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BRAVES SHOW SUPREMACY VS WINCHESTER
February 4, 2010 --
Thu 4th Feb 2010
Kings School Sports Centre
8.15PM
WINCHESTER vs OXHOOPS BRAVES (NATIONAL FOUNDERS CUP)
Braves are still upset about missing out in making the NFC play-offs after displaying the capability of dealing with Devils and Swindon. It has become clear that Braves are one of the best defensive teams in the League.
On Thursday night they travelled to Winchester to put things right. Last time they met Winchester came on top by 8 points, both teams were depleted on the day, so it was not the best game. Tonight Braves did not have 3 of the most talented young players in Oxford, Josh Mortimer, Sam Dunbar or Mason Poore. They did have Jermaine Jarvis, David Emsden and Steve Dutton who were injured for the last encounter.
Braves started quickly and took a 11 to 2 lead thanks to strong post play from Preye Ozeke. Winchester were shell shocked, but after a time out they regained their composure and began to play. Braves did not loose their advantage, but Winchester remained close to their tails.
Braves showed dominance inside and outside, as well as being fitter, faster and overall having a far more effective offensive strategy and a much deeper bench.
Braves pulled away in the last quarter by outscoring Winchester 21 to 8.
Final score: Winchester 66 - OXHOOPS BRAVES 86
James Edwards had an amazing game, making 6 from 7 shots from downtown, ending up with 24 points. Preye Ozeke with 19 pts, Steve Dutton with 17 Pts, David Emsden 8 Pts, Mike Porter 7 Pts, Louis Burford 6 Pts and Jermaine Jarvis 5 Pts. Patrice Mulowaye outrebounded everyone at both ends and Adam Hayle struggle for the first time this season as be got into early foul trouble due to some controversial calls.
Braves are organising a series of 3-Way tournaments after 14th Feb, to keep the team involved and at peak condition.
Game MVP: #8 James Edwards 25 Pts.
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BRAVES FALL TO DEVILS IN NAIL BITTING GAME
January 25, 2010 --
SUN 24 JAN 2010 5.00 PM
St. Gregory the Great School
OXHOOPS “BRAVES” vs OXFORD BROOKES “DEVILS”
NATIONAL FOUNDERS CUP
BRAVES just came from a great victory against Swindon Cavaliers 91-58, making BRAVES the first team within their division to score more than 90 points in the 2010 season. DEVILS on the other hand were level on top position together with Winchester.
BRAVES needed to win this game and win at Winchester to stay in the competition, but things have not quite worked out well enough for them. Injuries have taken their toll, especially at Swindon and Winchester, both games could have been won if Braves’ strongest 5 players were healthy.
“This is how things are when teams compete in Leagues where there just aren’t enough games, every game and every quarter counts, one cannot afford to go to sleep at any point. We have had serious issues with healthy players, but regardless of the personnel, we simply had to turn up to play and execute at both ends of the floor.” Franky Marulanda – Head Coach
BRAVES vs DEVILS is a tough match up. On paper Devils have stronger forwards, but Braves have stronger guards. Devils have stronger offensive play, but Braves have shown in the past to probably have the toughest defensive team in the Cup. Both teams have plenty of depth. Who’s going to take it ??? The team that shows more consistency throughout the game and stays out of foul trouble.
The Starting 5 …
BRAVES:
#11 Jermaine Jarvis - Oxford Stealers - PG
#4 David Emsden - OxHoops Sonics - SF
#21 Adam Hayle - Oxford Steaklers - SG
#12 Steve Dutton - Thame Tigers - C
#14 Preye Ozeke - OxHoops Sonics - PF
1st Quarter
Both teams started with a fast pace and trading baskets for the first 7 minutes. After that, Devils went to the line 3 times in a row taking the lead 16 to 11. In the last minute Braves came back with 2 big down town shots from Adam Hayle. The quarter ended 19-17 to Devils.
The first quarter saw Devils take 12 free throws to Braves’ zero, already both Braves’ big men had 2 fouls and the game was just starting. The Coaching team asked the big men to be careful and urged the guards to apply pressure on the guards as it was clear they would not be able to cope.
2nd Quarter
The teams continued to trade hoops over the first minute, but Devils continued to score whilst Braves missed an array of lay ups as well as open jumpers. Devils increased their lead 32 to 20 by the 7th minute. Again by this point Devils had taken a further 6 free throws to Braves zero. Finally Braves Captain, Mike Porter went to the line and made both. Devils continued to score as Braves continued to struggle offensively, defensively they were not that great either giving them too much room and as they tried to recover giving the cheap fouls. Overall, Devils outscored Braves 22 to 8 in the quarter to finish the half 41 – 25.
It’s worth pointing out that by the half Jermaine, Mike and Preye had already 3 fouls and their Centre Steve had 4.
3rd Quarter
Braves came out ready and we could sense that if Devils were not careful a turn of events could take place. However, Braves needed to make some serious defensive stops and then in turn score in order to catch up. Suddenly in the 2nd minute, a foul is called and Steve Dutton, the 6’9” Centre heads to the bench, to replace him Mike Porter steps in, giving at least 4” in height, but Mike was pumped and was not going to let anybody just walk in and score regardless of how big they are. Baskets were traded, but yet Braves still 18 points behind.
4th Quarter
Once again the Coaching team urged Braves to increase intensity and to take away the guards ability to make plays, to take the ball in hard and to get the game back … it was do or die time. Braves responded to this by picking up the intensity to the point were experienced Devils players were making silly mistakes, their guards could not handle the ball and their big men were forced to dribble up court. Within 7 minutes Braves had outscored Devils 21 to 6, bringing the game within 3 points. Devils scored the last 5 points of the game as Braves turned the ball over twice and missed 4 shots from downtown.
An amazing recovery, which most thought it would be impossible. If only they did that on the other 3 quarters. Incredibly, Braves only registered 3 fouls as they played their toughest defense.
Final Score: BRAVES 60 - Devils 68
Game MVP: The Full Suad!
High Scorers:
#21 Adam Hayle: 15
#11 Jermaine Jarvis: 12
#4 David Emsden: 9
#14 Preye Ozeke: 8
#12 Steve Dutton: 4
#15 Mike Porter: 4
#5 Louis Burford: 2
#10 Josh Mortimer: 1
Devils took 30 Free Throws and Made 22, hitting 76.6%
Braves took 4 Free Throws and Made 3, hitting 75.0%
Braves’ Guards scored 38 pts vs Devils’ Guards who scored 26 pts.
Braves’ Forwards scored 22 pts vs Devils’ Forwards who scored 42.
There’s no question that this game was won from the Free Throw Line.
Moral of the story … play tough from the beginning and let the other team beat you playing and not from the line!
BRAVES will be facing Winchester over the next 2 weeks for their last game in their season, although a 3-Way tournament will be organised later on.
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BRAVES RIP SWINDON APART
NATIONAL FOUNDERS CUP
St. Gregory the Great School
17-Jan-10
5.00 PM
OXHOOPS BRAVES (91) vs SWINDON CAVALIERS (58)
MVP: Jermaine Jarvis (Photo Inset)
Hi Scorers:
Jermaine Jarvis: 19 Pts
Adam Hayle: 18 Pts
David Emsden: 14 Pts
Preye Ozeke: 10 Pts
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BRAVES PLAY WELL BUT STILL NO WIN!
Saturday 21st November 2009
Oxford Brookes Centre for Sport
5.30PM
OXHOOPS BRAVES play their best game this season, but Devils sheer size too much for them.
BRAVES still yet to register their first win this season, health issues have been a contributor to their losses as well as poor shooting and lack of aggression throughout the 40 minutes of play.
"We played our best game yet, from the word go we gave it our all, this time we cannot be criticized for not trying or even for not been aggressive enough. We took 22 free throws, as many as Devils did, we also made as many as they did. We only turned the ball over 12 times, but we were out rebounded due to their sheer size, their shooting percentage from beyond the arch was also much better than ours, but we'll bounce back from this and improve our shooting and rebounding capabilities." Coach Marulanda
Braves were missing hi-scoring guard Adam Hayle, as well as versatile all round David Emsden and with PG Jermaine Jarvis, Centre Steve Dutton and Forward Patrice Mulowaye not 100% fit the team felt the strain during the encounter.
Final Score: 78 - 57
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INJURY RIDDEN BRAVES TO FACE WINCHESTER
OXHOOPS BRAVES are to open their home campaign this Sunday 8th Nov at St. Gregory the Great. Braves are looking to even out their record after a disatrous loss in the hands of Swindon Cavaliers.
"The team felt that loss as it was clear that Braves were just unlucky on the night, the ball just did not drop for us on the night, but we'll bounce back from this and get things right." Captain Mike Porter.
Since that loss, the Coaching team and Braves have been working on their defensive rotation, decision making and communication on court which is believed will make a big difference to their game. The key to Braves is having a reliable General on court and Jermaine Jarvis from Stealers is that person, however 2 weeks ago he twisted his ankle and has been out ever since.
"Last year we did not have Jay with us as he needed a serious and long term rehabilitation on his left knee, finally he makes a come back with 2 weeks to start the season and wham, he gets hurt 3 days before we play Swindon. We'll have to make some changes until he's back, but yet again we struggled without him against Swindon." Head Coach Marulanda
It seems that Braves are just destined to play against a team and Lady Luck as well, I say this as I can reveal today that 6'8" Steve Dutton (inset) hurt his left knee with a mild strain during Friday training and it is expected that he'll be out for 2 to 3 weeks. Captain Mike Porter is struggling with a groin injury and big men Preye Ozeke and Sam Dunbar were unable to train on Friday.
"To be honest, we are looking to work hard on D and we'll be looking to run and make easy hoops, get them to work defensively and hopefully end up with a W, but with 2 of our starting 5 missing we'll see how deep we really are." Assistant Coach Omar Boutayeb
The game is less than 24 hours away and I can already feel the tension!
Go Braves Go!
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BRAVES SUFFER FIRST LOSS VS SWINDON
October 26, 2009 --
BRAVES WERE LOST 1st NFC GAME AS SHOTS DIDN'T FALL
Scorers:
#21 Adam Hayle: 22 Pts, 6 Stl, 3 Defl, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 TO
#14 Preye Ozeke: 11 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Blk, 3 TO
#4 David Emsden: 9 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Defl, 2 TO
#12 Steve Dutton: 9 Pts, 8 Reb, 4 Defl, 2 TO
#8 James Edwards: 6 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Defl
#5 Louis Burford: 5 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Defl, 2 Blk, 1 Stl, 2 TO
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Oxford Braves in YOU TUBE
August 25, 2007 --
Oxford Braves have almost a full game uploaded in YOU TUBE for you to watch.
See a young Jermaine Jarvis, Michael "Blackie" Porter, Omar "Crawbar" Boutayeb, Adam "Sharpie" Hayle, Eugene "Butter" Brown and Igor Gric battle against the odds vs Bognor Pirates.
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