There was a nail-biting finish to the regular Isle of Man basketball season on Thursday evening as teams gave a final push for rankings before the start of the play-offs.

First to tip-off were Wolves and Microgaming Cavaliers, the winner taking second spot in the league table while the loser would slip to third.

Cavs secured the jump ball and were first to get on the board as Lez Winnicki dished the drive to Dave Minay who picked up two easy points.

Wolves were swift to return on the inbound and shifted Cavs’ defence with movement round the outside leading to a cross-court pass from Corey Pinder that opened a chance for Ross Wilson to hit the mid-range pull-up.

Scoring was low from both sides throughout the first quarter, defensive efforts coupled with unforgiving rings keeping baskets to a minimum. Each side played a distinct style, Cavaliers opting for a slower set offensive style coupled with a 3-2 zone defence while Wolves played a game of quick pushes and ball movement with man-to-man defence.

Neither had a decisive edge in the first and at the end of the quarter the game was finely balanced, 12-13 to Cavaliers.

Wolves opened the second period with two quick baskets from Wilson, one coast-to-coast and the other a hand-off from Harry Brindle which forced a timeout from Cavaliers as they started to trail.

The latter side found a slight edge in the rest of the quarter, Mike Lewis and Phil Evans delivering on offence as Wolves’ shots failed to drop. Despite this, it remained tight through the quarter until a shot in the dying seconds from outside the arc by Sergio Arboleya which pushed Cavs into a seven-point lead, 18-25 at the midpoint.

The second half saw Wolves start to break through as solid man defence coupled with quick pushes led to a string of baskets from Brindle and Wilson which again had the team’s neck-and-neck.

The pace and ball movement continued to pay off with the breakthrough coming in the fourth, started by Oscar Lace with a swish three-pointer from the corner that was followed by two more from outside the arc by Brindle.

A final break late in the fourth by Michael Pardoe pushed Wolves into a six-point lead and, with less than 30 seconds on the clock, sealed the win 48-42 for Wolves.

There was another closely-fought contest between Ravens and Eagles as both teams took flight with fast-break basketball and energetic defence.

Eagles were on form from the beginning as Jack Elliot and Brayden Roche gave them a four-point lead in the opening minute while Ben Smith worked on the inside to pickup points and fouls.

The leads rarely lasted for more than a few seconds with Ravens running the transition to devastating effect with Ronan Thompson, Conylt Dillon and Mike Provatakis keeping them in contention. As the first half ended there was little between the teams, but Eagles remained ahead 33-28.

George Dalton-Brown gave Eagles some breathing room at the start of the second half, a nice mid-range shot coupled with a sweet three-pointer extending his side’s lead to 10 points.

Ravens weren’t disheartened though and again relied on an aggressive pace to obliterate Eagles’ lead over the course of three punishing minutes, capped off with a deep three-pointer from Vannin Coulter that drew the two teams level for the first time since the opening minutes.

It was basket for basket as the third quarter drew to a close but again Ravens’ quick pace paid off, pushing the ball down the court and into the hands of Coulter who launched a deep shot that swished on the buzzer to put his team into the lead, 53-54, and send the Ravens bench wild.

Coulter again hit a three for Ravens as the fourth quarter opened but it was Eagles who dominated the first few minutes, with Roche, Dalton-Brown and Smith all dropping points and the latter also cleaning up on defence with plenty of boards.

Ravens were soon under pressure and the lead flipped in Eagles’ favour but again only briefly. The teams again traded baskets, the scores staying level all the way to the dying seconds. A late steal saw Eagles gain possession and Dalton-Brown hit the jump shot to put them ahead.

Ravens again pushed the quick transition and with 10 seconds on the clock sought the chance to draw level. The fairytale ending wasn’t to be as the defence held and Ravens’ final shot fell short, Eagles taking the win 70-68 in one of the closest games of the season.

The final match of the evening saw PwC Hoops take on Forget Me Not Jets, with the latter looking to seal an unbeaten record for the regular season.

Hoops found plenty of opportunities in their offence with Stephen Mulhern and Oksana Federovych hitting some nice shots, but the NSC rings proved frustrating as several solid shots refused to drop.

Jets were shaky at first, but their offence settled and they made solid use of Danny Harrison and Peter Boussougou on the inside. At the final buzzer it was Jets with the win, 82-36.

play-offs

The stage is now set for the first round of the 2021-22 play-offs with the NSC arena court playing host to a trio of games this Thursday evening. As league leaders, Forget Me Not Jets get a bye while the remaining six teams compete to progress in the championship tournament.

The first match of the night sees Turkeys face Eagles at 6pm, Ravens then take on Microgaming Cavaliers at 7.20pm while the final game of the evening will pitch PwC Hoops against Wolves at 8.30pm.

All the play-off games are open to spectators with seating available in the hall for those who wish to attend.

As fixtures are now into the play-offs, there will be no Junior League on Thursday but sessions are still available every Saturday morning at the NSC from 9-11am.

League Table:

Played Won Lost

Jets 12 12 0

Wolves 12 9 3

Cavs 12 8 4

Turkeys 12 7 5

Eagles 12 4 8

Ravens 12 2 10

PwC Hoops 12 0 12