Plymouth Raiders 84 – 93 USA Select
05 SEP 2019
Last night saw Plymouth Raiders take on the touring USA Select in pre-season friendly. The event took place at Plymouth School Of Creative Arts in an exclusive season members only event.
The state side team travelled to Plymouth on the back of a 1 point win over fellow BBL rivals Newcastle Eagles, Raiders were their second leg in their BBL journey as they travel around the UK.
Coach James had a full team for this game with newbie Kostas Jonuška flying in the evening before the game, also including in the game day roster were a number of Marjon University students as Raiders look to build a basketball programme at the Uni and within the city.
The game started off quick with Kostas taking the ball straight from tip off and giving his new side the first two points of the game. There were lots of rotations in the first quarter a theme which spread throughout the whole game, giving all players and students a chance to fight for a place in the starting five once the BBL season comes around. The first quarter ended 26-17 and Raiders seemed to have a strong hold on the game.
The second quarter seemed to go the same way with Raiders in complete control of the game with everyone getting minutes on the court and added worth to the side. The second 10 minutes ended slightly closer 40-36, showing a slight increase of pace from the visiting side.
During the third quarter the USA Select side showed their game experience and fitness as they started to really turn up the heat on the Raiders hitting 3 pointer after 3 pointer. The lead changed hands a few time throughout this 10 minutes but it was the USA who came out on top going into the final quarter leading 63-71.
The USA didn’t hold back in their final minutes in Plymouth as they continued to boss the court from the 3 point line hitting shot after shot. This is an area Coach James highlighted in his Post Game interview saying “ We could have defended the 3 ball a little bit better”.
The final score of the game was 84-93 with the USA Select taking their second win of their UK tour. They now move onto games against Manchester Giants and Leicester Riders.
Despite the loss, Coach James was still very positive about his team and how their pre season preparations were going saying “We wanted someone to challenge us a bit, so I could see the reaction of the players.
“It was a good challenge, I thought the USA Select played a pretty good game, they shot the ball very well and played a brand of basketball we struggled to deal with, it was a good learning ground, thats what pre season games are all about.
“I certainly learnt a lot from the team tonight and from individuals as well”.
Raiders now have a week of practice before their final pre-season game at the Plymouth Pavilions against Thames Valley Cavaliers, tickets for this game can be purchased at https://bit.ly/2zB2qP7.