Pumas continued their winning start to the season with a closely contested game against the Beacon Tigerz. Panthers started the game brightly with their zone defence proving hard to break down. Pumas ball movement saw Michael Cattanach and Glen Honeyman drive into the gaps in Beacons defence. Beacon slowly chipped away and got their game going, scoring shot after shot. Pumas offence slipped but a deep three from Glen seemed to revitalise them.
In the second quarter, Pumas kept their offence alive with a reverse layup from Mark Brodie straight away. Pumas slowed down on both ends. Sloppy offensive play, along with Pumas not converting fast breaks, saw Beacon level the game up. Beacon were dominant on rebounds which really changed the game in their favour. A deep buzzer beating three from Beacon saw them go into half time up 36-31.
After the break, Pumas returned to their usual selves with excellent ball movement, lethal fast break offence led by Calvin, and very organised defensively. For the first time in the game, it was Pumas who controlled the rebounds thanks to Teejay and this put Beacon on the back foot. The pick and roll of Pumas guards and Teejay saw Pumas up by 3 going into the last quarter with it still all to play for.
Beacon’s ball movement and mid range shooting saw them chip away in an attempt to get back into the game. Despite Beacon really putting the pressure on cool heads on court, along with individual moves from Glen and Michael saw Pumas remain in control of the game. Beacon opted to foul and send Pumas to the line. Under pressure, Michael stretched the Pumas lead to a lead Beacon could not catch up with.
FINAL SCORE PUMAS 65-58 BEACON TIGERZ
Pumas Top Scorers:
Glen Honeyman – 22
Michael Cattanach – 16
Calvin Dunbar – 11
