Storm taste home defeat to Manchester in the SLB Cup

Despite a competitive first half, with Storm narrowly trailing by 3 points heading into the break, a dominant second half display saw Manchester secure a comfortable victory, advancing to the next round of the SLB Cup.

The first quarter saw an extremely high level of basketball being played by both teams, with Brayden Inger announcing his return with a three pointer within the first two minutes of the game.

However, Manchester relied on Nathan Cayo, who went on to score 17 of his 22 total points in the first period. The Storm faithful roared their approval when Matt Ellis produced a poster dunk, before a second Brayden Inger three pointer put the hosts up by 7 points with 5:30 left to play. Despite this lead, the visitors did fight back, forcing Storm into turnovers, which they punished from. However, a Veron Eze lay up brought an end to a high intensity, competitive first quarter, with Storm leading 29-28.

The second quarter started with both teams trading baskets before struggling to take advantage of missed shots and turnovers. However, Storm were able to muster a 9-1 scoring run, which increased the decibel level within the StormDome. Storm were showing an exceptional display of basketball, with the contributions of both starters and substitutes making a significant impact on the game. Despite the lead, Manchester ended the second quarter the stronger, with a 2-14 run of their own to go into the break with a 46-49 lead.

Storm had shown excellent amounts of determination, with the game looking to be on a knife edge going into the second half. However, Manchester began to show the gap between the two leagues moving the ball at a fast pace and capitalising off Storm turnovers. The shooting accuracy of the visitors was also crucial to their success, with a variety of shots being made to increase their lead further. Storm did respond, through the inside presence of Nelson-Henry and Matt Ellis, but saw themselves trailing 59-74 heading into the final period of the game.

Storm approached the fourth quarter looking to chip away at the deficit and attempting to prevent the visitors from any easy shots. However, Manchester started the final period in the ascendancy extending their lead to a game high of 26 points. Overall, it proved to be a low scoring final quarter, as the tempo of the encounter began to fade. Storm had made a good account of themselves; however, were unsuccessful in defeating SLB opposition. Manchester Basketball secured the 73-93 victory, with Storm tasting defeat for the first time since February.

Despite the defeat, this fixture saw Storm show a great version of themselves, in front of a vocal StormDome. They competed exceptionally well throughout the first half, with the difference between the two teams proving evident as the second half went on. They showed promising signs throughout the game against an athletic and aggressive Manchester side, who proved too much for the NBL Division One league leaders.

With the curtain falling on a fantastic 2024, the first game of 2025 sees Storm face Newcastle Knights in the National Cup Semi Final on Sunday, January 5. Make sure to get your tickets on the Fanbase platform here to kick off 2025 with a win.