Brixton Topcats 56, Derby Trailblazers 65
To Brixton Rec! …on Sunday afternoon to see the crowning of the English Basketball League Division 2 champions.
Sadly it wasn’t to be the Brixton Topcats.
Whoops - was that a MASSIVE spoiler alert?
They don’t call them Crap Match Reports for nothing.
The Trailblazers [ahem] arrived at the Rec sitting at the top of Division 2. A win would guarantee the title. But never underestimate a Brixton b-ball team that is built around a lot of love and local unity.
The Brixton b-ball court meanwhile is built around something a little more tangible. This was the second time that the new surface at the Rec has seen the Topcats treading the boards.
I’ve lost count over the number of new Rec floors that I have witnessed over the past two decades. I like to think that the continued need to resurface the main hall suggests a much used local facility, rather than bad housekeeping.
And whaddya know - the new floor looks ACE.
The benches have been shifted even closer to the b-ball court, putting the spectators up close with the players.
Nice aftershave, Sir.
A new sky blue surround lines the four walls of the main hall. It looks decent. Shame though that it was also the exact same colour of the Derby vests, giving the impression of home court advantage for the away team.
A fast-paced game was played out right from the first buzzer. Quick hands and up and down the court in less time than it takes to send a tweet from an (unofficial) @BrixtonRec twitter account.
It was a testing time for even the most skilled of multi-bloggers.
I was left all fingers and thumbs and resolved to simply watch in awe as both teams tore each other apart right in front of me.
An early 16-4 lead for the Trailblazers was soon pulled back to 16-11 by the Topcats. A time out for the away team, and the sky blue table toppers came good with some strong three pointers.
A sizable (ish) away support had traveled down from Derby in hope of seeing the champions elect come good. The Brixton boys and girls sitting on the benches didn’t disappoint, cheering on the Topcats Brixton style.
36-24 to the Trailblazers come the half time buzzer. Brixton weren’t exactly bullied, but they were finding it a little bruising against a physical Derby team.
The lead was cut back to 7 points and the Topcats looked like they could be party poopers.
“YES!”
…came the somewhat ambiguous coaching message from the Derby bench.
“YES!!!! YES!!!!”
…was the equally ambiguous reply from the Derby Captain.
Ahh - but what was the question?
Do you like the new Brixton Rec floor?
“We need to play the Brixton ball game and not the Derby one”
…was the advice overheard from one Brixton fan.
BELIEVE Brixton, Believe.
A final push from the Trailblazers in a devastating one-minute period of play effectively sealed the game, and the championship.
The Trailblazers and the away support celebrated.
No bubbly on that LOVELY new Brixton Rec floor please.
