Defeat for senior men at the end of otherwise winning weekend of basketball

GABBA teams were involved in six Cadiz League matches, starting on Wednesday in La Linea, where the Under 15 Girls claimed the first of 5 consecutive wins, followed by 4 more by the male youth teams, all at TSH, where the Senior Men went down on Sunday. The following reports are in chronological order:

CADETTES (Under 15), ULB 55 - GABBA 70 (Erin Doherty 23, Chloe Balban 19, Briella Bagu 17) [12-26; 16-10; 12-24; 15-10].
A confident start propelled GABBA to 15-4 midway through the 1st quarter, setting the tone for what was to be the team’s first win of the season, following the previous week’s home defeat. The girls from La Linea hit back in the 2nd quarter, but Coach Kira Ruiz Afrah’s team regained control to end the 3rd quarter 20 points up and put the end result beyond doubt.

MINIBASKET (Under 12), GABBA 74 (Finn Buchanan 16, Oliver Oldham 12, Theo Gomez Cleson 10) - CB Algeciras 63 [13-18; 19-3; 6-15; 20-0; 4-13; 12-14].
This was, for me, the highlight of the weekend.
Minibasket matches are played over 6 periods of 8 minutes. Every player must play a minimum of 2 periods and no player can play more than 4 periods. Substitutions are only allowed in the last period and the match clock is only stopped for personal fouls, times out and substitutions in the last period.
All this allows full participation and it is up to the Coach to decide what combination takes the court for each period, knowing that this decision can be crucial as the quintet must play the whole period.
GABBA Coach Gareth Balban got it right, particularly in the 2nd period, won 19-3, which contributed to the 38-36 half-time lead, having lost the 1st and 3rd periods and, moreso, in the 4th period, where a 20-0 blow-out set up a 22 points’ cushion which the plucky team from across the Bay could only halve in the last two periods. Worth mentioning that Balban did not give any of his 11 players more than 3 periods: 7 playing 3, 2 playing 2, and 2 playing 2 plus time in the last period.
But the real highlight was in the way GABBA’s young boys played for each other, defending strongly, moving the ball at lightning speed, looking for and mostly finding the free team mate, and executing penetrations with aplomb. In other words: real team play. A delight to watch and credit to their coaches, notably Jason McMahon, who have been preparing this team for the last 2 months.

PASSERELLE BOYS (Under 14), GABBA 57 (Nolan Romero 18, Ryan Cornelio 15) - Vejer 19 [19-6; 10-6; 20-2; 8-5].
An easy win in the team’s first match of the season gave Coach Sebastian Cassaglia the opportunity to give his 10 players plenty of court time and, at the same time, allow them to showcase their skills. Romero and Cornelio look promising,

CADETS (Under 16), GABBA 72 (Shae Felice 30, Ben Lejeune 26) - Vejer 21 [27-8; 18-3; 18-6; 9-4].
The double header against Vejer was rounded up by the Cadets after 4 minutes 6 seconds of the 4th quarter. At this stage the difference in the scores had reached 50 points and, according to the Competition Rules, the match is played to the end but the result stays as it is and only fouls are recorded. Coach Antonio Solis, returning to a GABBA team bench after a few years, only had 8 players available on the day but, spearheaded by the skills of Felice and Lejeune, it was more than enough.

JUNIORS (Under 18), GABBA 83 (Kayden Garcia 24, Shae Felice 13, Andy Luque 12, Evan Cocklan 11) - Cimbis Sancti Petri 54 [25-11; 19-15; 20-14; 19-14].
The mid term break, injuries and administrative difficulties limited availability to 7 players so Coach Abdul Afrah called up Felice, Lejeune and Charlie Figueras from the Cadets, who had just finished their match. The trio contributed 27 points to the 29 points’ win. Garcia’s all round superiority under both baskets and his 3-point shooting accuracy led GABBA to their second win from 2 matches, with Luque and Cocklan enjoying good performances.

SENIOR MEN, GABBA 61 (Mohamed El Yettefti 20, Roydon Reyes 17, John Cassaglia 12) - San Fernando 72 [14-20; 21-24; 12-12; 14-16].
A very depleted team, missing 5 players and the coach, fought bravely against a well-drilled team, overcoming a diabolical start in which they went 3-17 down after 8 minutes, hitting back with an 11-3 burst in 2 minutes to get back in the match. Nine points down at half-time, a strong reaction narrowed the difference to 45-46 by the 4th minute of the second-half, but San Fernando held on and ended up comfortable winners.
There were notable positive aspects in GABBA’s performance: defensive commitment, in spite of the notable physical inferiority, El Yettefti’s bravery and skill in attack, 3-points shooting from Reyes (5 from 13) and Sebastian Cassaglia’s hard graft in offence, however, the inability to convert free-shots (only 3 of 20 attempted) was a significant negative point which could have had a bearing on the final result.