However the pressure of the occasion seemed to overwhelm the Lanfranc boys as Helsby regained control of the game and ran out to a 21 point advantage and with that crushing the goal of the boys advancing to the final 8.
Lessons were learnt in that defeat and the boys understood there were still major honours to compete for. First was the Surrey Cup Final which was held at Kingston College on Wednesday 26 March. They faced Tiffin School as they looked to win the trophy for the first time. After a lacklustre opening 10 minutes, Ralph Pemberton once again led from the front in the 2nd period of action, with countless rebounds and leading breaks for easy scores. This gave Lanfranc control of the game by a score of 35 – 19.
The boys kept the pressure up for the remainder of the game and did not allow their opposition to get any closer. They ran out 58 – 39 winners and collected their first piece of silverware for the season.
The boys will also be competing in the Croydon Cup Final and on Sunday 26 April they will take on National League side the Kingston Wildcats in the Central Venue League Championship game.