With clear evidence of Leeds LDM team having strong distribution, good coaching and talented Forwards from early on , it was clear that Leeds were going to use a sterner test than the Explorers opening two games. In the two opening fixtures Explorers strong Forward line had dominated the rebounding whereas they had strong opposition and a battle on their hands.

It was the strong forward play that meant Leeds got off to flying start and quickly established an 10 point lead. After a time out and a re focus on the Explorers strategy , the U16s had their strongest spell of the game with the front three of the Explorers putting the Leeds team under pressure with strong driving into the key putting the opposition on team fouls for the quarter and leading to several unforced errors which helped the team pull the deficit back to 4 points .

Explorers new approach continued to attract defensive fouls but Explorers were unable to further capatliize from the free throw line and Leeds built up a 9 point lead by the end of the first half which was then never really seriously challenged . The team then kept in the game by only losing the third quarter 13 v 12 with strong driving from Forwards against a Leeds line up that were by then had a couple of key defenders close to fouling out and having to be a lot less forceful in their defence in the key.

To attempt to overcome a 10 point margin in the last quarter . The Explorers defence had to take some defensive risks to try and steal the ball and generate turnovers with a clear win or bust mentality . This lead to team fouls for the quarter against the explorers and Leeds ensured their victory by taking advantage of the extra Free throws created and extended their lead to 13 by then end of the game .

Quarter Scores :

(Explorers Scores First)

Q1 14 V 19
Q2 9 V 13
Q3 12 V 13
Q4 8 V 11

TOP SCORERS

Ash Beck - 11 | Zac Mawby - 11 | Tom Hodgkinson - 8 | Flynn Saxton - 6 | Abel Jackson - 4 |