Unofficial Flyers

Flyers II had a fantastic 2008/09 season, finishing second in EBL Div4 South West, giving them  promotion into Div3 for this season. They will be going up against a number of teams from the London area, as well as teams from Oxford, Portsmouth and the team they finished behind last year, the UWIC Archers.

A number of players from this squad also played for the senior mens team, and with great results.

This promises to be a very challenging season for the team, and will test their abilities to the max. Full reports of how they get on will be available on this page as soon as we get them .

 24th Oct 2009

Flyers II Suffer at the hands of London Westside

Bristol Academy Flyers II were comprehensively beaten by London Westside at the Filton College WISE Campus on Saturday.

London Westside dominated the game from the tip scoring 10 unanswered points as Flyers struggled to gain any rhythm and looked to be far from the team who had taken Wellingborough to overtime two weeks earlier.

Westside shot the ball extremely well seven 3 point shots before the half time buzzer sounded and Flyers had little answer to this.

As the Half time interval started Flyers were trailing Westside by 25 points 47 points to 22 which effectively meant that the game was almost over unless Flyers could inspire a miracle come back.

The third quarter saw a closer score line with both teams trading baskets and with neither taking any real hold on the game. Westside still held a comprehensive lead as the quarter ended going into the final period leading 59 points to 33 points.

The fourth quarter saw a Flyers revival as the home team found some intensity which was lacking in the first 3 quarters both defensively and offensively the team showed some of the ability it has but it was all in vein and far too late to impact on the game. Flyers pulled Westside back in a little and finally lost the game by 17 points which was more respectable than the 30 point margin separating the teams in the second quarter.

Flyers only real spark came from Academy student Iri Omoyemi who top scored for the home team with 19 points in a points hall which saw him score three 3 pointers. No other Flyer reached double digits in a very disappointing team performance.

“Today was very disappointing and we lacked in all departments today, Westside shot the ball really well today and thoroughly deserved their win a team who score 11 uncontested 3 pointers will be hard to stop. It’s still early in the season and we have a lot to learn I just hope we learn this quickly otherwise it will be a long week.” Comments Danny James, Flyers II Coach.

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10th Oct 2009

Bristol Academy Flyers II lose in Overtime to Phoenix

Bristol Academy Flyers II entertained Wellingborough Phoenix in their first home fixture in National League Division III; newly promoted Flyers were looking forward to fielding a full squad for the first time since pre season began.

The game turned out to be a fantastic spectacle with the leading changing hands throughout the game and ending with both teams tied on 86 points each sending it into overtime.

Flyers started the game slowly falling behind 7 points to 0 as the visiting Wellingborough team showed why they were one of the favourites for the Division III title. Flyers however eventually responded with 2 points from 6”9 Horst Marschall, as the quarter progressed the Flyers began to play with added intensity and vigour and by the end of the quarter trailed by 4 points 22 points to 18 in favour of the Phoenix.

The second quarter started slowly again for the Flyers as a number of basic errors enabled Phoenix to race out to an 11 point lead midway through the quarter. A Timeout from Coach Danny James had the desired affect as Flyers began to play with added confidence with points from the Japanese Bullet Almasi Shimpei Hanada, Jermaine Major and Tony Watson saw the Flyers claw back the 11 point deficit and with 2 Tony Watson free throws at the end of the quarter saw the home team take its first lead 45 points to 44 at the interval.

The start of the third quarter saw Flyers build the lead gained and with strong play from Captain Gareth Till the home teams lead extended to 5 points. Some fantastic play from Japanese junior Almasi Shimpei Hanada kept Flyers wagon rolling and the inside presence of Horst Marschall at the defensive end led to Flyers staying in front. The quarter ended two points from Wellingborough’s star player Turiccki to end the quarter 65 points to 69 points in favour of the Flyers. Hanada had an outstanding quarter scoring 15 of his 30 points in a superb display which saw the 16 year old dominate the game causing Phoenix all sorts of problems.

The fourth quarter saw Flyers keep their lead and despite foul trouble the home side kept a 3 point cushion between them and the visitors throughout the quarter. Phoenix’s size began to cause Flyers a few problems when the Home side’s stalwart big man Marschall fouled out late in the quarter. However a determined effort from Till saw the Flyers keep control as a 3 point shot from the captain and then 3 more points from Hanada kept the ship afloat. Phoenix came back time and time again but Flyers help them off but as the quarter finished and influential guard Jermaine Major was added to the Flyers bench with 5 fouls the team began to falter. 2 more points for Turiccki and a 3 point shot from Bunton brought the scores level with just seconds remaining. Flyers had one last gasp to win the game when Ben Kelloway was fouled going to the basket, the 19 year old missed both free throws and a prayer shot from Wellingborough missed sending the game into overtime.

The Overtime period saw Flyers finally lose their lead and found the young team unable to get it back despite their efforts, after a long and very tough game Flyers just did not have enough in the tank to win the game. The home side went down 96 points to 100 in a heartbreaking overtime loss.

“Today we fought hard to really show potentially what can be expected from this team. Today the whole team fought hard and although the loss was heart breaking the team has developed a lot in the last few weeks of practice. Almasi was outstanding and showed just what potential he has for such a young player and his efforts were far beyond his 16 years. Captain Gareth Till was also outstanding and his 45 minute display was inspirational to the young players the veteran did not have a rest throughout the game and despite this made some huge plays when the team needed it. This was a hard loss but rather than this being disappointing we have shown we can compete with the league’s best teams and if things were different we could have won the game in regulation, however this was not to be but I am proud of the whole teams efforts” Comments Coach Danny James.

Flyers Top Scorers: Almasi Shimpei Hanada 30 points, Gareth Till 17 points, Tony Watson 13 Jermaine Major 12 points.