Plymouth Raiders 69 - 91 Marjon Patriots

Plymouth Raiders suffered their second defeat of the season in the league on Sunday against local rivals Plymouth Marjon Patriots.

A new local derby was born this weekend as neighbours Plymouth Marjon Patriots visited the life centre to take on the green and orange half of the city, Plymouth Raiders. A sell out crowd awaited both teams on Sunday with close to 500 fans packing into Plymouth’s Life Centre.

The sellout crowd didn’t seem to effect either team as they both came out swinging, a huge slam dunk for Tom Elliott-Smith got the crowd going early but this wasn’t enough to keep Marjon at bay. The team in white and teal took the spoils in the first quarter edging out Raiders 16-29. Patriots weren’t done spoiling Raiders return home for the first time this year as they continued their dominance throughout the second quarter heading into the locker rooms with the scores at 38-47.

Raiders continued to try and shake the new year jitters as they moved into the third 10 minutes but nothing they could do slowed down the youth of the Marjon side. The third quarter finished the same as the previous two with Patriots on top 55-71.

Raiders had one last 10 minutes to try and keep their unbeaten home record in tact and not lose the first local derby of the season. Even with the crowd (and foxy) behind them, the green machine had left it too late to strike up a comeback with the game ultimately ending in defeat for the Raiders. Marjon Patriots take the first set of bragging rights in the city for this season with the final score ending 69-91.

The only shining light for the home side was the ever consistent Tom’s. Both Elliott-Smith and Woods carried the team through the game finishing on 23 points each, taking Tom Woods overall tally for the season to 197 and Tom Elliott-Smith’s to 140.

Speaking on the defeat Head Coach Gareth Laws said “First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate Marjon on an extremely well played and executed game. They displayed an impressive array of shooting and composure for such a young team. Hats off to them and the fans that travelled the short journey to our home venue and added to the atmosphere. That was just incredible.”

“It goes to show just how special a basketball game can be at the Division 3 level. It’s an amazing opportunity to allow players to come into our venue and compete in an environment which resembles a professional basketball team. Let’s not forget, the players are all working adults, parents and students and to come together for a competitive, respectful and friendly cross town clash was a privilege be part off.”

“These events can only be good for the game or basketball, not just for Plymouth, but basketball in general and goes to show how much talent resides locally.”

“However no matter the circumstances in every defeat lies an opportunity for growth and improvement. Losing a local derby may sting in the moment, but it also presents a chance to reflect, learn, and come back stronger. It teaches us humility, resilience, and the importance of teamwork.”

“We will embrace the lessons from this loss, both individually and as a team, from players to the coaching staff, and use them as fuel to ignite our passion, dedication, and drive to excel in the next challenge that awaits us.”

“Like all new teams, it sometimes takes a time to gel together, we and show flashes of brilliance. We just need to extend to the full 40 minutes, and when we do, it’ll be amazing to see.”

“I’m proud of our team, and I know we will bounce back for the next game bigger and better.”

“Thank you to all the supporters both home and away that came through to make the first local Derby in years a spectacles to be part of.”

“Future is bright basketball in Plymouth.”

“Finally, let’s go, Raiders!”

Raiders now sit with 5 wins and 2 losses in the league and have made the job of winning the league that slightly bit harder for themselves. Your team in green return back to the Life Centre for their next game on January 28th as they face off against Cardiff Met Archers 2. Raiders played the Archers just before the festive break and came out victors 95-91 so will hope to return to winning ways in two weeks time. Keep an eye on Raiders socials as tickets will be on sale soon, make sure you get them early for this one to avoid disappointed as they eye another sell out crowd.