20-11-22 Manchester Giants

LET’S GO PATRIOTS

Obedair are a Plymouth based regional building contractor delivering construction projects across the whole of Devon & Cornwall. Obedair have over 30 years experience of delivering projects across all sectors from £25,000 to £4m in Value. Our sectors include Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Defence, Commercial, Industrial, Heritage and Clinical. We work on a B2B basis ensuring delivery on time on our projects whilst saving money for our clients in the process.

Front page image: Jim Dwyer

LET’S ROAR THE TEAM TO BACK TO BACK WINS

Words from the Chairman - Carl Heslop

As we embark on another Sunday game at the pavilions in our list of regular home games, I’m sure you will join me in welcoming our team back from a long trip against Newcastle. On one of our longest journeys in the league it was really pleasing to come back with the two points especially as we didn’t feel we played anywhere near our best in our previous two encounters this season.

Elvisi Dusha our captain marvel again showed his quality, and it was great to have an MVP performance from Antonio to drive the team to victory. What was also pleasing is the professional way in which we saw the game out following early foul trouble and we will need every ounce of that concentration against a very good Manchester side.

Injuries continue to cause us problems and I can’t wait until we have all the roster fit which hasn’t been the case this season although Troy is making good progress and we hope to have him back very soon.

Off the court it has been a very busy week with us finalising our xmas camps which will run straight after the schools close for Christmas and getting ready for our open evening at Torbridge High in September. The open evening

will be the first chance for people to see the full details of our academy in Sept 23 which will open for 16-18 year olds in Plymouth. This is new for the Patriots and completes our pathway linking children that are leaving school through to university study at Marjon university in a full basketball programme. We are extremely excited about this and have been working on this for a long time and really looking forward to having our first entrants next year.

We also will be shortly announcing all our games for the remainder of the season once we have the very last fixtures secured. The delay has been due to other club’s availability and getting agreements on dates, but these will all be going live very soon to book your tickets.

We also had the recent BBL trophy draw which has drawn us against St Mirren which I can advise will be played at the pavilions on a Saturday night on January 7th. Tickets are sure to go very quickly, and we look forward to welcoming a new team to Plymouth that haven’t played in the city before.

As always, we can’t do all of this without your support and let’s raise the roof today and see if we can cause an upset against the Giants!

LET’S GO PATRIOTS!

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Good afternoon and welcome to the Pavilions for today’s BBL championship game against Manchester Giants. The giants are coached former London Lions Coach Vince Macaulay assisted by BBL legend Nigel Lloyd. Nigel and I played together at Leicester back in the day. I learnt so much from him back then as a player, truly one of the BBL greats!

Coach Macaulay has put together an extremely talented team, which sees them sitting 4th in the BBL Championship now with a 5-3. They have plenty of BBL talent and experience in their roster with the likes of William Lee, Nick Lewis, Corey Johnson, Callum Jones, Dirk Williams, Legend Robertin and Rahmon Fletcher, all of whom have played in the BBL previously.

Against Sheffield last week I feel that we never really got going in the game. We had short moments where we played the way I want us to, but we were unable to get our noses in front and in the key moments of the game when the opportunity presented itself, we failed to execute as a team did not put Sheffield under any real pressure by putting points on the board.

Sheffield is a team that like to slow the game down and are very disciplined and patient when

on offence using up the whole of the shot clock. We needed to try and make the game an uptempo and fast one, but due to some early foul trouble with some of our players, we couldn’t play as aggressively as I would have liked to try and achieve this.

We learnt from this and had a very constructive week together which culminated in us putting together a very good performance against Newcastle Eagles on Friday night and coming away with a well-earned and deserved win.

Today, Manchester will be a different story as they love to play an up-tempo fast game, the faster the better for them. We will need to be excellent again in our transition defence.

Every game is going to be tough this season. Already we can see that any team can be beaten if not fully focused, it could be the closest championship that we have seen in years!!

I extend a warm welcome to the Manchester coaching staff and players for this BBL championship match.

JUNIOR LEAGUE TIMETABLE

BRINCEY LOMEKA

ELVISI DUSHA Assistant Coach

JOE HART Head Coach

The Ocean Group is a local business run by business partners, Kevin & Karen Dawe. Based in Plymouth we have been providing skilled electricians for commercial projects on a continuous basis since 2014. We primarily focus on industrial installations but cover all aspects of the electrical industry including commercial and domestic, which gives our apprentices a wide range of skills.

Ocean Electrics South West Ltd prides itself on training apprentices

Since its establishment in 2010 we have trained 15 apprentices with a further 5 at various stages through their training.

PAUL JAMES Head Coach ISA BRANDON Guard

S2 Group Services Ltd was formed in 2015 by directors Mark Symes and Leigh Spencer who between them have over 30 years experience in the mechanical sector. S2 Group Services Ltd design, coordinate, supply and install all sizes of project with the minimum downtime and operates with maximum efficiency.

The team works closely with our specialist sub-contractors and clients to integrate all mechanical systems. Our project managers provide a bespoke programme to suite our clients requirements to ensure we deliver within budget and on time.

We work across the commercial, industrial, and public sectors and in heritage properties, providing bespoke solutions.

Too often clients of accountancy firms don’t feel valued. They’re just a number in the filing cabinet. In our line of business, building positive relationships matters. Our purpose is to understand our clients’ businesses, their problems and aspirations. Listening gives us the understanding to provide a better value service, which is advisory, attentive and tailored to the client’s needs.

Whether you’re a start-up or an established family business, it makes a refreshing difference.

We work in partnership with Xero. Xero provide simple accounting software which enables small business owners manage their finances in real time. Our team are experts and can provide support wherever you are.

We are delighted to have been involved with the birth of Plymouth City Patriots and proud to be supporters. We look forward to getting together with friends and family to cheer on the team.

Martin Caruana - director

A break away from inflexible ways of working; a positive culture with better interaction with clients. This is Beverston.

Individual and Community Memberships

Marjon Sport & Health is based in the North of the City and is proud to be part of the community. We welcome everyone from outside of the University to enjoy our fantastic facilities.

Community Active Family Pass

Includes use of the gym, pool and classes for those over 16, for 2 adults and 2 children (Variations available on request to suit your family).

Includes use of the gym and pool with parking for a maximum of 3 hours when using the facility.

Community Active Pass

Includes use of the gym, pool and classes with parking for a maximum of 3 hours when using the facility. Over 16s only.

Come and visit us to see how we can support your health and fitness goals and what we have on offer for the whole family. 20%

Over 16s only in the gym but access to everything else with an accompanying adult. £64.99 per month via recurring credit/debit card payment, no contract.

£29.99 per month via recurring credit/debit card payment, no contract.

Annual Community Active Pass £310.00. 6 month Community Active Pass £165.00. 6 week Community Active Pass £50.00. 01752 636876 | sportsreception@marjon.ac.uk | www.marjon.ac.uk/marjon-sport

MATCH REPORTS

SHARKS

The Plymouth City Patriots were in action Sunday afternoon in front of a sold out crowd at Pavilions, but were no match on the day for the in-form Sheffield Sharks.

Struggling with injuries and with early foul trouble, the odds were stacked heavily against a Patriots win. The early running suggested it could be a close affair, with the home side having the better of the early exchanges. However, Patrick Lanipekun, Markedric Bell and James Hawthorn Jr all picked up fouls early on, having a devastating effect on the Patriots’ already short rotation. Although the first half was problematic for the Plymouth team, they were still hanging in with the Sharks, a team that has been on the up since defeating the richest roster in British Basketball, the unbeatable London Lions, and at the interval only trailed by 4 points.

The third quarter would ultimately be the Patriots undoing, starting the period with an immediate turnover and failing to capitalise on any defensive stops. The Sharks, behind an impressive team performance, put the game out of the Patriots reach, stretching their lead to 19 points as the final buzzer sounded.

Without Troy Simons, a starting five player and a key contributor to the Patriots team, it was a challenge for the Patriots to remain competitive. Antonio Williams is almost back to full fitness, but still being relied on heavily in the rotation, having to play over thirty minutes Sunday afternoon, as there is arguably not enough cover in the guard positions. Williams still battled through the game, putting up 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, whilst awaiting the return of his long time friend and teammate, Simons. Rashad Hassan was selected as the Patriots player of the game, battling his way to an impressive double double or 16 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. Hassan did all he could in tough circumstances to try and keep his team in the hunt for a win. As the Patriots most effective big man, it was always going to be a struggle, matching up with multiple bigs from the opposition squad.

“It’s disappointing.” said Head Coach Paul James in a post game interview. He continued, “Sharks are a good team on offence and defence, they slow the game down and play very much in the half court, and we fell right into their trap really. We didn’t get the stops we needed to then play in transition, so our game became very laboured. Tiredness also had a factor, and they pulled away from us in the fourth quarter.” When asked if the team’s foul issue was something that could be tackled in training, coach James added, “We’re going to have to. Whether you question the referees or not, if you’ve picked up one foul and then two fouls, don’t pick up your third. Some of

the fouls we did pick up were ridiculous rookie mistakes. We need to do a better job of knowing when to foul, and when not to.”

James Hawthorne Jr, who finished the game with a respectable 13 points and four rebounds, was also keen to comment post game, saying “Basically, we’ve got to get back in the lab and we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do and stick to our principles. When we play our game, we’re a tough team to beat, but we were forced out of it and didn’t maintain consistent play.”

Hawthorne Jr was reminded of his coach from back in the day when responding to concerns with the teams foul count, adding “It’s tough to turn around foul trouble, but as my coach always told me in college, “it’s next play mentality.” You can’t dwell on it and let it mess up your play for the rest of the game. We have to go home, study the game tape and then it’s that next game mentality, it’s a long season and we have to come back ready to battle in every game.”

Team captain Elvisi Dusha was very downbeat after the game. Dusha played all forty minutes notching up 15 points and five assists but was highly critical of the team’s performance, saying “We did not give a good account of ourselves. That’s not us and that’s not who we are. Turnover after turnover, stupid shot after stupid shot. The Sharks got every shot they wanted in the paint and grabbed any rebound they wanted. An all round awful game from us. Only scoring 69 points tonight just shows you that we didn’t turn up offensively, let alone put on a performance.” As always, Dusha was his own toughest critic, adding “I’ve got to do a better job of controlling the game and the tempo. We’ve not got long until we’re back in action on Friday.”

Indeed the Patriots have a double header next week, taking to the road for Friday nights fixture against Newcastle Eagles, before heading back to Plymouth for Sunday afternoons home matchup against the high flying Manchester Giants. In fact, Coach James was already looking ahead to Friday night, saying “We have to go back and look at the film. Eagles are tough in their own venue, so we’ve certainly got to do a better job than previously. Hopefully Troy will be back., but failing that, we’ll go with what we’ve got.”

Match reports by Pablo Cheeks

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Great design is as much about function, as it is about being beautiful. My approach is to understand your plans, assess the challenges you may face, and find effective solutions to realise your goals. Whatever the job, I aim to produce design that increases recognition in your target audience, tells your story and prompts customers to choose you over your competition. Just speak to my clients and see what they have to say.

“THE GUY’S A GENIUS”

This is me! I can be found in the middle of the 2nd row on game days. Come and say hello. Or contact me on email if i’m not here.

Click the button to play my archive reel. And don’t forget to check out my latest work on my website.

~ Carl Heslop, Obedair Construction & Patriots Chairman

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