BBL Championship: Cheshire Jets 105 Guildford Heat 75

Mar 13 2011 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

WHILE many still bill the Cheshire Jets as BBL Championship title underdogs, Paul Smith's side underlined their credentials by blowing away Guildford Heat at the Northgate Arena.

On a celebratory evening as Great British basketball was granted an Olympic place for 2012 which will give the game a huge lift, the Jets delivered some of the best basketball you can see on these shores as they dismantled Creon Raftopolous' side.

They got off to a slow start with the opening two quarters very tight indeed. This was in part down to the enforced restriction of Matt Schneck's presence in the side, after some very picky calls from one official left him with three personal fouls to his name in the opening half.

It meant he only played 22 of the 40 minutes as Smith refused to risk him being fouled out but Quemont Greer, so often the man to provide some class when the chips are down, stepped up, assisted by a towering performance from Calvin Davis that left many in the arena feeling like it was 2002 again.

Davis put up 13 points and claimed nine powerful rebounds to drive the team on while Greer clocked up 26 points to go with his nine rebounds.

But it was Jeremy Bell who found his range, piling up 30 points personal and claiming six rebounds of his own to spearhead the Jets' charge.

He was helped by a number of steals from Murray and Stephen Gayle which allowed him to race in behind the Heat and score some easy breakaway points.

And not to be ignored, Schneck still managed to score 18 despite his bench-time.

Early in the third the Jets really began to take control and for the first time this season a display of showboating took place.

But while the crowd may have enjoyed the exhibition the fact that Bell, Schneck and Murray all failed to score their fancy chances left head coach Smith fuming and a furious time-out saw the Jets return to the court re-focused and ready to put the game to bed, which they duly did.

By the final period the Heat were out of the game and Smith sent out Ellesmere Port-born Phil Brandreth for some vital minutes.

And there was plenty for the fans to cheer as FIBA, the world governing body, announced Team GB would be playing at the London Olympics. And if the Jets enjoy success this term, there may be good reason for GB coach Chris Finch to pay a visit to the Northgate Arena before he selects his squad.

After the match Smith said: "The second half was a lot better as eventually we found our groove despite some key players sitting on the bench.

"The guys covered well without Matt. Cal did a great job without him and in the second half we thought as Cal was playing well and Matt had three fouls we'd stick with Cal for a while. When Matt finally came back he played great which is tough when you've been sitting for a while and had a few tough calls against you, but Matt has shown his character in a lot of ways this season.

"I think we need to learn from the third quarter. We're fighting for the title, whether people think we are or not that's what we're doing ad we shouldn't be playing sloppy regardless of the score we should play hard because we've got some tough games coming up.

"But once we sat down and chatted quietly about it the guys went back out and did the job."