The penultimate home court game for the Rebs this season. A strong performance was needed if a push for the play-offs remained realistic. The Essex Sports Arena was lively - especially the army of young ankle biters sitting next to me.

Rebs were short benched, in what looked like a series of badly timed injuries. Mile Brown in particular was a major loss for the home team. Rockets meanwhile were… physical.

This was a bruiser of an away team. But they also had the pace to match the muscle. They moved the ball around the court at speed, with some killer passes from one end of the Arena to the other.

The Rebs MC tried his best to keep the momentum flowing off the court. This led to a ticking off from the referee, after some slightly less than polite applause ahead of a Rockets shot from the free throw line.

Tony Idiata-Mendez had the final say at the end of the first, with a fantastic dunk ahead of the buzzer. SWING that hoop fella. Rebs trailed 25-17.

Rockets pulled away, right from the start of the second quarter. They were lethal on the free throw line. Every shot was sunk. They stretched their lead to 52-38 at HT.

This soon became a tough night on home court for the Rebs. The lead stretched to 76-54 at the end of the third. Buckets rained in for Birmingham. Everything seemed to sink.

The body language dipped a little for the Rebs in the final quarter. There was no way back chasing 20 or so points, and the clock counting down. A difficult night at Our House.

The Rebs men took to the Essex Sports Arena on Saturday evening, following on from an impressive performance from the women on International Women’s Day. No pressure, fellas.

The opponents were Hemel Storm, who in Darien Nelson-Henry had an absolute BEAST of a player. He towered above the tallest of Rebs players, and had the muscle to match. This looked like it could be a difficult evening for the Rebs.

Nelson-Henry won the tip off, obvs, and then continued to dominate in both offence and defence. Rebs simply couldn’t out-muscle him. The only option seemed to be to take your chances when he was off the court.

But wait! What’s this?

Nelson-Henry did have a weakness. Shortly into the first, his man bun (stop it) became undone and he had a few hairstyle malfunctions to deal with. No one likes their flowing locks being ruffled.

I turned around to find Queen B - the Rebs lovely mascot - sitting behind me. I offered up one of my sweets for her. It caused a few issues, watching a smiling rubber faced Roman warrior trying to suck on a sweet through the mask. TOP GIRL.

The game was tight, with the scoreboard showing 27-27 at the first quarter. The second followed a similar pattern, with still no separation between the two teams at 55-55.

Some running repairs were needed to one of the baskets at the break. Elsewhere and the Whitney game kept all the kids happy. Once again we had endless snippets of I Will Always Love You being played, with kids lining up to bang the big Rebs drum in sync with Whitney.

Hours of fun…

The third quarter was tight - so much so that I forgot to log the score. Nelson-Henry tired slightly and was living a dangerous game on four fouls. Rebs took advantage, finally pulling away with a wonderful 79-74 home court win.

International Women’s Day Women’s Day down at the Essex Sports Arena. The Rebs are SUPERB at these type of events. An afternoon of activities were planned, leading up to the women tipping off against Newcastle Eagles at 4pm.

Some impressive marketing has been put behind the day. The Rebs were rewarded with one of the biggest he crowds for the season, mainly families with young daughters. The girls on court are genuine role models for these kids.

I rocked up slightly late, deciding to give the Women’s Sport Collective networking event a miss. No one wants to see a socially awkward middle aged bloke gatecrashing a panel celebrating what can be achieved locally through sport and empowerment.

I don’t want to put a downer on the event; 99.99% of the crowd were totally engaged, giving it some big Rebs energy as the team took to the court. I was appalled though at the site of three primary school kids sitting next to me who didn’t look up from their phones throughout the entire game. ffs.

There was SO much energy out there on the court. A thrilling game of basketball was taking place. Big Dog Ballin was bringing the vibes with the music. Games were taking place in-between play with the wonderful Rebs MC.

But nope. For three kids, two hours was better spent staring at a small screen, pressing buttons and shooting up pixels. It was most depressing tbh. Hey hoe.

But anyway. Back on the court. Rebs races to a 23-15 lead at the end of the first. There was some top quality play taking place out there. Newcastle are no mugs. They took control of the second, leading 43-29 at the break.

The half time entertainment saw some superb dance routines from three different age groups on court. The best performances came from the youngest. They were all primary school age, their trackies swallowed them up, such was their small size. Any doubts I had about ankle biters being stuck on bloody phones disappeared. I believe the children are our future, etc. But still the three pixel fixated kids didn’t look up.

The pace of the game slowed down slightly in the third. Both teams were finding it tough to take a lead. SHOUT OUT to Rebs Captain Claire Paxton, who stepped up with a couple of big three pointers to pull Rebs away.

Everything flowed for the Rebs in the fourth: the passes the shots, the rebounds. Even the decisions from the refs seemed to favour the home team - a rarity at the Arena.

The final scoreline of Rebs 92, Newcastle 79 seemed about fair. The team celebrated in the now customary way of running up and down the stands, high fiving the fans - well, all but three mobile kids who surely must have used up all of their data by now?

This was something of a positive family affair. Many of the Rebs' overseas players had their families over for the event. It was something of a lovely Rebs moments seeing the whole team and their families celebrating together.

Up the Rebs!

The march to the play-offs was underway for the Reb’s men at the Essex Sports Arena on Saturday evening. The home team started the round of fixtures in tenth place, with the top eight making it through to the play-offs. MK meanwhile were sitting strong in third place.

This was a tough game for the Rebs, who were always chasing the scoreboard. MK were physically strong, and weren’t afraid to bully the home team around their own court. Who’s House, etc? Erm… The Rebs did manage to ease in front, taking a 28-25 lead into the first buzzer.

Some big three pointers from MK in the second saw them ease slightly ahead 46-42. But Rebs were remained in it, with the visitors failing to pull away. This was still the case at the end of the third, the scores tied at 62-62, in what was a low scoring game.

MK out their foot down in the fourth, easing away with an 84-74 road victory. This seemed about fair as MK showed their quality. A play-off place is still within reach for the Rebs, but they will need to take advantage of the remaining home court games.

The Rebs won the battle for height ahead of tip off. Archers looked a little lightweight. The refs meanwhile looked rather snazzy in their new yellow tops. I never understood why they previously wore the blandest of bland grey kit.

The first quarter was even, with the Rebs taking a slight 25-21 lead into the first break. A similar pattern followed in the second, with a HT score of 50-40 in favour of the home team. The magical scoreboard total of 100 looked a possibility.

The fun at the HT break centred around Whitney. I’ve always LOVED Whitney - even the headache inducing I Will Always Love You. Which is just as well, seeing as though Whitney’s tear jerker was on a five second loop throughout the duration of the fifteen minute break.

It was all part of the latest Rebs HT entertainment. The idea was to crash the Rebs big bass drum, right on cue when the drum beat kicks in for Whitney’s big moment. It sounds simple, but it was a tricky task for the many volunteers lining up to give it a go.

Rebs dominated the third quarter and pulled away. This is where the game was won, with the home lead stretching to 77-56. It was great to see Coach Cookson use his full bench, giving court time to some of the players who often take a bench warmer role. They were still too strong for the Archers, with a final score of 102-80.

To the Essex Sports Arena! For a Valentine’s Day themed mid-table clash between the Rebels and Derby Trailblazers! Except there wasn’t a lot of love lost between the two teams.

Derby arrived with a short bench - just eight players lining up for the team introductions. The Rebs were giving a debut to new signing Isaac Temilola.

We took up our usual seats behind the home bench. Five minutes later and an army of ankle biters sat behind us. Oh dear. It was a birthday celebration trip for one of the enthusiastic young fellas. We decided to shuffle along to the next block.

Partners for the game day was the local Robin Cancer Trust. There was no shortage in takers for the raffle set up by the Rebs. Toby from the RCT gave an inspiring speech to the busy Arena ahead of tip off.

There’s no polite way of putting this: Derby were BRUTES. They are a very physical imposing team that isn’t afraid to make the most of their extra muscle on court. Rebs tried to counteract this with pace.

The home team trailed 18-21 at the first buzzer. They did well to catch up at the start of the second, but were still chasing the game 39-44 at the break.

Somehow the home team managed to pull ahead 56-48 at one stage in the third. A time out from Derby managed to stabilise the game, as they went ahead 65-69 at the end of the third. The final score of 91-83 in favour of the away team seemed about fair.

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.

A tough 97-88 road defeat for the Rebels women up in Manchester on Sunday evening. We watched it via the ACE Manchester Basketball YT stream.

The production values were superb, as well as the insightful commentary. The Manchester Basktball Performace Centre looked half decent as well. We really should try and get up there.

It was a tight first half, with both teams just falling short of 50 points. The Rebs sadly couldn’t match the pace of scoring for Manchester in the third.

This was the exact same situation as the Caledonian Cup game at home last weekend. There seems something psychological about the third quarter in the Rebs camp right now.

Paige Myler was missing. I’m not sure why. Rebs really missed her points contribution. Hey hoe. It’s a long journey back home from Manchester. Up the Rebs.

To the Essex Sports Arena! To watch some volleyball! And basketball!

But we managed to balls it up. Bugger.

My diary said women’s volleyball at 2pm, men at 4pm. I thought we would catch the men at 4pm, and then hang around for the women’s basketball at 6:30pm. Sports Billy, etc.

We rocked up at the Arena and it was absolutely empty, apart from some fuss ball nets covering all the courts. Most odd.

Ah. Betcha there is some fuss ball tournament, and the volleyball and basketball are on in the Sports Hall next door. The Rebs had already mailed us to say this is where the basketball would be taking place.

My timing as ever, was incredibly fashionably late. The volleyball net was being taken down, with both games having already been played - midday and 2pm, innit.

Oh well. We only have another two and a half hours to kill on campus in out of term time before the basketball begins. It would have been a right pain in the arse to make the half hour walk back home, settle for a short while, and then head out again.

We swerved the SU Bar, and went for the grown up choice of the rather lovely green eco coffee place, that popped up next door a few years ago. An hour and a half was spent slurping hot chocolate and cream, whilst scrolling football updates.

Finally the Rebs were ready for us in the Sports Hall. This now feels like a strange venue to watch elite level basketball. The University needed to build the Essex Sports Arena to step up. Games inside here suggest an organisation on the up, rather than playing in an old 80’s sports hall.

This was the exact same location where I sat my undergrad exams some 35 years ago. It’s where I was first introduced to the idea of aerobics for a very temporary time period, plus also the scene of my last sending off in football.

We took up our positions on the front row, just as the Rebs were starting their warm ups an hour ahead of tip off. It was a very different viewing experience. Even during the warm up, you got to experience the speed and physicality of the players.

Tip off came, with the Rebs playing Caledonian Gladiators in a Cup Quarter Final. I lose track of the different competitions and formats. But we played the same team just before Christmas in a Cup semi. Gladiators left with a victory. These games are developing into quite a strong rivalry.

The first half was scrappy, played out at an intense pace from both teams. The passes were there, but there was no holding back with some of the ball play and interceptions. I ended up with a Rebs player almost sitting on my lap after one particularly tasty encounter.

Rebs took a 25-24 lead into the first quarter buzzer, hinting at the tightness of the contest that was to come. This was pretty much mirrored with a 49-48 lead at HT.

We noticed after the break that the Gladiator players all had what looked like a bicycle light on each trainer. On closer inspection - we were on the front row - and it became clear that these were GPS trackers. This is a VERY professional league.

Gladiators finally pulled away in the third. Everything seemed to sink for them. Rebs played well, but the baskets just weren’t landing. Rebs were up against it, heading into the 4th trailing 84-67.

It all got a little nasty, both on the court and on the bench. I’m surprised no one was fouled out of the game. Gladiators were deserving of their 108-84 road win.

Yorkshire Dragons rocked up at the Essex Sports Arena short benched. Just make sure that no one gets fouled out of the game, right? The tactics were clear for the men from Coach Hart: draw the fouls, pick them off, one at a time…

The 31-22 scoreline at the end of the first quarter sounds like a half decent game. In truth, it was a little flat. A lot of the Sunday evening family crowd had disappeared, with the first working day of the new year about to bash you on the head.

Dragons managed a decent comeback in the second, with Rebels taking a slender 48-43 lead into the HT buzzer. Mr DJ dropped some classic De La Soul during the break. I’m still grinning, tbh. Woh. That sounded fresh coming over the Arena PA.

Somehow the Rebs found themselves locked into a one point game. Miles ‘Chef’ (he’s cooking…) Brown carried the Rebels with some BIG three pointers, as well as keeping his cool under the free throw line. Tyrese Hudson had his best game in a Rebs jersey for some time.

The scoreboard was showing the Rebs leading 81-79 going into the final quarter. I didn’t quite follow the exact gameplay, but some dark arts on the court led to two Dragons players being fouled out of the game. Given that they only travelled with a bench of seven, this was a little unfortunate.

The away team had to play the final five minutes or so with no subs. Rebs read the situation well, playing out the remainder of the game at tremendous pace, tiring out the opposition, whilst making regular substitution themselves.

The final score of 104-92 in favour of the Rebs was a masterclass in coaching. There was a little friction on the home bench at one stage, but I think we got there in the end.