Jets claim victory in January Cup
The January Cup reached it’s conclusion as the NSC played host to a repeat of last year’s final with OG Marvels facing off against Forget Me Not Jets for the title. The early game belonged to Marvels as Corey Pinder and Fred Atherton hit two quick breaks in the opening minute. Paul Kilic opened the scoring for Jets from outside the arc, but Marvels kept the initiative as Kai Kirkham found a route to the basket and Ollie Smith sank two outside 3s. Momentum stayed with Marvels for much of the first half but adjustments by Jets allowed them to break down the 3-2 defence with backdoor cuts and quick handoffs. A quartet of fast breaks in the final two minutes gave Jets their first lead, 28-25, as scoring was shared between Tom Dalton-Brown, Wayne Mears and Revi Del Rosario.
The game was closely fought at the start of the second half, Jack Glover hitting a quick break for Jets only to be followed by a mid-range and swish outside shot from Marvels Kyle Mills. Jets slowly started to pull away though, aided by Dalton-Brown on the outside, and with each passing minute their momentum built. Marvels struggled to finish as Jets pulled further away and pressure from the defence led to more opportunities for Glover, Del Rosario and Dalton-Brown. Late 3s from Ben Campbell and Nik Cain did little to change the Marvels fate and with the final buzzer it was Jets who came out on top, 62-42, securing the first Silverware of the 2023/24 Season.
The remaining teams in the Cup faced off for placements based on positions in their respective groups. Vying for third and fourth, Cavaliers and Wolves faced off in a quick back and forth. Viktor Capkanovski’s shooting prowess was on full display as he powered Wolves ahead early on, hitting six 3-pointers throughout. Cavaliers built some momentum in the second half but Wolves stayed comfortably ahead to the end, claiming 3rd place 49-41 and bumping Cavaliers to 4th. Meanwhile Turkeys claimed 5th against a spirited SOS Cannons, 82-62, and Ravens ended in 7th with a 56-47 win over Hoops.
