On Monday 7th March, KTS battled it out for the Senior District Basketball trophy, welcoming local rivals John Henry Newham in a trilling yet tense encounter.
The home side came into the match in great form and favourites to win the cup, with the team staying undefeated throughout the season and beating JHN in the group by over 30 points. The team were praised before the match for their fast pace, skill and depth, with KTS filling a large bench for the final. However, the match was to be a much closer affair this time.
The team began the game strong, showing the glimpses of all of the great work that the team had done throughout the season. JHN could not take their chances, which created a gap for players like Ibz Odumade to run into and counter attack them constantly and tire out the JHN defence.
However, as the game progressed, the game became much tougher for KTS. After a simply superb effort from one of the JHN scoring a half-court shot on the half time buzzer, KTS went 2 minutes into the game winning by just a small margin 33-32.
After the half time team talks, JHN took their chances more and began to play their own game plan. With KTS missing vital free throws, JHN looked to be more willing to win, using their sheer size and height to their advantage. With that, JHN went into the final quarter winning by 50-49.
Even despite the strongest team being put onto the court and the noise from the crowd of KTS supporter, the team fell short on the last hurdle, with JHN winning 52-55.
Captain Joe Crocker said after the game, “We played well. We deserved the win but their height and the decision made against us got them the win.”