The U16s took on the Oxfordshire U18s in a pre-season friendly last Sunday. This game was always going to be a tough test for the boys, made harder without Sam Cheshire. The U18s are bigger and stronger, so provided an excellent opportunity to assess the recent progress of the exciting Eagles U16 team.

The Eagles started the game well and looked very sharp. It was clear that some players had been to Summer Camps and done plenty of fitness work. Dillon and Joe C led the way with scoring and also showed strong court presence and confidence. The first quarter was drawn 18-18 and the Eagles had showed they could compete with the best U18s that Oxfordshire has to offer.

In the next 2 quarters the U18s made the most of their size and power advantage. All the Eagles contributed both on and off the court. Worthy of praise was Ben Dowsett who showed great intensity on defence and also shot well. Sam Hart showed some great skill and shooting, and it was clear he has worked very hard over the Summer. However, it was the Eagles poor shooting that really lost them the game. Oddly though the team took good open shots but missed far far too many.

The Eagles came out firing in the 4th quarter and Joe C showing his all-round game by hitting outside shots and making some big defensive blocks. The final score was U18s 71 - Eagles 54.

This game was never about the scoreline and the Eagles learned many lessons against older and more experienced opposition. The level of intensity showed by the Eagles bodes well for the rest of the season. Now is the time to find out what we need to work on so plenty of shooting practice this week.

Man of the match - Joe C - with 20 points and an outstanding shooting percentage of 66.7%. More to follow next Saturday when the Eagles split into 2 for 2 full matches at Glozball.