In a year where many would describe the Magic’s season as perfect, it was fitting that a flawless performance from Taner Adu was the final act as the Manchester Magic completed an outstanding season with victory in the EBL Playoff final. Adu converted 5 of his 5 shots from the field and made all 9 of his free throws on his way to 25 points and the MVP award, as the Magic finished the season in style by adding the Playoff title to their League and National Cup victories. This final matchup was expected to be the game of the season as the two finest teams in the division faced off and it certainly lived upto it billing as the Rockets showed great resistance in the face of the Magic juggernaut that ultimately proved to be too strong to overcome. The Magic led for the whole second half despite unrelenting pressure from the Rockets as they maintained their composure at the free throw line and knocked down 17 of their final 20 attempts.

The Rockets had a tremendous start as they raced out to an early 9 – 0 lead with guards Richard Wellings and Andy Harper both scoring early 3-pointers, forcing magic coach Jeff Jones to call for a time out less than 2 minutes into the game, but his players regrouped and soon registered on the scoreboard with an offensive rebound and a layup by forward Orlan Jackman. The Rockets maintained the lead throughout the first period and held a 19 – 25 advantage after a breakaway dunk from Danny Carter, but the Magic closed the gap to 5 points with a tip by Duncan Ogilvie at the end of quarter buzzer. Behind Taner’s wizardry, the Magic went on a 10 – 4 run to take their first lead of the game with 6:54 to play in the second quarter. The Magic guard was unstoppable as he buried a 3-pointer from the right wing followed by a layup off a Stefan Gill assist and completed the flurry by going coast to coast and finishing strong at the basket for a 3-point play. The teams then jostled for the lead for the remainder of the period as Rockets forwards Carter and David Watts kept their team close, scoring 17 of the Rockets 20 points in the quarter but there was still nothing to separate the two teams as they went into the half time interval with the scores tied at 47.

The Magic opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer from the left corner by Duncan Ogilvie which was soon followed by another by Magic guard Steven Gayle, but the Rockets fought back and a David Watts dunk cut the lead to 1 point. The Magic refused to relinquish the lead in this back and forth affair as former Sheffield Arrow’s forward Andre Rankine and Andrew Mackay both scored as part of a 9 – 2 Magic run to push the lead to 7 points. Mackay then made a huge play as he blocked a potential buzzer beater by Rockets guard Adam Kelly to ensure that the Magic entered the final quarter with a 71 – 64 lead.

The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with a 5 – 2 run to cut the lead to 4 points but a 3-pointer from Magic guard  Stefan Gill restored the 7 point advantage. Again the Rockets charged back and cut the gap to 3 points following a 3-point play by guard Daniel Mackay who was named England U18 player of the year this week, but the Rockets were dealt a blow with 6:51 to play when forward Danny Carter picked up his fourth foul. With Carter on the bench, the Magic reeled off 6 unanswered points to take an 82 – 73 lead on Tanner Adu’s 4th 3-pointer of the game. The Rockets made one final push as Andy Harper connected on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes to play, but the Magic knocked down 6 of their 8 free throws to complete a splendid victory in a fitting end to a sensational season.

A magical performance by Taner Adu enabled the Magic to overcome a gritty Reading Rockets team at EIS Sheffield to take the EBL Championship on Sunday by 94 - 82. In notching 25 points Taner did not miss a shot from the field or from the foul line to earn MVP honours.

The Championship crowned a season of unprecedented success for the Magic in taking 3 of the 4 trophies on offer - Championship, Cup Final and League.

Congratulations to Coach Jeff Jones, Assistant Coach/Manager Brian Dobson and all the boys.

A more detailed report on the game will follow.

After claiming their first Division One crown six days earlier some may have expected the Manchester Magic to take it easy against the 8th-seed visitors from Taunton. The home team wasted no time disproving that theory, as the new champs displayed no signs of relenting as they put the Tigers to the sword in their Playoff Quarter Final matchup.

Jamaal Hilliard led the Magic with 21 points and 9 rebounds as the home side torched the Tigers while shooting 70% from the field as their strength in depth once again shone through. The Magic are far and away the deepest team in the division and they seem focused on adding the Playoff crown to the Division One title and the National Cup which they retained earlier in the season.

The Magic lead was only 16 at the half, as Tigers forward Adam Rickwood scored 8 points in a 3-minute spell at the end of the second quarter to keep his side close, but the second was dominated by the home team. They closed the 3rd quarter with a 16-3 run, ending on a tip-in by Orlan Jackman (17 points) which beat the buzzer, and Jackman opened the 4th quarter with a steal and a breakaway slam. It was all-Magic from there on in, as Liam Johnson (8 points) and Tanner Adu (7 points) made solid 4th quarter contributions as the game turned into a rout.

Hilliard had arguably his best game of the season, as he scored 8 of his game-high 21 points in the 3rd quarter, using a variety of drives to the basket and mid range jumpers which Taunton were powerless to defend.

The Tigers only managed to score 5 points in the 4th quarter as they were forced into contested shots by the Magic and struggled to get many clear looks defence.

The Magic's playoff opponents will have a difficult job trying to contain a team stacked with players who can all score 20+ points on any given night. With all their offensive firepower, the Magic go into final weekend of the season as hot favourites, but will need to play well as the remaining three teams try to prevent them winning their third trophy of the season.

The Magic will face the Bristol Academy Flyers in their Playoff semi at the EIS Sheffield on Saturday 12th April at 4:00pm.

Juma Ngqobongwana

After a landslide victory on Saturday night against Coventry Crusaders, it was an early start for the Magic as they travelled to the home of Reading Rockets, for the League title decider. Having beaten Reading at home by 7 points earlier in the season, the Magic could afford to lose by 6 and still win the League Title, a trophy that neither side had won before.
For the first three quarters of the game, Reading held the upper hand, having opened up an eight-point lead in the first quarter they controlled the game and although at times during this period, Magic would close the gap, the Rockets would respond with points from Carter and Mackay to maintain their advantage.
At the start of the final quarter, the Rockets held a 10-point lead which they later extended to 14 points with five minutes remaining, and the title seemingly going to Reading. A trey from Patrick Dwyer revitalised the Magic, a pair of treys from Steven Gayle suddenly saw the Magic close in on their target as they reduced the deficit to seven points. Five more points from Gayle and Hilliard, and the Magic were now only trailing by four, 83-79. Reading’s American, Harper, came to life as the quarter neared the end, and his 5 unanswered points took the Rockets eight points clear. A trey from Hilliard put the Magic back into contention, but a long three from the Rockets’ Carter maintained their advantage with a minute remaining. Magic were still not going down without a fight, and a trey from the corner by their captain, Patrick Dwyer, again reduced the deficit to six. On the next Reading offence, the Magic stole the ball, and as they attacked the Rockets’ basket, Andre Rankine, who had had an outstanding game, was fouled.  He went to the line, where he scored one from two, reducing the deficit to four points. The Rockets went for a three in an effort to extended their lead to seven, and take the title, but this was missed, and the rebound went the way of the Magic.  The ball was fumbled and running loose, when Rankine dived to the floor to recover it, and in doing so, was fouled by Harper. Rankine again went to the line. This time he made no mistake, and his two from two reduced the Rockets’ lead to two points, leaving them no time get the score they needed,  and giving Magic their first EBL Division 1 title.
During the game the Magic were continually cheered on by a band of about twenty supporters, who out-shouted the Reading supporters for the whole game. This great support kept the Magic going when they were behind, and was much appreciated by the players.

Finally, a nice gesture by Reading Rockets supporters, who graciously donated bottles of champagne they had brought with them to celebrate Reading’s victory had they won the title, to the Magic team and supporters.

With a title-deciding game against Reading on Sunday, coach Jeff Jones was given the luxury of being able rest most of his starters, as his bench players took a starring role in the 52-point demolition of the Coventry Crusaders, who lie second from the bottom of the Division 1 standings. The Magic enjoyed their largest league win at home this season as they obliterated the Crusaders in a game which was over as a contest after the first quarter.

The Magic completed a clean sweep of home victories in the league winning all 9 of their games by an average of 32 points, and they have done so with solid outside shooting and a bench which is stacked with players who would start on most of the other teams in the league. The fact that those players have been willing to sacrifice their individual statistics for team success, has been one of the main reasons that the Magic have enjoyed such a tremendous record at home. The Magic reserves outscored their Coventry counterparts 68 points to 9, with up-and-coming point guard, Liam Johnson, coming off the bench to score a season high 9 points in 13 minutes of action.

The Crusaders took a 10 – 8 lead in the opening minutes on a Simon Payne layup, but that was the last lead they would have as the Magic reeled off 27 unanswered points, and took an insurmountable 35 – 12 lead early in the second period. Crusaders’ guard Ryan Luethy led all scorers with 23 points, while shooting 6 of 11 from downtown, and forward Wes Hall added 14 points, along with 7 rebounds. The Crusaders were without two of their most potent scorers in Ben Clarke and Keith Sudler, and they struggled to get open looks at the basket which resulted in the team making less than 30% of their attempts.

The Magic were in simply irresistible form as they swamped their opponents in the backcourt, forcing 22 turnovers, which they repeatedly turned into layups and uncontested jumpers. The Magic scored over 100 points for the 7th time in the league this season, reaching the century mark with a layup by Andre Rankine who poured in 13 points while playing a team high 22 minutes.  The home team also won the battle on the boards, as they snagged 45 rebounds to the visiting side’s 25, as 5 players grabbed 5 or more rebounds.
 
Another reason for the Magic’s sparkling home form has been the willingness of the whole squad to contribute when required and this was displayed once again as 9 players scored 8 or more points and 6 players registered 3 or more assists. The home team reserves scored 37 of the first 58 Manchester points with Stefan Gill opening the second quarter with a crowd pleasing 2 handed break away jam as part of his 12 points, he also snagged 5 steals and dished out 5 assists in his well established role as a spark plug off the bench.

Victory at Reading will ensure the Magic win the Division One title for the first time in team history, but the Magic will also be crowned champions if they lose to Reading, as long as the margin of defeat is 6 points or less.

Juma Ngqobongwana

The last time these two teams met, Bristol’s Ryan Williams scored 10 points in the final minute to send the game to overtime; it took him 28 minutes to reach the same total on Sunday.

The usually dependable Ryan Williams struggled for the Flyers and finished with 12 points, connecting on only 4 of 16 shots, as the Magic made him the focal point of their defence and put him under constant pressure every time he caught the ball. The last time these two teams met Williams exploded for 37 points in an overtime thriller which the Magic won 110 – 108 but he was unable to find his groove in this one.

The Magic maintained their composure throughout, and put on a brilliant performance to clinch their 11th league win in a row and put them in a great position to claim their first league title, with only two games remaining.

A 12 – 2 run by the home side at the end of the first half gave them a 16 point advantage which the Flyers never looked like closing.

The Magic were led by 23 points from Steve Gayle who converted 4 of his 5 shots from 3-point range before getting a well deserved rest in the fourth quarter.

Stefan Gill (10) and Orlan Jackman (16) combined for 26 points off the bench as the Magic dominated their opponents early on and put the game out of reach by the end of the third quarter.

The Flyers were outscored in every quarter as the Magic used their transition game to great effect by constantly running the floor which lead to several easy layups.

The 28-point win over the Flyers follows a 36-point away win over West Anglia Fury on Saturday, and marks the ninth time this season that the Magic have won a league game by 20 points or more.

Both teams shot the ball well from long range, combining to hit 19 of 40 attempts.

The Magic are now in pole position with two games to play and a four point advantage over second place Worthing Thunder. They can clinch the title if the Thunder beat the Reading Rockets next Saturday, and Magic have a home victory against the Coventry Crusaders on March 29th. 

Juma Ngqobongwana

The first game of a weekend’s double-header took the Magic to Kings Lynn to face the only team in the league without a win in 16 games.
Three-pointers from Dwyer, Ogilvie, Gayle and Gill in the first quarter gave the Magic the start that they were looking for, as they swept into a first quarter lead 26-13.
There was no respite for the Fury as the Magic maintained the pressure on the home side giving themselves a 21-point advantage at the halftime break.
It was no different in the second half, and with every Magic player finding the score sheet, and all MacKay’s 12 points coming from behind the arc, they ran out comfortable winners 95-59.

Brian Dobson

The Manchester Magic struggled to score in their game last week against Derby recording a season-low 55 points in a narrow victory, and they were noticeably glad to be back home as they routed their closest rivals on Saturday night to extend their winning streak in the League to 9 games.

The home team have not lost a league games since their defeat on the road to the Thunder on December 15th, and now have a two-point advantage over their nearest contenders, with a game in hand still to play. After last week’s performance, where they struggled to score, the Magic had no problem finding the basket against Worthing as they scored 51 points in the first half en route to a 26-point margin of victory.
Steve Gayle returned to the Magic starting lineup after missing two games and he had no trouble finding his rhythm as he got off to a hot start to the game, scoring 9 points in the first quarter as the Magic took an early 19-16 lead.
Worthing’s main offensive threat came from 6’9 forward Cleve Woodfork who used his inside presence to dominate the paint early on, and scored 8 first-quarter points but he received little help throughout the game, as the rest of the Thunder only made 18 of 51 shots from the field and struggled to get anything going offensively.

While the Thunder continued to miss shots, the Magic were red hot from downtown converting 8 of their 16 attempts, with Patrick Dwyer leading the way connecting on 4 of 7 three-pointers to add to his 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Stefan Gill once again provided an enormous spark off the bench with 14 points and 3 steals in the contest. His steal and baseline jumper at the end of the 3rd quarter gave the Magic a 17-point lead going into the final stanza and virtually put the game beyond Worthing. Tanner Adu also performed well scoring an efficient 10 points converting 4 of his 6 shots from the field.

As the game wore on the Thunder were noticeably tired and the Magic capitalised on the visitors’ fatigue, with centre Steve Boonham being the main beneficiary, scoring 8 of his 16 points in the 4th quarter with an array of close-range moves, including a fierce two-handed dunk off a nice feed from Gill, to put the Magic up 93-64 with 2 minutes to play.
The Magic have put themselves in a great position to win their first League title and will travel to West Anglia next week hoping to extend their lead at the top to 4 points and push their winning streak to double digits.

Juma Ngqobongwana

Manchester Magic went back to the top of EBL Division One after a low scoring 55-49 victory at Derby Trailblazers on Saturday.

The scoreline might suggest a dull game, but this was anything but, as both sides produced a tremendous defensively orientated match, with Derby being helped by the incredible atmosphere created by a larger than average Moorways crowd.

The Trailblazers got off to a great start with a deuce from Simon Allaway and a trey from Stedroy Baker giving them five unanswered points inside the first minute of the game. Blazers continued to build on this advantage, eventually stretching their lead to 13-0, before Manchester finally found the hoop through Jamaal Hilliard.

Four minutes and 47 seconds had elapsed before that score, but once off the mark, Magic closed the first quarter with a 7-3 run, which left them 16-12 in arrears.

The visitors also had the better of the exchanges early in the second period, starting with a 6-1 run, culminating in a put back from Patrick Dwyer, which gave them their first lead, at 18-17, with 6'46" on the clock.

However, it was Derby who held the upper hand going into half time, as Paul Bowen converted one from two at the free-throw line to give the Trailblazers a 26-25 lead.

Having been hampered through foul trouble in the first half, Rob Stockwell began to find his rhythm in the third, netting eight of his 10 points in the period. Stockwell was ably assisted by Simon Spencer, who scored Derby's other seven third quarter points.

By contrast, Magic shared the scoring around, but Duncan Ogilvie missed the chance to narrow the gap by missing a pair of free throws late on.

Blazers began the final quarter with a 6-2 run, which left them 47-40 ahead, but a Manchester time out sparked a 7-0 run to tie the game, forcing Derby to call a time out three and a half minutes from time.

A Stefan Gill three-pointer followed, after which Spencer was fouled, making two from two at the line. With 23 seconds remaining and Manchester 49-52 ahead, Hilliard converted a three point play to seal the victory.

Spencer led all scorers with 21 points for Derby, while Andre Rankine led Manchester for the first time with 11. Dwyer, Gill and Stockwell all finished with ten for their respective teams, while Derby's Ben Middleton and Magic's Ogilvie each pulled down 12 rebounds.

While Magic were without the suspended Stephen Gayle, Trailblazers had to do without leading scorer Joe Barber.

Coach Clarence Wiggins was philosophical about the loss: "The guys executed the game plan very well, in fact, almost to perfection. "We defended well, we took care of the basketball most of the time and we had good opportunities, even right at the end, but unfortunately we didn't execute well in the closing three minutes and that's why we lost the game. "We started really well and it took Manchester a long time to make the necessary adjustments to cope with what we were doing. "In Joe's absence, I thought [Simon] Spencer stepped up well. He knew what he had to do and Rob did well for us too, but we really need one more person to have stepped up offensively, but we didn't really get that, which made life difficult, particularly when you're facing as good a team as Manchester are.

"I thought Ben [Middleton] played really well too. He's a really solid basketball player. He does what the coach wants and he works his socks off for you. It's a shame he's not more of an offensive player, but he gives what he can, which is great defence. "At 47-40 ahead, I was really confident, but we had a bit of bad luck. Players you can normally rely on to score missed some shots and I think maybe it was down to exhaustion. We had a very short bench and they'd literally given me everything they could give and I couldn't ask for anything more. "What killed the game was when they had the out of bounds possession right at the end. Our strategy was to stop them getting it in bounds, but if they did, we had one person we were going to foul because we thought he wouldn't score from the line. "Unfortunately, that one player not only got the ball, but he scored and we fouled him! So it was a difficult situation, but we'll learn from it and try something different next time.

Andre Rankine poured in 20 points in 21 minutes of action off the bench as the Manchester Magic cruised to victory over the fourth place London Leopards on Sunday.

Both teams found their shooting stroke early as they combined for seven 3-pointers in the 1st quarter, the final one was converted by Rankine from the left corner and helped to give the home team a 23 - 19 advantage after 1 quarter.

The Magic started the second strongly and pushed the lead to 10 points on a driving dunk by Patrick Dwyer, who finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds. The Leopards responded by pounding the ball inside to their 7'0 centre Leigh Greenan who scored 10 points in the quarter, including a tip-in at the half time buzzer, to reduce the Magic lead to 1 point.

The 3rd quarter was similar to the first, as the two teams traded baskets early, with neither side able to open up a sizeable advantage. The visitors took their last lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Matt Earnes with just over 5 minutes to play in the 3rd, before Stefan Gill's 3-pointer from the right wing triggered what proved to be the decisive Magic run. The hosts went on a 21 - 6 run to finish the third quarter and took a 15 point lead into the 4th quarter which they never looked like relinquishing.

The hosts continued their dominance in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Leopards by 31 points to 16. Steve Boonham dominated the paint with 8 points in the quarter and finished the game with 12 points, 9 rebounds and a team high 3 blocks. Rankine converted a 3-point play to push the lead to 36 points before two late 3-pointers by the visitors completed the scoring.

The Magic were led by 21 points from Duncan Ogilvie, and Stefan Gill added 14 points and 4 steals in a reserve role as the home side continued on the pursuit of their first-ever league title.

The Leopards were led by their dynamic point guard Carl Latham Henry who finished with 24 points in the contest, scoring on an array of fearless drives to the basket and pull up jumpers.

The Leopards had played the Coventry Crusaders the night before and fatigue could have played a role in their 3rd quarter collapse as they struggled to keep up with the Magic's offensive assault.

The Magic have now extended their winning streak in the league to seven games, and sit second behind Worthing Thunder in the league table, but have played 2 fewer games than their rivals.

The top two sides will meet at the ABC on the 8th March in a game that will almost certainly decide the destination of the highly coveted league title.

The Magic's training was seriously disrupted in the week before this game as several players were laid low with the dreaded flu bug. However, although not fully recovered, they all made themselves available for this game. The opening plays went the way of the Arrows as they out scored the Magic in each of the first three quarters of the game.

At the start of the last quarter, the Magic trailed 58-48. Realising that their top spot was in jeopardy, the Magic upped their effort and reduced the deficit to six points in the opening minute of the quarter. From this point on, they did a demolition job on the Arrows team, first levelling the scores, before going on a 20 - 1 run in the closing minutes of the quarter, thus giving them a much needed win on the road.

Clarence Wiggins, the Derby coach, had previously claimed that the Magic "genuinely scared him," as they had so many weapons at their disposal, and it didn't take long for his fears to be realised.

A three-pointer from Simon Spencer opened Sunday's game, but Manchester took an 8-7 lead just two minutes later and Derby spent the rest of the game chasing an ever extending Magic advantage.

The hosts led 31-22 down after the first quarter, with Joe Barber's 11 points being matched by Manchester's Andrew MacKay off the back of a trio of three-pointers.

Stephen Gayle took over in the second period, adding 10 more to the seven he'd already scored, on his way to a game high 24 points and by half-time, the home side were 60-40 ahead.

It didn't matter how Derby tried to get themselves back into the game; Manchester had the personnel who could combat it and with 61 points being piled in by the Magic's bench players, there was to be no doubting the strength and depth of Jeff Jones' side.

Barber and Simon Spencer were the only two Blazers players who regularly found opportunities to score and Wiggins says his fears that Derby wouldn't match up well against the Magic, were quickly realised: "They're an excellent team. Apparently that was the best they've played for ages and as I suspected, they just have too many weapons and they do so many things very well. They shot 70% from the field and my guys didn't play badly but we just couldn't live with them.

"Every one of their players is capable of putting up a 20 point game and that makes them very difficult to play against. But on top of that, they're intimidating. They intimidated my guys and they were looking around to see who was going to do what to them. In short, they're frightening. They really are that good''.

Orlan Jackman scored 7 of his 11 points in the final quarter and Stefan Gill converted three 3-pointers in the second quarter to lead the Magic against the dogged Taunton Tigers.

The Magic shot 26% from behind the arc and committed 23 turnovers, but managed to escape with a victory against a plucky Taunton side who came into the game on the heels of a good victory against the Derby Trailblazers, but fell short in a game where both teams failed to look after the ball. The Tigers committed 33 turnovers which the Magic converted into 33 points, with Stefan Gill being the main recipient of the Tigers careless ball handling, adding 19 points to go along with 6 steals and 4 assists.

The Magic struggled to find their rhythm in the beginning, but still dominated early on, as they took a 19 - 7 lead following a layup by Tanner Adu midway through the 1st quarter. Gill provided a spark off the bench and connected on back-to-back 3-pointers during a 12 - 2 Magic run to push the home side's advantage to 16 points in the second quarter. The Magic lead was 19 points at half time, and was rarely in jeopardy afterwards, as they used a 13 - 6 run to open the third quarter and put the game out of Taunton's reach. Gill capped the run with a breakaway dunk which helped to ignite the crowd who had become increasingly frustrated by the poor ball retention from both sides.

The Tigers were a well balanced outfit, and they displayed that in the 3rd quarter as they had 7 different scorers, but were still held to just 12 points. Taunton were unable to score more than 14 points in any quarter as they struggled from the field, shooting 35% from the field and only 21% from downtown.

Despite leading throughout, the Magic refused to rest on their earlier success, and Orlan Jackman scored 7 points in the final quarter to cap a good performance. Jackman was a formidable presence in the paint as he pulled down 7 rebounds to add to his season-high 6 blocks.

Juma Ngqobongwana

The early exchanges of this game went the way of the Crusaders in the first quarter, but Magic soon settled down to peg back the home side before going on to end the quarter up 27-17.

A 12-4 run at the start of the second quarter put the Magic in the driving seat and, with scores from seven of their players, they controlled the game, taking a 15-point advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Three threes from Crusaders' Baynes-Clarke at the start at the start of the second half reduced the deficit to nine points, but every time they came close the Magic always managed to respond with points of their own.

The final quarter was much the same as the third, with Crusaders still fighting back and the Magic holding them at bay.

If Magic have any hopes of winning any further trophies this year, they are going to have to perform better than this.

Magic opened their account with a pair of 3'sfrom Duncan Ogilvie in the first two minutes of the quarter, before falling asleep and allowing the Flyers to go on a 15 to 4 run to give them a seven-point lead. At this point Coach Jones introduced Stefan Gill and Orland Jackman into the fray. The energy provided by these two had the desired effect, as it galvanised the team into action to end the quarter with a 22-21 advantage.

In the second quarter, the Magic were always two or three points ahead of the Flyers but a scoring flurry from the Flyers at the end of the quarter kept the Magic's lead down to three points at the interval.

After the restart, it was the Flyers who took control of the game when they took advantage of the Magic's lack-lustre performance. They closed the gap on the Magic and then opened up a five point gap to close out the third quarter.

The realisation that they were likely to lose this one, stirred the Magic into action as they went on an 11-4 run to regain the lead and by the 9th minute of the quarter, they held a comfortable 92-84 advantage. However, in the final minute of the quarter, Flyers Ryan Williams hit two three's and a two to tie up the game and send it into overtime.

The first score of overtime went to the Flyers, but twelve points from Steven Gayle in this period gave the Magic a 110-108 victory to keep them on track in the league.

The Magic defeated Worthing Thunder to retain the EBL National Cup with great all round attacking play which was highlighted by a dominant performance from game MVP Duncan Ogilvie who poured in 26 points and snagged 17 boards for the defending champs. The Thunder were unable to cope with the combination of Ogilvie's dexterity on the inside and the sweet-stroking Patrick Dwyer, who was a flame thrower from downtown, as he drilled four 3-pointers in the first half.

The Magic made their intentions clear from the outset as they took a 22-17 lead following Steve Gayle's layup in the 1st quarter. The Thunder called a timeout hoping to narrow the gap before the end of the quarter but Dwyer drained his third triple of the quarter, and a foul line jumper from Taner Adu gave the Magic a 27-19 advantage after one.

The Magic opened the second quarter with a jumper from Andrew Mackay but Worthing went on a 16-5 run to take a 35-34 lead. The Magic appeared nervous as they missed 7 of 10 free throws throughout the run and Coach Jeff Jones called a time out with 2:26 left in the quarter, hoping to rally his troops. The Magic clearly took their mentor's instructions on board as they stepped up their defensive intensity and forced the Thunder into careless turnovers which the Magic converted into buckets. First, Steve Boonham scored a layup, then Jamaal Hilliard, Stefan Gill and Duncan Ogilvie all converted layups in transition as the Magic turned a 1-point deficit into a 7-point lead. Another 3-pointer by Dwyer ensured the Magic went into the half-time interval with a 45-37 lead and the momentum firmly in their favour.

The Thunder needed a spark in the 3rd quarter and it was provided by their centre Cleve Woodfork who used his size and strength to get to the foul line early on, and threw down a ferocious 2 handed dunk in transition. But the Magic countered as Gerami sunk a jumper from the baseline, then Hilliard pulled down 1 of his 6 rebounds and converted a layup, before a tip by Ogilvie who was way above the rim pushed the Magic lead up to 11. Worthing called a timeout and once again regrouped as another crushing dunk by Woodfork closed the Magic lead to 6. Stefan Gill checked into the game for the Magic at the 5:21 mark and immediately made his impact felt with a steal and layup.

The Thunder were unable to stop the bleeding as the Magic attack was relentless. The lead remained in double digits and they managed to maintain their 3rd quarter effort as Gill drained a 3-pointer with a minute to play, further sinking the Thunder who went into the 4th trailing 78-62 and needing to play a flawless quarter to keep any hopes of victory alive.

Worthing opened up the 4th on an 8-2 run as they narrowed the gap to 10, but Ogilivie drained a step-back 3, to push the lead back up to 13. Over the next 5 minutes, the Thunder tried in vain to close the gap, but any run they started was thwarted by the Magic as Steve Gayle ghosted past the tired Worthing defenders for a layup following a steal, to give the Magic a 90-73 advantage. The Magic scored 7 of their 14 free throws down the stretch and Ogilvie capped his MVP performance with a two handed flush.

The Magic got contributions from throughout the team - Steve Gayle scored 11, Taner Adu had 9, and Stefan Gill added 8 to go with 6 assists and 6 steals. In the end, the Magic were worthy winners and brought the cup back to Manchester along with the prospect of an unprecedented 'Three-peat' next season!

Juma Ngqobongwana

The Manchester Magic welcomed Stefan Gill back from his 6 week spell in Denmark, and he wasted no time in showing the crowd at the Amaechi Basketball Centre what they had been missing. Gill poured in 19 points in 16 minutes of action as the Magic defeated the West Anglia Fury by 46 points.

The Magic showed no signs of rust following the Christmas break and appeared to have lost none of their defensive intensity, as they exploited the fact that the Fury did not have a point guard on the floor. The majority of the ball handling duties came down to US forward Charles Whitfield who was unable to cope with the pressure from the Magic guards, and committed 14 of his team's 43 turnovers.

The Magic started off hot from the outside, as Steve Gayle and Andrew Mackay connected on five 3-pointers in the opening quarter as the Magic took a 29 -22 lead.

The home team broke the game wide open at the start of the second quarter as they used a 19 - 0 run to sink the Fury's spirits and take a 48 - 22 lead, which they never looked like relinquishing. Gill used his speed and insane leaping ability to repeatedly get to the basket, and converted several tough layups in transition. He displayed great anticipation to get into the passing lanes and gathered in 8 of the Magic's 23 steals which led to numerous fast break opportunities, which he and Steve Gayle were able to convert.

There were a few positives for the Fury as Mike Commane showed a soft shooting stroke around the basket and scored a team high 15 points. Ebiogbe Osemwegie also had a good game, and finished the contest with a double double, as he scored 10 points, and hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Coach Jeff Jones was able to rest his starters in the final quarter, and his reserves played admirably and were able to maintain the lead that the starters had built. Liam Johnson scored a 3-pointer from the left wing in the final 30 seconds, to bring up the 100 point mark in a game that will serve as a great confidence boost before the Magic battle the Worthing Thunder, in what promises to be a thrilling National Cup Final.

This game brought together the only two undefeated teams in the Division 1 Men's League.

Straight from the tip, it was obvious that there was little difference between these two teams, as they traded points in the first quarter. However a 4-0 run in the last thirty seconds of the quarter gave the Thunder a three-point advantage to lead 25-22.

A three-pointer from Andrew Mackay in the first minute of the second quarter brought both teams level, but Thunder soon regained their advantage and took a 45-41 lead into the halftime break.

After the break, an 18-9 run by the Magic put them back in the driving seat as they overhauled the Thunder to close the third quarter with a 64-62 advantage.

They continued to hold this advantage until the fifth minute of the final quarter, when a last quarter flourish of four scores from behind the arc by Thunder's shooting guard, Mooney, rocked the Magic, as the Thunder opened up a ten-point advantage to lead 88-78. In the dying minutes of the quarter the Magic stayed close and managed to reduce the deficit to seven points at the final whistle.

This is a game the Magic will want to forget, as their abysmal shooting stats show that they shot 6 from 33 from behind the arc, and 30 from 80 shots for the whole game. This, along with their poor defensive display, meant that a game that they could have won went to one of their main rivals.

Brian Dobson

The Luna Mansfield Stars had beaten three Division One teams to reach the semi finals of the National Cup - the Manchester Magic made sure that they were not the fourth.

The Magic duo of Steve Gayle and Duncan Ogilvie combined for 52 points to lead the defending champion Magic to within one victory of repeating their National Cup glory.

The Stars were the first Division Three to ever reach the semi finals of the National Cup. However, this proved to be one game too many, as they were unable to cope with the speed of Gayle and the sheer athleticism of Ogilvie. The home team went on a 9 - 3 run in the first 2 minutes and opened up 18 - 7 lead on Orlan Jackman's soaring breakaway jam halfway through the 1st quarter, but Mansfield managed to narrow the lead to 10 by the end of the quarter, thanks to 7 points from U.S. forward Rob Stockwell.

The Stars competed well in the first half, but struggled to cope with the Magic's accuracy as they shot a blistering 70% from inside the arc, while also connecting on 7 shots from downtown. At the half the Magic led had swelled to 59 - 38 as they continued to punish their opponents' missed shots by counterattacking with gusto.

The 3rd quarter saw Stockwell again dominate the scoring for the visitors as he displayed a nice array of post moves to score 12 points, and eventually scored 23 in the contest. But the quarter belonged to Steve Gayle, as the home town guard repeatedly used his pace to get ghost past the Stars defenders for lay-up after lay-up. By the end of the 3rd quarter, the lead had ballooned to 28 points and Coach Jeff Jones was able to rest most of his starters for the final 10 minutes.

The Stars demonstrated tremendous hustle throughout the game and out rebounded their hosts 45 - 43, with 21 of those coming on the offensive end, but found the Magic in simply irresistible shooting form, as they also converted on just under 80% of their free throws. The Magic have enjoyed another splendid cup run, and are in a great position to retain the National Cup when they face Worthing Thunder in a repeat of last year's final.

Juma Ngqobongwana

The opening minutes saw the Magic in devastating form, as they opened with an 8-0 run before a score from behind the arc by Leopards' shooting guard, Laws, put them on the board. Leopards had no answer to the Magic as they poured on the agony from the charity stripe. A fourth minute time out called by the Leopards appeared to settle them down and they outscored the Magic 11-2 to level at 14's. However, a final flourish from the Magic meant they regained the initiative with 10-2 burst giving themselves an eight point buffer at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was evenly matched as both teams traded baskets, but with the Magic taking the quarter by two, they went into the break with a ten point advantage 51-41.

The start of the second half saw the Leopards quickly into their stride closing the gap to six points early on, but a trey and two two's from Dwyer rocked the Leopards as the Magic pressed home their advantage. However, a late rally from the Leopards gave them the quarter as they closed the deficit to 9 points. A point from the charity stripe for the Leopards reduced the deficit to 8 points, but points from Gayle and Dwyer, plus a trey from Andrew Mackay, (his fourth of the game having scored one in each of the previous three quarters) set the Magic back on track, giving them a fifteen point advantage. There was no holding the Magic now as they rolled over Leopards, leaving only themselves and Worthing Thunder with 100% records in the league.

It was a good team performance that saw six different players, Dwyer (20) Gayle (19) Jackman (14) Ogilvie (14) Mackay (12) and Adu (11) all in double figures as they moved to joint top spot with Worthing Thunder.

Brian Dobson

On Sunday, the Magic welcomed a youthful Northumbria team for their National Cup quarter-final clash. Following their tough matchup against the Reading Rockets less than 24 hours earlier, coach Jeff Jones chose to use this game as an opportunity to distribute playing time amongst his 10 man squad, with four of his bench players logging more than 20 minutes. The game was close early on as the visitors were led by good outside shooting from their point guard Joshua Oladimeji. His 3-pointer from the left wing brought the visitors to within 14 - 12. However, that was as close at they would get. A baseline jumper from Steven Gayle was the start of a 12 - 4 Magic run to finish the quarter, to give the home team a comfortable 29 - 14 advantage.

The second quarter saw the Magic reel off 21 unanswered points as Northumbria struggled to convert on the offensive end, while allowing the Magic to repeatedly get to the basket for easy layups on the inside. The Magic put on a solid defensive display and blocked 7 shots in total, with Adam Gerami leading the way with 3 rejections. At half time the Magic held a 50 - 19 lead and the game was effectively over as a contest.

Northumbria fared better in the second half, thanks to good 3-point shooting from Hanif Moncrieffe who connected on 4 of 5 on his shots from beyond the arc but the Magic were simply too strong. Orlan Jackman continued his spell of good form as he scored the Magic's final 10 points on a variety of drives and free throws as the home ran out comfortable 86 - 47 victors.

The semi-final opponents are Luna Mansfield Stars and the game will be on Saturday 8 December at 7:30pm at the Amaechi Basketball Centre.

Juma Ngqobongwana

On Saturday the Magic welcomed Reading Rockets to the Magic Kingdom for the first time since their EBL Trophy defeat on 20th October. The home team were anxious to avenge that loss earlier in the season. However, the Rockets showed no signs of nerves as they took an early 7 - 3 lead on a David Watts jumper from the elbow - the Reading forward was in sparkling form as he showed good form on his jump shot which resulted in 27 points in total. The home team used good 3-point shooting to keep the game close with Sean McKie coming off the bench to effortlessly stroke a couple of triples from the top of the circle. The Magic tied the scores late in the first but the Rockets went on a 6 - 0 run to finish the quarter to take a 26 - 20 lead.

Reading utilised David Watts early in the second quarter and the 6'9 forward didn't disappoint as he connected on turnaround jumpers on consecutive possessions as the Magic defenders struggled to cope with his shooting range. The home team found it difficult to get into a rhythm offensively and soon found themselves trailing 42 - 33 with 5 minutes to play in the half. They continued to be aggressive as Orlan Jackman manoeuvred his way into the paint for a twisting layup, and Steve Gayle knocked down 5 free throws to complete the scoring. However, another jumper from Watts and a three point play from Danny Carter meant that the visitors went into the halftime break with a 51 - 46 advantage.

The Magic began the 3rd quarter with a renewed sense of purpose and levelled the game at 59 with a layup from Steve Boonham at the 5:58 mark. The Rockets regrouped and went on a 16 - 9 run as they repeatedly manage to evade the home defenders to get close range looks at the basket. Another long-range bomb from Sean McKie and a Duncan Ogilvie free throw set up a tense 4th quarter, with the Magic still trailing 75 - 68.

The Magic began the 4th with swarming defensive pressure which led to missed shots by the Rockets who were unable to contain Steve Boonham who recovered from early foul trouble to dominate the 4th quarter. The Magic centre scored 20 points in the game - 14 of which came in the 4th quarter and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Reading simply had no answer for the Manchester centre as he muscled his way inside and managed to convert ,despite the Rockets best defensive efforts. Steve Gayle streaked away for a layup following a steal to give the Magic a 78 - 77 advantage and their first lead since the first quarter. The Magic then looked to pull away as Boonham converted a baby hook and a three-point play to increase their advantage. But Reading continued to show their resilience and they closed to within 2 points on a baseline jumper by Carter - who led all scorers with 29 points in the contest. But that was as close as the Rockets would get, as Jackman soared for an emphatic dunk with 3:30 to play to increase the lead to 4 points and sink Reading's spirits. Reading were without a field goal for the last 2:30 and the Magic were able to turn missed shots into fast break points the last of which came on Tanner Adu's coast to coast layup, as the Magic gained a well deserved victory.

Juma Ngqobongwana

By Juma Ngqobongwana

On Sunday the Magic welcomed Leeds Carnegie for the 3rd round of their National Cup defence. The travelling Leeds fans were very vocal early on as they attempted to spur their team on to pull off an upset. The players fed off the crowd's energy early on as they raced out to an 8 - 2 lead. The Magic remained close, showing good form from the foul line as they hit 4 straight and connected on their first 8 attempts from the stripe. Leeds remained ahead thanks to a 3-pointer by Akin Fagbohun but the Magic went on an 11 - 3 run in the final 4 minutes, capped by a driving layup from Steve Gayle to give them a 21 - 16 lead at the end of the first period.

The home team carried their momentum into the second quarter as they opened up with a 10 - 3 run to push their lead to 12 on a pretty turnaround jumper from Orlan Jackman. Andrew Mackay then hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and Gayle streaked away for another layup, as the Magic appeared to be cruising to victory. However, Fagbohun had other ideas as he helped his side to put a run together. The Leeds forward converted two tough layups and drained his second 3-pointer of the game to pull his side to within 7 as halftime loomed. But the Magic swung the around and found Mackay in the corner who calmly drained a 3-ball right in front of the home bench as the halftime buzzer sounded to send the Magic into the locker room leading 44 - 34.

The visitors were not discouraged as they opened the third with another rally as their shots again started to drop. Ben Lesinki provided a spark off the bench as he nailed two 3-pointers as part of a 12 - 4 Carnegie run and closed the gap to 2 points. But the run appeared to tire the Leeds players out as they began to turn the ball over and that allowed the Magic to get easy buckets in transition. The main beneficiary was Duncan Ogilvie, who treated the spectators to a slam dunk showcase as he scored on 4 consecutive possessions with a variety of dunks including a break away jam that Zoltan Supola did his best to avoid! No other Magic player scored a field goal for the remainder of the quarter, but they continued to convert from the charity stripe and by the end of the period the Magic had used a 22 - 5 run to open up a 19-point lead with one quarter left to play.

The fourth quarter started with the Magic still on the offensive and went on a 7 - 2 run punctuated by another putback jam from Ogilvie, to increase the lead to 24 points. Leeds continued to exhibit their never say die attitude and led by Supola they went on one final run. He used his speed and smooth handle to get to the basket and had two 3-point plays on back-to-back possessions as the visitors tried to reduce the deficit. With the clock winding down Leeds were forced to foul to prolong the game and this tactic had limited success as the Magic missed 9 of their last 17 free throws. However the Leeds comeback fell short and they were beaten by a final score of 91 - 77. Duncan Ogilvie top scored with 28 points along with 8 boards and 4 steals. Steve Gayle also performed well with 8 assists to go with his 16 points. The Magic will hope to use their two victories this weekend as a springboard towards their next home game against Reading, on November 24th, as they look to avenge the Trophy loss they suffered last month.

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By Juma Ngqobongwana On Saturday, the Magic lined up against a Sheffield Arrows team who have a history of making life difficult for the home team. The Magic therefore made a conscious effort to jump on their opponents early, and they opened the game with a 3-point barrage from forward Patrick Dwyer. The 6'7" US forward came out with all guns blazing as he stroked 3 triples in the first few minutes and boosted the Magic to an 11 - 5 lead. Sheffield struggled to score in the beginning as they only managed two field goals in the first 5 minutes. They eventually found their offensive rhythm as guard Andre Rankine scored on back to back drives to the basket. The two teams then traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter as the Magic displayed good ball movement which led to easy layups for Steve Boonham and Orlan Jackman. Steve Gayle closed out the quarter with a nice finish off the window after a crossover, to give the Magic a deserved 23 - 15 advantage.

The Magic opened the second quarter with another Jackman layup off a Sean Mckie lob, which started a 10 - 5 run. Jackman continued to use his athletic frame to get to the basket for an acrobatic layup and to haul down several rebounds. Both teams refused to settle for perimeter shots and attacked the hoop with gusto as Taner Adu went coast to coast for a nice finish at the rim. Sheffield also began to get production from their main interior presence in Dustin Brennan. The Arrows struggled with their outside shots in the first half, connecting on only 1 of their first 10 attempts from beyond the arc and Taner connected on a reverse lay in to give the home team a 48 - 32 halftime advantage.

The third quarter was the break out quarter for the Magic, as they opened up with a 12 - 0 run to blow the game wide open and crush Sheffield spirits. Sheffield had only brought 8 players and they struggled to keep up with the Magic as they raced up and down the floor and were able to get easy points in transition. Another 3-pointer by Dwyer from the left corner gave Manchester a 31 point lead with just over 4 minutes to play, and effectively ended the game as a contest. The Arrows were down, but continued to show their fighting spirit and closed the quarter on a long triple from Rankine but found themselves facing a 26 point deficit going into the final stanza.

The Arrows shooting woes continued in the 4th as they managed only 3 points in the early stages while the Magic scored 13 points mainly on layups. Sheffield went on a late 12 - 2 run as Rankine continued to attack the basket, but they suffered from their lack of depth on the bench and their 33% shooting from the field. Dustin Brevard finished as top scorer for the visitors with 23 points and 10 boards, but Sheffield did not have the firepower to keep up with the Magic who also crashed the boards magnificently and had a 55 - 36 rebounding advantage. The home team ran out comfortable 91 - 63 victors and look very impressive as they prepared to welcome Leeds Carnegie in their National Cup fixture on Sunday.

Top Scorers

With seven scores from behind the arc in the opening quarter, the Magic were soon in control of the game, and, with 12 points from Steven Gayle and 10 points from Patrick Dwyer, they ended the first quarter with an 18 point advantage, 35-17.

A 10-3 run by the Tigers in the opening minutes of the second quarter, reduced the deficit to 11 points, as the Magic struggled to find the hoop, but a rally late in the quarter by the Magic, extended their advantage to 20 points, as they went into the locker room leading 52-32.

At the start of the third quarter, the Magic were quickly into their stride with a 12-2 run that extended their lead to thirty points, which they maintained for the rest of the quarter.

This comfortable cushion now meant that the Magic were able to run their whole bench in the fourth, giving valuable experience to their younger players, as they finished the game strongly to win 86-54.

Another busy weekend for the Magic on 10/11 November with a Home League game against Sheffield on Saturday at 7:30pm, and another Home game on Sunday at 5pm, against Leeds Carnegie in the Cup.

Top Scorers:

The Magic welcomed the Coventry Crusaders for their EBL trophy fixture. The home side opened the game with a 9 - 2 run capped by Duncan Ogilvie's transition dunk and maintained their lead throughout. They benefited from a wholehearted display by their reserves, who outscored their Coventry counterparts by 31 points to 3. The majority of Coventry's offence was provided by the triumvirate of Rob Clarke, Ryan Luethy and Keith Sudler who scored all but 3 of the visitors 73 points. An 8 - 0 run to end the 1st quarter gave the Magic a deserved 26 - 15 lead.

The second quarter was a more even encounter as the visitors outscored the Magic 19 - 18 as a result of the smooth jump shooting display from their point guard Luethy. He nailed a 3-pointer just before the half time buzzer to narrow the deficit to 10 points at the interval.

The 3rd quarter saw the Crusaders continue to work away at the lead and they again managed to outscore their hosts, who struggled to convert at the offensive end. Coventry closed to within 2 points on a Sudler 3-pointer but the Magic kept their composure and Orlan Jackman connected from beyond the arc to ensure they took a 5-point advantage into the final quarter.

Jackman opened the final quarter with 2 dunks in as many minutes either side of a long-range effort from Steve Gayle to push the Magic advantage to 10 points. The Magic also received important 4th quarter contributions from Steve Hastings and Patrick Dwyer, who hit a short jumper off the glass to extend the lead to 78 - 63 and effectively ended the Crusaders hopes of victory. The Magic once again produced a sterling team performance with 5 players scoring in double figures Steven Gayle snagged 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists and Orlan Jackman starred in his role off the bench, gathering 8 rebounds to go with his 12 points.

This victory puts the Magic in second place in their National Trophy pool, and means that they will play the winner of Pool 2 away from home in the SEmi-Final. Magic will hope to continue their winning ways when they visit Taunton for their first League fixture on Saturday 3rd November.

After a close loss to Reading on Saturday it was back to winning ways for the Magic as they beat the Sefton Stars in the 2nd round of the National Cup. The home team could have been subdued after their loss less than 24 hours earlier, but they showed no signs of self-pity as they set about dismantling their opponents. Duncan Ogilvie found his rhythm early with a dunk and 2 free throws, as the Magic went on a 13 - 4 run to open the game. A glaring statistic from the last game was that the Magic only attempted 9 free throws but they had no such problem here at they made 5 of their 6 attempts in the 1st and took 39 foul shots in the ball game. They ended the quarter on a 12 - 4 run which gave them a comfortable 23 - 11 lead.

The Home team opened the second with an 8 - 0 run to push the lead to 20 and the Stars found themselves searching for inspiration. This was provided by their shooting guard Jan-Michael Nation who nailed two 3-pointers as part of an 11 - 0 run as the Stars brought themselves back into contention. But the Magic cranked up their defensive pressure and managed to concede only 2 points over the final 5 minutes of the quarter. At the other end, the home team continued to get to the free throw line as Sefton were unable to keep up with their decisive movement and committed several fouls. Ogilvie continued his tough play with a hanging layup whilst being fouled and the Magic took a 41 - 24 lead into the half time break.

The Magic came out looking to put the game away in the 3rd as their top scorers Gayle and Ogilvie both converted early on but Jan-Michael Nation continued to show his quality. He scored two fast break layups 5 seconds apart and completed a 13 - 3 Stars run with a sensational twisting drive to the hoop. That was the spark that the Magic needed to raise their level of play as Orlan Jackman drove down the lane and landed a thunderous two handed jam over Sefton centre Dielundama Makuzulu who was called for his 5th and final foul. The Magic continued to push the tempo further and enjoyed several easy scores thanks to their swarming defence which forced their opponents into 32 turnovers. Ogilvie capped his stellar performance with another dunk and a 3-pointer by Gayle at the buzzer gave the home team a comfortable 25-point lead.

Despite their advantage, the Magic maintained their focus in the 4th quarter and managed to hold the Stars to only 7 points. They started out with an early 14 - 4 run which was capped by Liam Johnson's 3-pointer from the right corner. The final outcome was a 40-point triumph for the home team, who were deserving winners and will go into next Saturday's game against Coventry brimming with confidence

Magic willl meet Leeds Met Carnegie in the 3rd round of the Cup at home on Sunday 11 November at 5pm.

Top Scorers:

A combination of poor free throw shooting and an unusually high number of turnovers led to the Magic's first loss of the season. It was a game which both teams started brightly with the visiting Rockets getting to the basket with ease and scoring their first 12 points on a combination of layups and points in the paint. The Magic were led by the free scoring Steven Gayle who came out firing from all angles and had 12 points in the first 6 minutes of the game. A deep 3-pointer and a layup by Andrew Mackay to close out the quarter gave the Magic a 5 point cushion at the end of the 1st.

The start of the 2nd quarter was 'the Stefan Gill show' as the 5'7 guard used his speed and incredible leaping ability to score in a variety of ways as the Magic pushed their advantage to 9. Richard Wellings kept the Rockets close with a baseline jumper and two long range efforts in the quarter however the Magic appeared to be in control as they continued to run the floor with gusto which led to a fast break dunk for Patrick Dwyer and a two handed follow slam from Duncan Ogilvie which ignited the home crowd. As the half time interval loomed, US forward Clint Deas began to make his presence felt on the offensive glass and used his size and strength to convert inside. This seemed to lift the visitors going into break as they went into the locker room down 11, having trailed by 17 points at one stage. Stefan Gill was on fire for the Magic shooting a perfect 5 for 5 from the field including 2 buckets from beyond the arc.

The 3rd quarter was a back and forth affair with both teams anxious to take the initiative as they attacked the rim and managed to convert despite swarming defensive pressure. It seemed as if every question the Magic put to their opponents was answered with a bucket as Wellings and Steve Vear both connected from long distance for the Rockets. Reading closed the quarter on an 8 - 0 run and would have been closer had Danny Carter not missed a pair at the foul line. The Magic lead had been whittled down to 5 points with all to play for in the final period.

The 4th quarter started badly for the home side as the Rockets went on a 10 - 4 run which was punctuated by a ferocious tip dunk from Clint Deas who corralled 10 offensive boards in the contest. Reading took an 80 - 77 lead with 5:30 to play but the Magic drew level immediately on a base line 3 from the unassuming but highly effective Patrick Dwyer who quietly put up an inspiring 19 points and 7 boards. However Reading went on an 8 - 0 run over the next minute with Vear showing his quality from the free throw line as he calmly converted 5 of his 6 attempts in the period. The Magic fought to get back into the game but will look at their poor ball retention and missed foul shots as the main reasons for their defeat. The final score line was 97 - 90 to the Rockets who remain unbeaten this season. The Magic hope to bounce back against Sefton in the Cup on Sunday evening.

Top Scorers:

The start of the game against Division 1 new boys, Derby Trailblazers, saw the Magic quickly into their stride as they went on a 10 - 0 run. They closed out the quarter with a comfortable 28-8 advantage. Against a team that had not yet included any overseas players, the Magic carried their advantage forward to the interval with a 44 - 20 lead.

It was the Trailblazers who staged a mini fight back in the third quarter, as they outscored the Magic whose offence was misfiring badly. Entering the final quarter, Magic re-found their shooting touch to improve the offence, but lapses in concentration on the defensive end by the Magic, let the Trailblazers keep the score closer than it should have been.

It will need a better performance next Saturday when we take on the Reading Rockets in the next National Trophy pool game, if we are to win the group.

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The Manchester Magic played their final pre-season contest against the latest team to join the BBL. The Tigers boasted a strong lineup featuring BBL veteran Delme Herriman and high profile signings Chris Haslam & American Calvin Davis. The Magic came out showing no signs of fear and their strong 1st quarter was punctuated by Adam Gerami's slam-dunk following a missed layup. They closed the quarter on a basket by the free-scoring Steven Gayle and took a 17 - 10 lead into the 2nd quarter.

The Magic went into the 2nd quarter with a 7-point lead and came out with the intention of extending their advantage. They opened the quarter with a pair of free throws from Gayle and proceeded to get good looks at the basket with Gerami & new addition Orlan Jackman both scoring from close range. However the Tigers refused to allow the Magic to pull away and they stayed close with three 3-pointers early in the period. The Magic hit back with a triple of their own through new US signing Patrick Dwyer. Steve Boonham then started to find his comfort zone and scored with a short jumper and a baby hook shot inside. The Tigers countered through US guard Tony Robertson as he scored a 3-pointer, a leaning jump shot, 2 free throws and he finished the quarter with a driving layup. Spare a thought for Everton centre Mohammed Woni, who despite converting two dunks in the quarter also managed to get called for 3 travelling violations in as many minutes. The Magic went into the break leading by 5 with the score at 40 - 35.

The Tigers came out after the intermission determined to close the gap and they tied the score at 44 following a Calvin Davis free throw. Davis along with centre Haslam scored all but 3 of the Tigers points in the quarter, with Haslam putting his 6'10" frame to good use scoring 10 in the period. The Magic used good ball movement to distribute the scoring load and swarmed Everton with excellent defensive pressure. This led to fast break situations and layups for Stefan Gill & Orlan Jackman. The Magic ended the quarter on a deep 3-pointer from Steven Gayle, which splashed through the hoop just before the 3rd quarter buzzer sounded. The lead was now 7 points and the Magic sensed victory.

The 4th quarter started with the home team displaying both determination and flair as an acrobatic finish by Jackman followed by a breakaway dunk from Steven Gayle swelled the lead to 11. But once again the Tigers refused to be beaten and a Robertson 3-pointer followed by a dunk from Davis cut the Magic lead to 6 points. Another pair of free throws from Gayle pushed the Magic lead to 9 and they seemed well poised for victory. However a Haslam slam sandwiched between two more Everton 3-pointers left the Magic with a 1-point lead with just over a minute remaining. A Manchester turnover with 55 seconds left, led to the unthinkable as Robertson drove down the lane and found John Simpson in the right corner. He calmly drained his second 3-pointer of the game to give Everton their first lead since the middle of the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately the Magic could not convert at the other end and a layup by Davis with 10 seconds left completed the scoring for Everton as the Tigers left the ABC with a 77 - 71 victory.

The Magic can take heart from a spirited performance against an Everton team which is expected to challenge for the BBL title in their very first season. This summer has seen Jeff Jones make some talented additions to a Magic squad which was highly successful last year. They will hope to exhibit the same high level of play when they face Bristol in their season opener on Saturday 6 October at the Amaechi Basketball Centre at 7:30pm.

Although there may yet be additions, the roster going into the season looks strong enough to be a force this coming season.

Our second foreign import has finally been cleared, and will enter the UK on Thursday 27 September to join the Magic and get ready for the season. Jamaal Hilliard is an off-guard who can also play the point.

More news to follow on the roster for the season. Coach Jones is optimistic that his squad can get amongst the trophies again this season.

The BBL comes to ABC on Saturday 29 September with the visit of Everton Tigers to play a pre-season friendly. Hopes are high of a good result after Sunday's visit to another BBL Club in Worcester and an excellent performance to give the Magic a 79-70 victory.

A large crowd is expected at ABC for a 7:30 tip-off, with entry at the door reduced to £2 for this friendly encounter.

Currently committed to the Club:

For our suppporters - more news to follow.

After considering his other career options, Steve Hastings has decided that the coming season with the Magic is too good to miss.

He has committed to us and arrives early September to get ready for the battle ahead. We welcome his toughness with open arms and