LEGENDS SURVIVE WARRIORS SCARE TO SECURE BACK-TO-BACK 18U CROWN

Isaac Temilola powered the Southwark Legends to their second consecutive 18U CBL Championship with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, capping off the MVP performance with a superlative slam dunk in the last 10 seconds to seal the win.

Coming into the game as the only undefeated 18U team in the league, the odds were certainly stacked in Southwark’s favour as their challengers, CONEL Warriors were without 2 of their top 3 players with Ge Comolo and Juan Nguema both unavailable for this critical clash.

It would have been understandable if the Warriors gracefully bowed out of the game, against the highly-touted athletic starting 5 of the Legends, featuring the 6’8 Temilola, ultra explosive Adrian Mutohori, Andre Bonnick, Jack Fraser and Donequie Downer.  From that all-star 5, 3 are previous 2nd Team All-League selections (Mutohori, Bonnick and Temilola) with Downer and Fraser boasting 1st Team All-League status.

Southwark were stacked.

However the Warriors had some hidden gems of their own who came to play on the day, led by the long-armed silky smooth guard Omari Pond-McKenzie.  Pond-McKenzie can get his shot off against anyone in single coverage and he proved that time and time again in this game, proving unstoppable in man to man cover.  His turnaround jump shot, especially on the baseline, was good money all game long. Always cool, calm and collected – his confidence and game-ready composure fuelled his team with genuine belief they could score at any time, and when the ball was in his hands, he did.

Newcomer Chad Neptune also put the Legends on the back foot with a near double-double, with 10 points and 8 boards, including 2 three’s from deep beyond the arc.  An emerging shooter who can also put the ball on the floor, strong, and not afraid to mix it up, Neptune played a chord the Legends were not expecting.

Defensively, the Warriors may have the best on-ball defender across the entire CBL in Omar Lannaman-Williams, a 6’2 guard with octopus-like arms and lateral quickness that keeps opposing guards up at night trying to figure out how they’ll get past him.  Keep an eye on him – he has next level defensive ability.  Facts.

With Head Coach AJ Roberts rallying his troops, the Warriors stunned the Legends in the first half to end the second quarter up by 4 and looking good doing it.

Legends Head Coach Max Simon sensing his usual stars were not firing on all cylinders through foul trouble and being thrown off rhythm by the stifling Warriors defence, urged Temilola to take control – and take control he did.  The Legends big man began to exert his dominance on the glass, scooping up shot after shot and crucially converting put backs on the offensive end, while limiting CONEL to just one shot per offence on the defensive glass. With the game in the balance, he also called on his veteran point guard to step up and steer them home.

With the Legends down 1 in the last 2 minutes of the game, Downer stepped up to nail a huge 3 pointer to put the South Londoner’s up by 2, only to be responded to by a lightening quick drive from CONEL’s Shaquille Thomas, which resulted in 2 free throws from the foul line, which he duly converted to push the Warriors back up by 1. A Temilola putback pushed the Legends back up by 2 in the last 30 seconds, setting up a final push from CONEL who looked to Pond-McKenzie to respond on the 3 point line. As CONEL’s Hakim Linton advanced the ball over the timeline looking for Pond-McKenzie, Temilola leaked out and intercepted the pass, dribbled full-court and ended the game with a championship winning dunk.

A dramatic end to an exciting season sealed the 3rd championship of the day for the Southwark Legends, capping their most successful season in the CBL to date. Congratulations to Head Coach Max Simon and the entire Legends family on an outstanding season and getting the 18U team all the way through to an undefeated season and a rare ‘back to back’ championship.