GB juniors beat Belgium in second match
GB Juniors defeated Belgium in their second game of the tournament 69 – 59 in a game of erratic performances from the team. In the game, GB had to stop No. 8 Dmitri Tanghe, their main scorer, throughout the game.
GB got off to a great start with easy scores from inside and denied Tanghe any good scoring opportunities. However, some poor chair defence sent Tanghe to the line for 2 free throws, he made both which allowed him to find his shooting touch and got on a 6 points scoring run that brought Belgium back into the game in the second half. GB finished the quarter 26 – 8 with Lee Manning scoring 8 and Kyle Marsh 11.
GB had pressed for part of the first quarter and continued with this in the second quarter but struggled to contain Tanghe, who was made to work very hard but managed to create opportunities with the help of his team. He went on a scoring spree with 16 of Belgium’s 18 points for the quarter. GB also allowed Belgium’s No.14, Fievet to find his shooting touch by sending him to the free throw line with a needless foul. Kyle Marsh and Terry Yates kept the scoring ticking over for GB with 6 and 4 points respectively. The quarter finished 11 – 18 with GB leading at half time 37 – 26.
GB played with more control in the third quarter, winning it 16 – 11 and extending the lead to 16 points. Kyle Marsh and Terry Yates were again key scorers with 6 and 4 respectively.
The final quarter produced GB’s most inconsistent performance with many defensive lapses resulting in Belgium scoring breakaway lay-ups off GB’s missed shots and players chasing rebounds instead of recovering to defence. Although GB pressed and denied Tanghe, Fievet scored freely with 10 for the quarter. Poor free throw shooting was also a factor in the inconsistent scoring making just 2/8 in the first half and 0/9 in the second.
A second great performance from Terry Yates with 18 points at 75% and 7 rebounds, Kyle Marsh 24 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, Lee Manning 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Belgium shot at 40% & GB at 50% for the game.