This was the first home court match for the men this year. A big home crowd had gathered at the Essex Sports Arena for what was also a very poignant occasion for the Rebels.
One year ago today, the club came close to falling apart. Everyone within the organisation has done some amazing work to recover well after we lost young talents, all deeply part of the Rebs family.
We can never forget what we lost. There was a lovely tribute to the four young souls that were tragically taken a year ago today. The Rebs handled the whole situation with tremendous dignity and respect.
Right. Time for a basketball game; time to honour those missing with a positive team performance out on the court.
The men didn’t disappoint. Right from the opening tip off, Rebels shutdown Bristol at every opportunity. They seized the ball with regular turnovers, not even allowing the Flyers to put their shots up.
It was great to see the returning Ben Winters out on court after a winter sabbatical. He has a calm presence, as well as understanding the club inside out. Rebs led 29-11 at the first quarter.
It wasn’t only the commanding performance from the home team that was frustrating the Flyers. Decisions from the officials weren’t going their way. We’ll take those, thank you very much. Rebs had an impressive 56-25 lead at the buzzer.
The break also had more tributes, keeping the uplifting, positive feels. The Essex Blades dance team put on an impressive performance in memory of Eva, who is also missed. The dance was one that had been choreographed by the former dancer. The Blades were visibly emotional with the response they received.
Back on the court and the Rebels wanted more. There’s no coming back for any team when you trail 81-32 going into the final quarter.
A final scoreboard of 115-43 in favour of the Rebs shows the determination in this team to honour their friends.
JOB DONE.
Once a Rebel, always a Rebel.
