Anglia Ruskin 71 – Endeavour Ipswich Basketball 69 (OT)
Endeavour Ipswich Basketball Head Coach Nick Drane has called for some “perspective” after his team lost their second WNBL Division One game in a row on Saturday, at Anglia Ruskin.
Ipswich travelled to Cambridge following last weekend’s historic National Cup Final win against Thames Valley in Manchester, to face an ARU team that had won their last three games, and are finally at full strength as the WNBL Division One Season edges closer to the final third of the season. The former playoff and cup champions (ARU) look like a team that are peaking at the right time, but Ipswich Head Coach Nick Drane has made it clear that his team are still in a great position “We have just won the National Cup, we are top of the league and there is still so much basketball to be played before we need to even start thinking about the impact of what any one win or loss means in the big picture”. Ipswich fought back from fifteen points down, to take the game to overtime, before losing the game by two in the extra period.
Despite the loss, Ipswich remain top of the WNBL standings, with an 11-3 record. Brent Bulls and CoLA Southwark Pride both sit closely behind (9-3) with Thames Valley also still very much in the hunt (9-4). Ipswich have the head-to-head over TVC, and still have to host CoLA and travel away to Brent. The other three teams all have to face off against each other again in the coming weeks. Ipswich’s three losses include two overtime losses (CoLA and ARU) and a buzzer beater against Thames Valley.
Ipswich were certainly not at their best, struggling from the perimeter and finding themselves in early foul trouble, but despite their difficulties, found themselves with a chance to win the game. “ARU are an outstanding team in the league, they always have been. Thames Valley, CoLA, Brent, Loughborough and everyone else in the league are also great teams. There is no shame is losing to anyone at this level, and we need to have some perspective. Would we have taken being in the top four, on three losses, and having won the national cup at this stage of the season if we were offered it before the season started? Yes, of course we would”.
Ipswich are back in action on their home court on Saturday when they host the Reading Rockets at 3:30pm at Copleston.
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