| Varsity 2008
The Light Blues tipped off against Oxford with a game plan detailed by head coach Angelo Favia: play tough man-to-man defence and secure an early lead. After the first quarter, however, it became clear that this strategy would not be easy to implement. Great defence by both teams meant that the score was only 7–5, in Oxford's favour. During the second quarter, the Blues struggled against Oxford's zone. Atticus Honore and Richard Martin were able to find holes and drive to the basket to initiate the Blues scoring. Nevertheless, Cambridge's big men, Leopold Parts and Hugo Halferty-Drochon, and guards, Sunith de Fonseka and Chris Bohn, struggled to find their groove. Substitutions gave Evan Hall, Domantas Jankauskas and Nikos Bamiedakis a chance to reduce the points' margin. Bamiedakis finished the game with 10 offensive rebounds and 12 points. After a late third quarter surge, the Blues had reduced the Oxonian lead to 10. Stepping up their defence, the Blues continued to chip away at their opponent's lead. With two minutes left to play Cambridge had battled to within six points of Oxford, and the opposing team's fans had assumed an eerie silence. In the final minutes, however, Oxford managed to convert crucial free throws. The final score was Cambridge 61 - Oxford 73.
The Cambridge Lions went into the Varsity game on the back of a successful season, but wary of an Oxford team from the division above that would present a stiff challenge. Oxford had a brighter start, moving the ball quickly, forcing fouls and making the most of their free-throws. But the Lions responded with sharp shooting from guard Stuart Lee. The coach, Chris Ashwin, encouraged the team and pointed out holes in the opposing zone defence which the post-players Robin Fletcher and Andrew Northern were able to exploit to bring Cambridge level. The Lions' defence settled down and Oxford found it difficult to get easy shots, whilst Christoph Mueller put his effective jump shot into use. At half time, the Lions were 5 points ahead. The Lions started the second half well, with the speedy Yi Chung Ng scoring on a fast break. Owen Weller began to run the show with an excellent three pointer and hook shot and there were also good scoring contributions from Simon Proffitt and Nick Bell. The Cambridge fans were in full voice as the final quarter approached, lifting their team. With the captain, Takuma Goto adding energy to the defence and Stuart Lee continuing to work hard and score points, Cambridge stretched their lead to 10 points. However, in the final minutes of the game, things took a drastic turn. The Cambridge offence ran out of steam while an athletic Oxford team managed to turn things around, making a flurry of shots in quick succession. The game started to run away from Cambridge in the final two minutes as the referees' decisions went against them and it ended with Oxford winning by seven points. The final score was 70-63. Despite the loss, the Lions can be proud of having had their best performance of the season, leading for the majority of the game, and competing to the end. The squad has worked hard during the year, had lots of memorable team moments, and improved quickly thanks to the coaching of Chris Ashwin. |
