It was another superb weekend of BWB National League action as teams continued their winning starts to the season, while nine teams got their National League campaigns underway. 

Here’s a round-up of all the weekend’s games… 

Premier Division 

In the Premier Division, CWBA and Thames Valley Kings both secured back-to-back wins, following-up their opening victories with another two points. 

One of the games of the weekend was in Exeter as Thames Valley Kings produced a brilliant second-half comeback to come from 12 points down at half-time to secure a 51:53 victory against Exeter Otters, who had led by 19 points in the second quarter. 

Kings were trailing by eight points within seconds of the start of the final quarter, but five points from top-scorer Liam Barker (19 points) and six points from his brother and Kings captain Reece Barker (17 points) led the Kings fightback to overturn the deficit into a Kings lead with 38 seconds left on the clock. 

Their one-point advantage grew to two with a Tom Tobin free-throw in the final eight seconds as Kings sealed a 51:53 victory to make it two wins from two games as they maintained their perfect start to their debut Premier Division season. 

It was also back-to-back wins for league leaders CWBA as they celebrated a 66:79 victory at The Owls on Saturday. This fixture may not have had the late drama of the Exeter-Thames Valley game, but it was still close for the most part, with The Owls battling hard to ensure CWBA’s lead never grew past 10 points, before CWBA began to pull away in the final quarter to secure the win.   

Liam Hassell scored 32 points for CWBA as he top-scored again, while Lucas Warburton led the scoring for The Owls with 20 points. 

Division 1 

The Division 1 South game between High Rollers and Aces Wheelchair Basketball Club saw both teams play their opening game, and it was Aces who began their season with a win in another fixture that saw the momentum switch between the two sides. 

Aces led 21:9 at the end of the opening quarter before a brilliant second quarter from High Rollers saw the hosts lead 34:32 at the halfway stage. The second-half remained close but Aces edged the final two quarters to start their 2021/22 campaign with a 56:65 win. Jordan Luce scored 32 points for Aces to top the game’s scoring, closely followed by teammate Leanna Adams who totalled 29 points. 

In the same division, The Bears recorded their second win from their opening two games, beating London Titans 2 70:36. A dominant opening quarter provided the catalyst for victory with Darren Peasley and Jacob Robinson both scoring 16 points for The Bears. 

Division 2 

There was also victory for The Bears against London Titans in Division 2 South as the second team of The Bears beat the third team of London Titans 68:26 during The Bears-London Titans double header. Muhammad Aurangzaib Ayub was the game’s top-points scorer, adding 22 points towards The Bears’ total. 

Sussex Bears extended their winning start to the season to three games; their latest triumph coming against Plymouth Fusion 2. Pete Bull top-scored again with 23 points for Sussex, who won 77:35 to maintain their spot as the early pace setters in Division 2 South. 

In the same division, Blackhawks began their season with a 55:27 win against Cardiff Met Archers. Blackhawks established an early lead, but Cardiff fought back at the beginning of the second quarter to reduce the Woking club’s advantage, before the hosts built on their lead and opened-up a match-winning advantage. The top-scorer honours went to Macauley Tomlinson with 23 points. 

Division 3 

There were games in each of the three Division 3 divisions as Mohawks 3, Jaguars 2 and Folkestone Arrows all began their 2021/22 campaigns with victories. 

Mohawks raced into a 28:12 half-time lead against North East Warriors in Division 3 North, but a brilliant fightback by NE Warriors in the third quarter saw just four points separate the teams heading into the last quarter. Mohawks extended their four-point advantage in the fourth quarter to win 50:38. 22 points for Nathaniel Pattinson was the game’s top-score. 

In Division 3 Central, Simon West scored 26 points for Jaguars 2 as they made the perfect start to their season with a 27:47 victory against Hereward Heat. There was also an opening win for Folkestone Arrows in Division 3 South as they beat Sussex Bears 2, 20:43. 

For the latest BWB National League results, fixtures and league tables, please visit https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/national-league/