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The Caledonia Gladiators were in action today on the road in Bristol in the quarterfinal of the Super League Basketball Cup. The Gladiators kept the game close throughout three quarters but would find themselves out the Cup competition following their defeat to the Bristol Flyers. The Gladiators finished their road trip with two loses and will return home to Playsport next Friday to face Leicester Riders in their next game.
The first quarter started with both teams battling hard in a tight game. The Bristol Flyers would take an early lead in the first, going up 12 -5 in the first couple minutes of the game, but the Gladiators fought their way back to make it a close contest. Two 3-pointers by Prince Onwas and Patrick Whelan brought the Gladiators back within 3-points halfway through the first quarter and helped keep the Gladiators in the game early. Both teams traded basketball for the next 5 minutes of action with the Flyers taking the first quarter. The first quarter would end with the Bristol Flyers up by 4-points with a 24 – 20 score.
The second quarter saw another tight contest entering the half time break with the score of the quarter being 11 – 10 to the Bristol Flyers. This low scoring quarter would see the Flyers enter the half with a 5-point lead, 35 – 30. Both teams struggled to score from open play during the 10 minutes of action in the second quarter, with 6 of the Gladiators points coming from efficient shooting at the free throw line.
The half-time score was 35 – 30 to the Bristol Flyers.
The Gladiators would start the second half strong, taking the third quarter and cutting Bristol’s lead to just 1 point entering the final quarter of the game. With both teams struggling from behind the three-point line, this quarter was decided under the basket and from the free throw line were the Gladiators remained efficient, shooting 4-4 from the line. The score entering the final quarter of the game was 50 – 49.
The final quarter would see the Bristol Flyers take a commanding lead and secure the win on their home court to move on to the Super League Basketball Cup Semi-Final. The Flyers would take this quarter 21 – 9 and end with a comfortable win in front of their fans. The Caledonia Gladiators would continue their trouble from the three-point line in the fourth and would find themselves unable to stop Bristol as they stretched their lead.
The Caledonia Gladiators will be back in action at Playsport next Friday as they take on the Leicester Riders in the Super League Basketball Championship.
