Cardiff ………………61
Swansea ……………52
Cardiff men’s basketball team put up a brilliant display of skill and teamwork to achieve a win over archrivals Swansea, with a convincing 61-52 score line at the Welsh Institute of Sport.
Although Cardiff have won this clash in recent years, Swansea went into the game in high spirits and with a huge travelling crowd that even silenced Cardiff’s home support.
Cardiff won the tip, but they were unable to score and struggled to find the net. Swansea capitalised on this by taking their scoring opportunities and took the lead after the first quarter, with the score 16-13.
The second quarter showed a much better display from Cardiff, with a more organised side while defending. Bringing on James Lewis allowed them to create a full court press on Swansea’s point guard, which led to turnovers and allowed Cardiff to regain a valuable lead.
Towards the end of the second quarter, Swansea were able to regain composure and deal with the full court press. However, by this time Cardiff had already taken the lead and the first half ended with Cardiff ahead on 29 points to Swansea’s 23.
The third quarter was a heated battle, with neither team backing down. At this point, Cardiff looked to be the ones with the advantage, but Swansea were still threatening. The third quarter ended with Cardiff still ahead by 45 points to 37.
The final quarter began with an impressive performance from Swansea, while Cardiff had some foul trouble, leading Swansea to score points that the hosts could not afford to lose.
With only a few minutes to go, it was neck and neck. However, an outstanding clutch performance from Samuel Bentley and his consecutive three-pointers inspired the rest of the team to push forward and hold on to their advantage until the end.
The game ended with Cardiff winning the men’s basketball Welsh Varsity again, with a final score of 61-52.
Swansea looked dangerous at times, but Cardiff shut them out with some excellent individual performances and an outstanding overall team effort.
Prashanth Veeranki
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