Men's Basketball rout Stourport Spartans 84-66 after 581 day hiatus from league basketball.
Led by Bernardo Pinto's 20 points and Luke Gregory's 18-points, Coventry Flames Men's Basketball opened their 2021/22 NBL Division 3 Midlands season with an 18-point win over Stourport Spartans.
After a back-and-forth first half that saw the team down 43-39 at halftime, the Flames used a 22-13 third quarter to blow the game open and maintained the momentum going into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans 23-11 in the final frame.
Khalil Robinson and Ahmeed Yusoof added 10 points each to round off the balanced offensive effort from the Flames.
Flames Head Coach, Rob Eddon, remarked of the match-up, "It was great to get back on court after 18 months of restricted existence. As expected, both teams were a bit rusty at the start after so long off, but, thankfully, the experience and athleticism of [our] players shined through and we were able to come away with the win."
Agreeing with Eddon, Flames assistant coach, Luis Romero added, "It was noticeable from the first two quarters that there was some dust that needed to be shaken off. However, the team continued to fight and find ways to keep the scoreline close. [We] started the second half with much greater energy, hunger and purpose and it was evident in our defensive efforts as we were able to force turnovers which led to easy points for us."
Spartans captain, S. Coles paced the team in scoring, pouring in 18 points, including 4 3-point shots.
Eden Square MVP: Luke Gregory was voted match MVP with a dominant stat-line of 18 points and 14 rebounds, to go along with 4 assists marking his first double-double of the season.
UP NEXT: Coventry Flames (1-0) will host Worcester Wolves on Saturday, October 9 at Coventry University Sports Center in its home opener tipping at 18:00.