Isle of Man Basketball Association’s regular league season returned to action on Thursday with a trio of games in the NSC Main Hall.

Ravens and Microgaming Cavaliers were first to play in an energetic affair where both teams played to their strengths. Ravens were quick off the mark, using their speed and energy to push the offence and catch Cavaliers in transition.

It proved effective in the opening quarters, providing scoring opportunities across the squad with Cormac Ewan, Matthew Jones and Michael Provatakis all racking up points.

Cavaliers fell back on their traditional strengths from the outset, relying on the presence of big man Dave Minay on the inside while Sergio Arboleya found routes through the defence.

The opening quarters proved difficult for Cavs to pull away, the quick switch from defence to offence by Ravens catching them on the backfoot.

When the first quarter came to an end, the teams were evenly matched with only a two-point gap, 23-21 to Cavaliers.

The second period marked a change of fortunes for Ravens as Cavaliers used their physical presence on the inside and effectiveness on the drive to bank buckets.

Ravens continued to run a quick offence and worked a series of great drive-and-dish plays, Jake Kinrade making his presence felt with some solid shooting.

It was little consolation though as Cavaliers did enough to slow Ravens’ scoring and found points on most of the returns. With the arrival of half-time, Cavs had built a double-digit lead, 50-36.

The second half saw a slight change in Cavaliers’ offence, relying less on the inside and more on the mid-range and drives, with Mike Lewis and Lez Winnicki hitting the mark.

There was also a step up on the defensive front, with some extra pressure disrupting the Ravens breaks and forcing turnovers that Cavaliers were more than happy to convert.

With the fast break and quick move offence proving less effective, Ravens tried more for outside shots with only scant success for Vannin Coulter. The pattern continued for much of the rest of the game and, when the clock ran out, Cavaliers had a solid win, 82-57.

The second game of the night was a hard-fought affair between PwC Hoops and Turkeys, with both teams working solid offences to break down the defence.

Turkeys were first to open with some nice baskets for Dave Boyle and Krum Gogov coming off quick movement and solid screens. Daniella Kravela and Becky Dunne found the spot as Hoops ran solid plays around good ball movement and cutting.

Turkeys piled on the pressure in defence though, working hard to stop Hoops and gain some steals in transition. It was a strategy that kept them in the lead going into the half, 42-18 to Turkeys.

The second half was played in a similar vein, aggressive defence from Turkeys giving them quick baskets off the back of steals while Chris Wolfendale also hit some nice shots in more set plays.

Hoops worked their offence well but found the basket to be unforgiving with several nice sets leading to shots that refused to drop. Their troubles were further compounded when injury forced Dunne from the game.

The late game saw baskets for Oksana Fedorovych and an impressive trio of three-pointers for Danielle Murphy that helped build Hoops’ score but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome, Turkeys taking the game 95-42.

The final match of the evening saw a full-strength Forget Me Not Jets take on a short-benched Eagles in a by-the-numbers game.

Jets played their trademark fast-break offence, pushing the pace to put pressure on the Eagles defence with Marco Garmino racking up the points.

The quick offence was coupled with an effective triangle abd two defence that caused plenty of trouble for Eagles.

There were some highlights for Eagles though, including George Dalton-Brown shooting 83 percent from the three-point line in the fourth quarter, notching up 15 points much to the chagrin of his defender. Jets were never in danger though and took the win, 87-54.

l This Thursday sees another trio of games in the Senior Leagues as the 2021-22 season continues towards the play-offs.

First up is an old rivalry as Forget Me Not Jets take on Microgaming Cavaliers at 7pm. Then at 8.30pm there will be a double header as the energetic Ravens face the seasoned Wolves while Turkeys play Eagles in a battle of the birds.

All games are in the NSC Main Hall and are open to any spectators who wish to attend.

The Junior League will also be continuing this Thursday with coaching and games for players in school years seven and above. The league runs from 6-8.30pm in the NSC Main Hall and no pre-registration is required.