Sure Shot U18 Men’s
National Cup Final
Derby Trailblazers 84 (09, 30, 59)
CoLA Southwark Pride 81 (25, 38, 57)
Photo credit – Connor Saunders.
Derby Trailblazers hopes of lifting the Sure Shot U18 Men’s National Cup title for the first time in
their history were dashed by a deep, talented and more experienced CoLA Southwark Pride side,
who easily retained the title they won last season.
The majority of Pride’s players were already in their second year at this age group, while all but two
of Derby’s team were only in their first season of U18 basketball and that difference became
brutally apparent as the game progressed.
CoLA’s captain Toby Gass led his side by example, converting five out of seven three-pointers on
his way to 28 points and the Most Valuable Player Award. He also added three rebounds, six
assists and four steals in as dominant a performance as you’re ever likely to see in a junior final.
Daniel Banjoko completed a double-double of 17 points and ten rebounds whilst dishing off five
assists and providing one steal and one blocked shot. With five other players scoring five or more
points, it was too much for the Trailblazers to contend with.
Derby were led by Casey Burr with 25 points, two rebounds one assist and five steals, but he was
the only player to reach double figures. Captain Jarom Howlett impressed with eight points and
seven assists, while David Imonitie Felix had seven points and seven rebounds.
Both sides were eager to get off to a good start and some strong and physical play dominated the
opening few minutes. Derby were forced to foul to stop early drives to the basket and CoLA
converted three out of four from the line.
Pride then had to foul to stop Burr from getting to the hoop, but he could only convert one of two
from the line. CoLA then added back-to-back scores from Gass before Finley Tuck struck from
outside for Derby, reducing the gap to 7-4.
That glimmer of hope was short lived as the Londoners went on a 6-nil run, prompting a time-out
from the Blazers with 3’07” on the clock and the score at 13-4. Derby responded with a 4-2 burst
before Pride closed the first quarter with another 7-0 run to close the period 22-8 ahead.
Burr got to work quickly in the second as he drove inside to score, but Pride had too many
offensive options at their disposal and were often converting three-pointers in reply to Derby’s
inside scores, missed shots or turnovers.
A second time-out was called with 6’00” on the clock and the score at 31-13, but aside from
creating two baskets for Burr either side of a pair of free-throws from Daniel Banjoko, it had little
effect as Glass completed a three-point play and then added a three-pointer to make it 39-17.
Derby were 44-24 down at the half-time break but they got off to a good start in the third, as
Howlett sank a shot-clock beating triple from the corner. However, his effort was immediately
matched by Glass before Burr converted from outside to trim the gap to seventeen points.
Just when there was a glimmer of hope, Pride responded with inside and outside scores from
Daniel Banjoko and back-to-back triples from Glass to make it 58-30.
Derby needed a response and led by the confidence of Burr and the sharp shooting of Howlett,
they got one, with the latter slotting home five points and the former another four in a 16-8 run
which allowed them to tie the third quarter and head into the final period trailing 66-46.
Unfortunately, with a twenty-point lead under their belts, Pride already had one hand on the Cup
and a 29-11 final quarter ensured they would take the silverware back to Southwark after a 93-57
win, but the margin of victory seemed harsh on a Derby side who had given it their all.
Despite the disappointing nature of the defeat, Head Coach Jake Chapman was proud of his
players’ efforts:
“The guys played really hard and well against an exceptionally talented team. They’re still an
incredibly young group, but they showed their potential and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
“We’ll lose Jarom [Howlett] and Finn [Tuck] next season, but we’ll have some new young talent
stepping up and if we can keep the majority of the remaining group together, I think we’ll have a
good chance of going one stage better next year.
“Toby Gass was in sensational form and some of their other guys that we didn’t really have marked
down as shooters stepped up too and they knocked down some big shots at high percentages too,
so all credit to CoLA because they’re a great team,” he said.
Derby: Burr 25, Howlett 8, Imonitie Felix 7, Tuck 6, Aworta 3, Krysa 3, Klimas 2, Scoburgh 2, Spencer
1, Azemia 0, Mordon 0, Tanner 0.
CoLA: Gass 28, Daniel Banjoko 17, Cryer 9, Olowoshile 8, Nwokolo 8, David Banjoko 5, Hannick 5,
Patel 4, Shinwak 4, Thomson 3, Martinez de Morentin 2, Testfay 0.
