Cambridge Cats Basketball Club

The first quarter saw Cats start slowly and were lacking energy whilst the opponent found easy basket in fast break finishing the first quarter at 14-25. In the second and third quarters Cats made changes to ther defence and unsettled Southend managing to win both quarters respectively by 14-12 and 18-14.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter Cats had closed the gap to 5 points and looked set to steal the win away from southend, however Swifts finished strongly by switching to a compact zone defence which seemed to fuel their fast break and led to easy scores allwoing them to push the lead back out.

The first quarter only 6 of our players were present since the rest were stuck in traffic on the A14. P. Lamb, J. Tamosauskas, C. Fitch, R. Pylee, B. Crossley and M. Bagdonas playing with great intensity both in defense and in offense managed to win the quarter by 2 points (14-16).

In the second quarter coach Castoldi gave every player the chance to warm up and take part in the match. (By this time all players had finally got to Leicester). Once all the players were war and into the game the Cats began to show their dominance on both ends of the floor winning the quarter by 8 points. (14-22).

In the 4th quarter the Cats seem to find it easier to break the zone down as well as playing very good defense which led to fast-break opportunities and allowed Cats to win also the fourth quarter and go home with the smile in their face.

CAMBRIDGE CATS 86 SOUTHEND SWIFTS 53

Cambridge Cats hosted Southend Swifts for their first game after the christmas break.

Both sides made a fairly tentative start, with the home side leading just 6-4 after seven minutes before they scored nine straight to lead by 11. Swifts replied with a three-point play but Cats maintained the momentum to lead 18-9 at the end of the first quarter. Swifts battled hard to stay within reach but a 7-0 run took Cambridge 32-17 ahead. Swifts reduced the deficit to just nine after a strong run, before the hosts had five points in the final minute to lead 37-23 at the midway interval.

After the break Swifts struggled to score consistently as the margin increased to 49-31. A 7-2 spell took the lead over 20 and despite good work from Swifts, the gap still stood at 20, at 60-40. Southend continued to battle, trailing 64-46 after three minutes before Cambridge hit a purple patch making a 17-2 run including three three-pointers. Swifts never gave up made but there was no way back, as Cambridge recorded a convincing 86-53 victory.

The Under 16’s victory takes them over .500 in their rookie season in the National League Midland Conference. The team are now in position for a top 3 finish, well done to Coach Castildo and all the boys for an excellent start.

Cats Under 18’s now sit 2nd in the National League Eastern Conference, one game off top spot, the boys are showing their true quality, and under Coach Wedderburn, have built on their progress in the U16 National League Sothern Conference last season.

Cambridge Cats Juniors score 238 over two days for another double win weekend before the Christmas break.

Cambridge Cats under 16s played host to mid table Brentwood Fire for their last game before the Christmas break and from the start Brentwood were in trouble, with the Cats defence playing scrooge, and not giving anything away and stealing possession, there were many fast break opportunities for Charewa and Fitch. Cats took the first quarter outscoring the visitor 36 – 8. There wasn’t much change with the pattern of play in the 2nd and 3rd quarters with the cat’s defence taking advantage of loose ball handling by Brentwood and breaking to score at will.

Both Charewa and Fitch finished the game with 28 points in a big scoring game with Cats U16s winning 115 – 35

It was a record breaking game from the U18s men who played away to a developing Ipswich side, and, displaying the confidence of a team that had beaten the League leaders a week ago the Cats U18s posted their highest ever first quarter score at this level a massive 43 – 8. With the game pretty much over in Q1 the team looked to increase the points for column and develop their offence for future games. Alex Brown put in a big challenge on the clubs highest single score (56) to finish the game with 42 points. The final score 123 – 30 was also the first century game for this seasons under 18s.

Under 16, Under 18, Senior men and Senior ladies get together for a mixed tournament at the home of Cambridge Cats St Bede's, to celebrate a successful start to the season and raise funds for new equipment.
Players from each squad will be drawn from a hat to create mixed teams to go head to head in a round robin tournament.
Lunch from Pizza Hut will be provided for all competitors.
Start 11.00am
Cost £10.00 per player, pay on the day

Cambridge Cats under 18s weathered the expected storm and produced an inspired performance to end the unbeaten run of league leaders Hemel Storm

After losing their unbeaten run in last week’s home game against Bucks Hornets this was always going to be a tough challenge, but the young Cats provide the perfect reaction to their off day and put themselves back into contention joint second in the league.

In a very competitive first period Hemel jumped to an early seven point lead and the cats had to adjust their offence to get on the scoreboard and wipe away the Storms early lead, the teams traded baskets from then on and Hemel ended the Quarter ahead 15 – 13. At the start of Q2 the Cats increased their defensive pressure on the Hemel guards forcing turnovers and scoring breakaway points, to take the quarter 25 – 7.

After getting the hair dryer treatment from their coach during the halftime break, Hemel came out strong for Q3 and took the quarter 16 – 11 but the Cats weathered the expected storm and pushed on taking the final quarter 20 – 28. This was a great team performance and a confidence boosting win for the Cats U18s as they go into the Christmas break. Cats taking the win 68 - 58

Coming off a tough loss the U16's had a hard game against Bedforshire Knights last Saturday.

Cats started the 1st quarter well both on offence and defence pushing out to an early lead 20-6 after the 1st quarter. However in the second quarter Knights played tougher dirtying up the game. The referees let the game go which played into Bedford's favor and they won scrappy 2nd quarter 8 - 2. However Cats went into the break 14 -22 up.

In the third and fourth quarters Cats, despite missing a few easy baskets with the fast-break, played good defence and managed to keep the opponent score at 28 and to score 50 points. Cats take home a good away win against a team that was at the same level in the league. The final score 61 - 28

Cats started the first quarter playing zone defence and Cougars responded with good executed shooting performance from open positions, mostly in the corners of the court. At the end of the quarter cougars were up 19-16. In the second quarter Cats switched to a man defence and executed it very well. Cougars offence stopped working against the changed defence and as a result Cats got out and scored a lot of fast-break opportunities executed mostly by Max Leferve. Cats won the period 23-12 to lead the game at the half.

Cats continued the same defence in the second half stopping their big men inside and their shooters on the perimeter. Cougars tried to fight back but Cats managed to hold the score in their favor winning the third quarter 13-12 and take a 52-43 lead into the 4th quarter

Olotu - 5 pts, Ernesto - 13 pts, Mohammad - 3 pts, Radek -13 pts, Maxime - 34pts, Diego - 2 pts.

Senior Cats 1 returned to the top of the Herts league after a big win away at Bedford Bulls. AS in the recent Cup game the Big Cats started slowly and allowed Bedford to ump out to an early lead. However Cats began to warm to the challenge and finished the quarter on a 12-2 run leading 14-11 at the end of the 1st. The 2nd quarter was very even with both teams producing some quality basketball. Bedford opened the quarter with a 7-0 run to lead 18-14 however Cats fought back again to finish the half strongly and lead by 4 at the break 32-28.

In the 3rd quarter the Big Cats found another level of defensive intensity which led to Bedford turning the ball over and allowing the Cats to get out in transition. As in the Cup game the Bulls seem to loose their confidence and the big cats pounced on this to win the quarter 26-10 and take a 20 point lead into the final quarter 58-38. In the 4th quarter the Big Cats continued the slaughter of the bulls defense with some of the best team offense that they have produced this year with excellent ball movement and player movement that the Bedford team struggled to handle. The final score 82 - 47

Cats dominated the early exchanges with aggressive defense and explosive attacking play led by Max Lefevre. Littleport managed to keep the game close into the fourth quarter with their trademark 3 point shooting and aggressive work on the boards. Despite being pegged back to only a five point lead at the end of the 3rd Quarter Cats showed good composure to run out comfortable winners 88 to 66.

Cats got back into winning ways in impressive style with a convincing win over Bedford Bulls in the Herts Cup.

The start of the game saw Bedford come out of the gate early with a 10 - 0 run as Cats seem to be still in the changing rooms defensively. After a timeout from coach Charlwood the Big Cats finely got started with some excellent defense going on a 19-4 run to finish the 1st quarter up 24-18

The 2nd quarter was very tight with defense dominating both ends of the floor. Bedford were proving difficult to break down and started to knock down some shots from the outside taking the quarter 17-15 with Cats leading at the half 39 - 35.

At the start of the 3rd Bedford started strongly however after a tactical shift on defense the Big Cats started to dominate the game by causing Bedford to turn the ball over and were then able to get out and run for easy transitions scores, leading by 20 at the end of the 3rd 65-45.

The trend continued into the 4th with Bedford struggling to break down the Cats defense and turning the ball over which led to Cats scoring out in transition. The final score 87-57 in favor of the Big Cats.

In the fifth game of the season Cats Senior Women’s team faced Stevenage Sharks for the second time. Sharks turned up with a significantly depleted team only having 5 players. Much to their credit, Sharks came out strong and fighting starting the game well. The first quarter saw Cats take a small lead, seeing them make many good shooting opportunities and leaving the team feeling confident as they entered the second quarter. As Cats settle into utilising their offensive plays and make the switch from man-to-man to Zone defence their lead is extended to a comfortable 32 – 16 at half time.

The second half saw the team grow in strength and composure with all members of the team putting in impressive, united performances. In particular; Suzy Moxey, guard, defended with avid intensity and was rewarded with fast break opportunities, 2 three-pointer shots, and was the highest scoring player; and Charo Chanini , center, also putting in a high scoring game, dominated defence, and, with the help of Olivia Maury and Ruth Wadsworth, caused Sharks to struggled to penetrate the key during the final quarter. Cats were rewarded for a magnificent team effort with a finishing scoreline of 60 – 24.

Friday 9th of December

Senior Man and Ladies night out to Peterborough Greyhound Races. A great night out and a chance for our 3 senior teams to get together, friends and partners welcome (50 places available). Also a chance to a raise a few pennies towards new kit.

The trip includes transport by coach, entry to greyhound races and a free drink.
Cost £15.00
Please get your £15 to your coach by 30th of November at the Latest!

On the 30th October they traveled down to Reading to face the Rockets in their first road game this season. The Cats started the game with high intensity and proved too strong fro reading on both ends of the floor winning the first quarter 23 - 6. The second quarter proved to be a much tighter affair with Reading playing much better now. However Cats finished the half strong and edged the quarter 19-18 to lead the game 42 - 24.

In the 2^nd and 3^rd quarter Cats played their best basketball of the game. The contribution of the bench players played a huge part in a dominating period of the game and at the end of the 3^rd quarter Cats doubled the score of the opponent 64-32.

A great team performance against a very strong and much larger Saffron Walden team, special mention to our 3 young guns Alex (superb support for Darius on the boards inside, and accurate shooting from outside), Toby and Jake (who added pace to the offense and intensity to the defence), all three were excellent and contributed over 25% of the teams points.

The Cats Senior Mens 1st team suffered their first defeat of the season in the HPL on Friday night after a disappointing display in Luton.

For the first game this season the big cats struggled from the tip to find any continuity and flow offensively and with Lutons strong interior defense struggled to find scores in the first, getting off to a shocking start trailing 19 - 6. The Cats started the second quarter better with a 9 - 2 run to reduce the deficit after some strong play from P. Charlwood who scored 8 points in the quarter. However in this game that was dominated by defense Luton seemed to be keeping their noses in front leading by 10 at the half way point 33 - 23.

The second half saw a disjointed Cambridge Cats continue to struggle on the offensive end and seemingly becoming more and more frustrated by Lutons strong defense scoring only 11 points in the quarter to trail 47 - 34 going into the final quarter. At the start of the 4th the Cats seemingly awoke from their nightmare for a brief moment starting with a 7 - 0 run which saw them cut the lead to 6 points 47 - 41. However they were not able to build on this and after some poor decisions offensively soon found themselves back in a large deficit from which there was no return and the Cats Halloween nightmare was complete losing in this extremely low scoring affair 69 - 49

Cats brought out their fresh, dynamic team for the second time in the Herts Ladies league on sunday 23^rd October hoping to embark on a winning streak. With the team excited to take on Stevenage Sharks, last season's league champions, the game started with brutal intensity seeing both teams demonstrating their competitive edges. Cats started strongly with Olivia Maury inspiring the team with an array of shots from all over the court, Nicola Yorke (point guard) pushing the ball down court for the fast break and the team displaying their impressive man-to-man defence. Having worked hard Cats led 32 - 26 after the first half.

Sharks stepped up their game after half time seeing changes in their defence unsettle the Cambridge team and the gap in the score shrink to just 3 points. With invaluable instruction from Coach Florian Rossler, an ignited team spirit and a switch to zone defence, Cats showed great composure taking back the control of the game. It was an impassioned finish with Nicola Yorke and Ruth Wadsworth's tandem defence closing down the shooters and Maud Berthelot dominating defensive rebounds. A great team performance and well deserved 52-46 score line

Saturday Morning junior sessions prices slashed!

Under 13 10.00am - 11.30am only £4

Under 15 11.30am - 1pm only £4

Cats Senior Womens team started their season with a super win against Ware Rebels in the Herts League on Sunday 16th October. Cats played a tough defence in the first half against Rebels team of just 4, forcing turnovers and creating some simple fast breaks. New coach, Florian Rossler switched Cats defence in the second half. This tactical move proved to be a shock to Rebels who failed to score any points in the third quarter. The huge win of 55-15 was the best start to the season for the womens team with their mix of just a handful of players from last season and many new players. Well done to Steffi Ball and Ruth Wadsworth who were our top scorers.

Cambridge Cats U16 started their season with a home match against Leicester Warriors. The first quarter of the match saw Cats playing good junior basket and the opponent starting with a low pace with the score of 14–11.

The second quarter saw Warriors increasing the tempo to play better than Cats and tied the score 26–26 going into the second half.

In the third and fourth quarter Cats could not impose their game either in offence or in defence, but suffered the aggression and speed of the opponent, with the final score 50-79.

Coach Diego Castoldi is pleased with the basketball played in the first half. "we still have to work hard and improve our skills as well our fitness for competing in a National League".

The U18's Continue their excellent start to the season with a comfortable win over junior national league new boys Bedford Bulls. Coming off their unbeaten start to the season the Cats are riding a wave of confidence which was shown in the way they started the game taking the first quarter 16 - 7 off of some excellent pressure defence. The second quarter saw a similar trend with the Bulls struggling to cope with the Cats pressure on the ball and some high tempo offence which led to a 21 point lead at half time.

The Bulls came out in the second half with a nothing to loose attitude and this caused the Cats some problems early in the 3rd quarter. However the cats soon got back in their rhythm and ran away confortable winners 81 - 49.

The Senior Cats 1 continue there excellent start to the season beating local rivals Cambridge Cougars to keep their unbeaten start in the HPL.

This local derby always produces an intense game of basketball and Sunday was no exception. Cougars made the better start to the game and got up early with the Big Cats struggling to find the form that they have shown so far this season. However after a tactical change by coach Charlwood the Cats seemed to be ignited late in the first half to take a 5 point lead into the break.

In the second half the Big Cats found their confidence and turned up the heat on defense which led to a number of turnovers by Cougars and easy transition points for the Big Cats. The highlight of which being S. Richardson's one handed tomahawk dunk which got the crowd off their seats. After a dominating 3rd quarter the Cats led by 18 going into the 4th, where although Cougars threatened to make it interesting the Cats battled hard to finish convincing winners 91 - 69.

Cats Senior 2 also got their season off to a winning start on Sunday evening after convincing win over Huntingdon Hawks - 86 - 49. The Cats 2 team which consisted of a potent mixture of youth and experience proved too tough for the Hawks at both ends of the floor and took home the victory with ease capping off another excellent weekend for the Cambridge Cats Basketball Club.

Early in the first quarter Cats struggled badly offensively in the half court sets showing poor ball and player movement. Combined with a rather passive 3-2 defence they found themselves down by a double-figure margin inside the first five minutes. However Cats responded and didn't allow the situation to deteriorate further, reducing the lead to 8 by the end of the first period.

In the second quarter after much improved defence and a more aggressive approach offensively, Cats managed to not only claw back the deficit but even grabbed the lead at 35-44 at half time. This stronger interior defence combined with the aggressive pressure on their poor ball handlers by our athletic guards had a negative effect on Hawks offensive efficency, as they dropped in scoring from a high of 22 points in the first quarter to 7 points in each of the 3 and 4 quarters as the game progressed. Cats were able to take advantage of their poor shooting % by increasing the tempo and exploiting their youthful talent and superior athleticism (especially at the guard positions) to fast breaking at every opportunity. Here, special mention must be made to the four under 18 players who played in the game, especially M Nawash and T Andrews who scored 14 and 23 points respectively.

Cambridge Cats Senior 1st Team have followed the U18's by getting back to back wins to top the HPL.

The Big Cats hosted last seasons playoff winners Herts Warriors 1 on Sunday evening, in what was sure to be an exciting encounter. The Big Cats have never beaten the Warriors in their 2 year history in the HPL and were determined to change this trend.

The Big Cats got off to a strong start getting out to an early lead after a 8 - 2 run. However the Warriors finished the quarter strongly and were within 3 going into the 2nd 22-18 down. In the second quarter the Big Cats began to turn up the heat and were dominating the boards on both ends of the floor. J. Dexter was proving a handful inside and Cats debutante M.Lefevre hit two 3's to send the cats in at the half with a 12 point lead 43 - 31.

In the second half the Warriors began to up the tempo of the game by introducing a full court press but L. Rous proved to strong and quick with the ball which nullified the pressure defence and led to easy transition baskets. The Cats also continued to be too strong with A. Sullivan picking up some easy baskets after crashing the offensive boards. The Cats took a good lead going into the 4th 71 - 56. In the 4th the game really opened up and became a points feast with very little defence being played by either team. However Cats continued to come out on top in the fast paced exchanges and continued to push their lead out finishing comfortable winners 111 - 84.

The Big Cats next game is a tricky away fixture against local rivals Cambridge Cougars on Sunday.

The Cambridge Cats U18's are setting the early pace in the EBL East Conference after a convincing win over Oxford Brooks Eagles.

The game started with both teams producing some high quality basketball. However Cats began to asume some control with a strong run which saw them take a 19 - 13 lead at the end of the first. From this point the Cats confidence seemed to grow and they didn't look back taking the next two quarters by storm with some superior defence and excellent transition offence which saw them lead by 47 points 80 - 33 going into the 4th. However to their credit the Eagles did not loose heart and battled hard in the 4th quarter. This combined with Cats becoming a little complacent meant that the Eagles took the 4th quarter 19 - 18 leaving a final score of 98 - 52 in favor of the Cats.

Coach Wedderburn has been extremely pleased with the start that they have made to this season saying, "I couldn't be happier with the start. The boys are working extremely hard in training and they are reaping the rewards of this so far. However it is early days and we have a long season ahead with tougher tests to come so we have to keep our feet on the ground, but a great start."

Cats 2 Senior squad and the Cats Under 18 National League squad warmed up with a pre-season match that pitted size and experience versus youth and speed.

An enjoyable game provided a much needed opportunity for both teams to work towards the beginning of their respective seasons.

The Under 18’s shot well from the outside and moved the ball effectively around the perimeter creating scoring opportunities. Meanwhile the Cats 2 men were pleased with the intensity of their defence and the ability to utilise three big men inside.

Ultimately the Cats 2 men prevailed 65 -53, however the opportunity to work together for both teams, was more important than the result.

Congratulations to Cats 1 Seniors who won the pre-season Herts League Tournament, I am sure it’s a sign of things to come!

SENIOR CATS 1 TAKE 1ST PLACE AT HERTS PRE-SEASON TOURNAMENT

The Cambridge Cats Senior 1 Squad continued their postive pre-season on sunday managing to win the Herts pre-season tournament. The Big Cats proved too strong for all comers producing some excellent basketball throughout the day. The results from the day were as follows:

Player Coach Pete Charlwood was extremely pleased with the teams efforts on the day. "Although we don't want to get carried away at this stage of the season this victory is a great confidence boost for the squad and finishes off a very postive pre-season. The squad have been working extremely hard in training and we head into this year's campaign with high hopes for a successful year".

The Big Cats season opener is on Sunday vs Herts Warriors 2 in the Herts Cup competition.

The big cats made a promising start to their season preparations with a 22 point victory over fellow herts league team Bedford Bulls.

A new look senior 1 team with 3 players making their debuts (D.Pearman, O. Rominiyi & L. Rous) made a slow start to the 1st quarter and seemed to be struggling to find continuity, particularly on the offensive end of the court. Bedford came out all guns blazing and raced out to a 26-16 lead at the end of the 1st.

At the start of the 2nd quarter both teams seemed to struggle for rhythm and the game became very scrappy. However the big cats started to raise their defensive intensity which kept them in the game despite still struggling to find rhythm offensively. The Cats then finished the quarter with a 10-1 run which put them up by 3 at half time 40-37

In the second half the Cats began to find there feet on both ends of the court. Sparked by their high intensity defense they were getting out in transition and finding some easy scores. However Bedford had also re-found some of the good rhythm that they had early in the 1st half and the game looked like it was going to go right down to the wire with Cats taking a slender lead into the 4th.

In the 4th quarter the Big Cats began strong with some high intensity defence forcing bedford, who seemed to be tiring , into some sill mistakes. The cats then smelling victory began to turn the screw and the confident bulls team seem to loose continuity. The final score 84-62

News

SENIOR CATS 1 TAKE 1ST PLACE AT HERTS PRE-SEASON TOURNAMENT