BASKETBALL: Sevenoaks Suns, the historic winners.
Sevenoaks Suns defeated Durham Palatinates to win the National Cup 74-64 in Arena Birmingham on January 26th. The win, in front of 9,000 basketball fans, gave the Suns the only major trophy that had eluded them in the leagues first 6 years of existence.
The Suns were led by a near triple double from Cat Carr with 14 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds. MVP honours went to Janice Monakana who electrified the crowd with 21 points off the bench including 5 well timed three pointers. During the stunning third quarter The Suns scored 27 points, the most by any side in a quarter in WBBL Cup Final history.
In last year’s Cup final the Suns were defeated by Sheffield Hatters in heartbreaking fashion on a last second shot. This year was redemption for the Suns as they controlled the game from the start and withstood a couple of late charges by Durham.
By winning the Cup, the Suns have added to their collection of major Trophies over the previous three seasons which include two League Championships, one Trophy, one Cup, and three playoff titles.
The Suns attention then turned to the Trophy Semi-final in Leicester against their rival the Leicester Riders. The winner of that game would go on to play for the Trophy final in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow in March. The Suns started well, edging the first quarter with a 20-15 lead and breaking for halftime two points ahead 40-38. But the Leicester Rivals battled back winning the game 72-66 and progressing to the final.
The Suns following home game was on February 23rd at Sevenoaks School vs the Essex Rebels. Not allowing the previous weeks disappointment to hamper their spirits, the Suns dominated the game from the start and went on to a resounding 86-58 victory.
March’s first game on Sunday 1st was in London vs BA London Lions. After a slow start the Suns pulled away to end the game 41-70. Next up is a trip to Scotland on the 8th March to play Caledonia Pride. With only two months left of the basketball season, all of us here at My Sevenoaks Community wish The Suns every success in their final games. Go Suns!
