Rebels Advance to Quarter Finals
Essex Rebels Division 1 men picked up two wins this weekend against Thames Valley Cavaliers and London Elite in the group stages of the KitKing Trophy.
Saturday saw the Rebels host Thames Valley at the Essex Sport Arena. Essex came out firing and played with intent on the offensive end forcing the Cavaliers into an early timeout. The Rebels controlled the tempo of the game for most of the first half, but Thames Valley found some offensive flow and kept the game close going into half time with a score line of 39 – 32 to the Rebels. The second half saw Essex extend their lead to double figures and continued with controlling the pace of the game. Rebels finished strong and came away with a valuable win with a score line of 84 – 73.
Essex were lead by Ebuka Ekwegh with 14 points closely followed by Trey Chapman with 13 points.
A quick turnaround for Essex saw them travel to London Elite the next day in the heart of London. The Rebels were looking to build on the momentum created the day before and it was evident to start the game. Essex showed their defensive intensity and offensive fire power. Again, the Rebels forced an early timeout by the home side and were in full control. Essex continued with playing in transition, rewarding themselves with some easy scores in the fast break, whilst also executing in the half court. London Elite began to find their feet halfway through the game but the damage was done early on by the Rebels. Essex cruised to a 19-point win with a final score of 91 – 72.
Zain Poorman came to play with a impressive individual scoring effort in the 3rd quarter whilst Connor Nelson pitched in the 14 points with some solid shooting from the outside.
Rebels Head Coach Ross Norfolk was pleased with the teams’ performances this weekend,
“Really happy with how the guys played this weekend. We have a few things to tighten up on the defensive end, but the group are buying into the style of play and we can’t wait to play again!”.
With these two wins, Essex advance into the next round of the KitKing trophy where they travel to Reading Rockets next Sunday in the Quarter finals. The Rebels have their season opener on the 7th October at the Essex Sport Arena against Worthing Thunder. Tickets can be found via Eventbrite.
