England 101-110 Slovenia England 5-2
England drop tough loss to miss out on Qualifying by Points difference
In the final game of the qualifying stage, England had to face Slovenia. The winner would progress to the round robin stage and the loser would be left wondering what could have been. England had been up against it all season and nothing changed here as Slovenia came out crunching. The first quarter gave England fans some hope of a hard fought victory but by HT i'm sure there were some questions. England gave up a season high 38 point quarter in the 2nd, a clinic of offence by Slovenia or lack of defence by England? You decide. The third quarter saw England cut into the lead allowing only 19 points, a much improved effort from the 2nd quarter. England headed into the 4th trailing by only 2 points, 81-79. Unfortunately this time round England could not find the second wind they have so many times this season to take the game. A tough loss for all. England missing out of qualification by a mere 8 points difference. Still a valiant effort from the boys. We were still missing a key player through injury and had to face yet another crunch, so a proud result for sure.
Feeney Lee's Player of the Game: Luke Innes 20 points 8 rebounds 4 assists 10-16 (40 minutes)
This game signals the end of the first official campaign for England. Now its onto scrimmages and a chance for the coach to test out some tactics.