Saturday saw undefeated and last season’s pool winners, Crawley Storm, return to Ravelin. While Storm started strongly, Force managed to keep within touching distance of the young top-of-the-table team. Eventually, during the 2nd quarter, Force pulled out a 10-point lead. However, the resilient Storm fought back, narrowing the lead to only 5 points by halftime and further reducing Force’s lead to 3 points by the end of the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter became a back-and-forth battle, with Force and Storm trading the lead multiple times. In the final moments, the experience of Ghaith Derzi, Harry Bates, and Jonny “Ice in his veins” Phillipson proved decisive. Finishing strong from the foul line, they secured an 87-80 victory for Force.

In another thrilling game, Portsmouth Force ground out a 2-point win in what turned into a “game of timeouts.” After falling behind early in the 1st quarter, Coach Daniel called a timeout that shifted the game’s momentum, helping Force draw level and forcing Oxford to call a timeout in response. The first half continued with shots exchanged on both sides, though Oxford’s attempts were landing more frequently. Half-time came with Oxford leading by 9 points.

The second half saw Force claw back the deficit, with both teams swapping the lead in the final minutes. With only 5 seconds remaining, Oxford took a 1-point lead from the foul line. Coach Fatomide, keeping a spare timeout in reserve, called for one last play. The final seconds saw Phillipson sink a 3-point shot with under 3 seconds remaining, putting Force ahead.

Oxford attempted a long inbound pass, which was tipped out of bounds, leaving them only 0.4 seconds on the clock—not enough time to catch and shoot. Despite a final attempt, Oxford’s shot missed, allowing Force to walk away with a hard-fought victory, pushing their record to 4-0 in the league.

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Report written by Andy Rowlands