LEADONITES Basketball held their first YBL double-header last weekend at Halo Ledbury Leisure Centre as their U13s and U15s played host to their Redditch Rockets counterparts, each in South Division action, writes Matthew Chalkley.

In British basketball terms Redditch are an old club, formed 25 years by Dave Bradshaw MBE, and Dave is still head coach all these years later.

In the short history of the YBL Redditch have become a powerhouse outfit winning two U15 Championships and regularly qualifying for the post season play-offs at all age levels.

Leadonites (U13) 55-32 Redditch Rockets (U13)

Leadonites made it two wins out of two in the league, winning all four quarters of this match.

The game started well with Leadonites 12-0 up before Rockets scored the first points of their own mini run to end the first at 12-7.

The second quarter was much the same as the Dudley twins added to the rampant scoring of Miccio and Deards to finish the half 25-13 to the good.

The scoring flood gate burst open in the third with 31 points scored between the two teams and Leadonites going into the last quarter 45-24 ahead.

The final quarter was by far the closest, with just two points in it, as Stunt, John, Fisher and Renfrew-Clarke each scored to compliment the screens and defensive work of Short and French.

Leadonites (U15) 47-41 Redditch Rockets (U15)

A much tighter affair in the older age game with a late charge by Rockets putting the result in doubt before a long outlet pass found Nicholls on a charge to the basket and a finger roll score in the final minute of the match.

Before that the damage seemed to have been done in the first with Chalkley and Spriggs leading the charge to a first period score of 22-10.

The second saw the visitors claw back some of that deficit before baskets from French, Hobson and Spriggs reasserted Leadonites to a 30-20 half-time lead.

Running their 5-out motion offence to Coach Robb’s instructions saw buckets from Spriggs and Chalkley push the lead up to 12 points at 40-28 going into the final period.

Poor shooting at one end and lack-lustre boxing out at the other allowed Redditch to reduce arrears to just 3 points with 5-minutes remaining.

Two converted free-throws by Chalkley kept Leadonites noses above water but back came Redditch again with their own score.

Emotions flared and referee intervention was required to calm tempers then Calvo-Whitelegg pushed the lead back up to four points with less than two minutes remaining.

Each side scored a single free-throw before the tension busting finale from Nicholls.