Latest News and updates will be posted on this page.

Please check back regularly.

TO ALL EMBL CLUBS ........

ON THE 20TH SEPTEMBER AT THE UNI OF HERTS THERE IS A OFFICIATING REFRESHER TRAINING COURSE.

FUTHER INFO FROM bob@bhania89.freeserve.co.uk

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Last updates: 23/04/08

EMBL FINALS - MATCH REPORT

STARS 105 - GINTARAS 91

The EMBL play off final was played last night 22/04/08 at Sydney Russell Leisure Center between Stars & Gintaras and with both teams turning up early, you knew they both meant business.

With table officials in place and score sheets ready the cheerleaders started to make their way to the court , as the crowed warmed up with the beating of their drums, disaster struck, the backboard at the Stars end mysteriously broke, the crowed fell quiet, players and league officials looked on in disbelief. After numerous phone calls and lots of discussion, it was decided that we would try different options to resolve the situation. Kes of Gintaras finally found a new backboard and with the aid of a 30mm spanner and a make shift tower his DIY skills were put to the test. He past this test and saved the play offs.

When the game final got under way it was Gintaras who hit the first points of the game with a three point shot from A.Dirse. The crowd went wild and seemed to spark a reaction from Stars straight away. R.Alexander & P.Edwards were not to be outdone and also hit three point shots and pulled away to a 24-16 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Gintaras cheerleaders lead us into the break with moves and music.

Stars came out the stronger & won most rebounds as Gintaras missed shot after shot. Gintaras seemed out muscled, but kept trying to move the ball and then go inside. With P.Edwards R.Alexander & J .Clark of Stars all hitting three pointers. A.Dirse of Gintaras was not going to be outdone and hit 2 three pointers as well. Stars opened up a lead of nine points by the end of the second quarter to go into the break 40-23 up.

The Cheerleaders entertained the crowd during half time and kept everyone’s spirits up.

At the restart the game moved from end to end with Gintaras still missing shots and then losing the rebounds. A.Dirse and T.Bruzas tried to pull Gintaras back, but yet again P.Edwards of Stars hit two three pointers and Stars took a 74-61 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Luckily the cheerleaders once again did their bit and made us smile.

As we came out for the final quarter Gintaras changed tactics and played a full court press. Stars defence held its nerve and it was only a matter of time before the fouls started. Gintaras sent Star players to the line so as to win possession back but unfortunately for them R.Alexander, G.Hill and E.Seaman made most of their shots and Gintaras managed to lose three of their players to personal fouls. Gintaras fought on to the very end and made the final score a very respectable 105-91.

Both teams had played their part in what was an epic final in the EMBL and an exciting evening of basketball, cheerleading and DIY no how.

Presentations of the following trophies were made:

League Winners - Stars Play off Winners - Stars League Runners up - Gintaras Play off Runners up - Gintaras League Top Scorer - M.Ornella of Eastbury Tigers League Runner up Top Scorer - A.Dirse of Ginataras

A big well done to all involved and thank you to all those table officials and referees who turn up game in and game out throughout the season, because without them there would be no games.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this season and am looking forward to start of the new season in September to see what further excitement it can bring.

As always if there is anything more you would like to see added to the website then please contact me as all ideas welcome.

Wayne Ratford – League Secretary

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Last updates: 2/04/08

Embl champion Stars make the way through to the play off finals after beating Erks 90-79

The Play off finals are Tuesday 22nd April 2008 Tip off 8:30pm Spectators welcome.

The presentation of the league trophy to Stars will also be made after the above game.

Last updates: 14/04/08

This weekend sees EMBL champions stars take on Erks in the secound of our play off games.(Sunday 20th April Tip off 11 am at The Lammas school E10 7LX)

The winner will take on Gintaras on Tuesday 22nd.

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Last updates: 02/04/08

s/f 2 Gintaras 78 Cardinals 74

Well done to Gintaras who are the first team through to this years EMBL play off Final.

Gintaras and cardinals faced each other for the second time in two weeks. This time the prize would be a place in the EMBL finals. Cardinals were first out of the traps and in the first couple of minutes of the game took a 12-4 lead. Gintaras seems shocked by the speed of Cardinals fast break and the awesome rebounds of the starting five. Gintaras appeared rattled and missed shot after shot and ended the first quarter 21-15 down.

At the start of the second quarter Gintaras brought on player No 3 V.Kersys and pressed all inbound balls and this seemed to change the shape of the game with both coaches getting highly animated you knew it was going to be a long night for the table officials and the referees. By the end of the second quarter the scores were level at 30-30.

With Cheerleaders entertaining the small but loud crowd both teams knew that the game was still there to be won.

The third quarter saw Gintaras start the stronger and No 12 Z.Skaburskis hit 3 three pointers in a row. Cardinals No 4 M.Defoe and No 5 K.Seal were pulling out all the stops to keep the scores tight and the lead bounced backwards and forwards the entire quarter with the end score seeing Gintaras lead 52-50.

As the final quarter started you could sense that the game was going to get heated. Cardinals came out the stronger and No 4 M.Defoe hit the first six points to send Cardinals into a 56-52 lead. The fouls were coming in thick and fast and No 10 A.Ivanovas was sent to the line twice in under a minute. He scored four out of the six shots to level the scores yet again. Cardinals ran some fast breaks to regain a four point lead (60-56). Gintaras coach brought on No 15 T.Buivydas and his impact changed the game: he was fouled, was sent to the line, scored the shot, intercepted the inbound pass, scored, was fouled, and was sent to the line again. No 12 Z.Skaburskis then hit a three point shot to take the lead. Cardinals fast break got them level straight away; they then won the ball back again on defence and scored to take a two point lead (66-64). T.Buivydas took a brave three point shot and this sent the cheerleaders into overdrive and both benches were highly vocal as there was only two minutes left on the clock. K.Seal was sent to the line and scored one of his two shots levelling the score (67-67). No 23 A.Dirse hit a significant three pointer, but Cardinals fast break yet again got the score back to 69-70. Gintaras hit the next four points. Cardinals then brought the scores back to 71-74. At this point of the game with fouls on any man who had the ball No 2 A.Sakurovas was sent to the line and made both his shots and Gintaras lead 76-71. Now there are less than 40 seconds to go. Cardinals moved the ball straight out to No 9 A.Molnar who hit a three point shot (76-74). Cardinals fouled the nearest man and sent N0 2 A. Sakurovas back to the line. He made the crucial two shots and with Gintaras winning the inbounding ball they run out 78-74 winners.

Gintaras now waits to see whether they meet EMBL Champion Stars or Erks in the FINAL on Tuesday 22nd April 2008.

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Last updated 19/3/08

S/F 2 GINTARAS V CARDINALS TUESDAY 1ST APRIL.

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EMBL WINNERS STARS

RUNNERS UP GINTARAS

3RD CARDINALS

4TH ERKS

5TH LAKERS

6TH FOREST

7TH EASTBURY

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EMBL LEAGUE TOP SCORERS

1ST M.ORNELLA EASTBURY 254 POINTS

2ND A.DIRES GINTARAS 248 POINTS

3RD R.ALAXANDRA STARS 247 POINTS

SEE THE FULL LIST ON RESULTS PAGE.

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Last updated 18/3/08

STARS WIN EMBL...STARS WIN EMBL....STARS WIN EMBL.....

Gintaras or Cardinals?

With the EMBL title all ready decided we now look to tonight’s game to see who will finish as runners up.

Gintaras will look for the win to finish the season on the same amount of points as stars and look back on the two defeats by the champions as to why they are second.

Cardinals must win the game by more than 25 points so as to take 2nd spot.

Tonight’s game should be leading up to a most exciting finish to what has been a great season for all in the EMBL.

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Last updated 14/3/08

STARS WIN EMBL...STARS WIN EMBL....STARS WIN EMBL......STARS WIN EMBL..

Congratulations to stars who last night won the EMBL.

Gintaras and Cardinals now fight it out for secound spot.

Game 37/37a Cardinals v Forest Panel result 3 point win Cardinals.

PLAY OFF NEWS

GAME SF1 EMBL WINNERS STARS V ERKS DATE TBA

GAME SF2 2nd SPOT V 3rd SPOT DATE TBA

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Last updated 10/3/08

The top scores in the EMBL are all playing this week and it couldn’t be closer.

A Dires of Gintaras leads the board on 228 and stills has two games to play.

E.Seaman (224) & R.Alaxndra (217) of Stars are closing in fast but only have one game left.

M.Ornella (212) of Eastbury is still in with a chance as he also has two games to play.

Pennock (200)of Forest could still manage to stay in the top ten witch he lead for so long if he plays.

Go to the results page to see the full top ten.

KEEP ON EYE OUT FOR THE TOP PLAY OFF HOTSHOTS !

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Last up dated 9/3/08

Stars 88 Lakers 59

Lakers played Stars today in their last game of this season and were hoping to bring back some pride to what can only be described as an on off season.

Stars needed a win to make sure that their last game against Forest would clinch the EMBL title. Forest have already pulled off one surprise win this year against Erks and could hold the key to the title for Stars.

If Stars get the same team out against Forest as they did today Coach Alan Dainton will have to pull off something special to cause a major upset.

Lakers were out muscled by Stars and number 15 E.Seaman played great offence throughout the game and scored 40 points which also takes him up to number 2 in the EMBL top scores.

Lakers finish 5th and as for stars the title is in their grasp.

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Last updated; 07/03/2008

Game 27a cardinals v Tigers now 17/3/08 Refs Colin & Daphne

Eastbury Tigers - 39 Erks 114

posted by Erks

The second string unit of the Erks squad made the short trip to Barking last night to take on the league's basement boys, Eastbury Tigers.

With Mark Denchfield not playing, there was no need for the team to await Mark's entrance which is usually about four seconds before tip off time. With Craig Pringle missing, the likelihood of all team members being present and listening during time outs was also significantly increased. Also, with Declan and Church replacing Gary and Jonny Lee, the possibility of losing to Eastbury also decreased (see earlier loss in season to Forest).

Erks started very lively with Rela, Gareth and Martin all looking particularly hungry for points in the first quarter. With Eastbury now playing on the big Eastbury court (as opposed to the shoe box that they have played in for the last twenty five years), the run and gun game was more likely to occur.

With the game almost over at the end of the first quarter with Erks leading 34 - 6, all six Erks had already registered points on the score sheet.

Disaster was to follow in the second quarter for Garbage Time Dave Churches when Ken Bates of Eastbury out muscled and out rebounded Church on numerous occasions whilst racking up eight of the home team's twelve points in the first fifteen minutes. Further humiliation was then to follow as Bates head faked Churches and drove around him while securing yet another score on the Garbage man. With the Erks team in bewilderment as to Churches lack of movement, coach McCusker then realised that Church was wearing Paul Haydan's old boots which were welded to the floor. The coach had no option but to bench Churches so that Erks dominance could then continue which it did until half time where they lead 60 - 18.

The second half was more of the same with Gareth shooting every time he got the ball (and hitting occasionally), Martin trying to drive through gaps that were not there and Rela continuing to run the floor at a pace which was significantly slower than when he was five years younger and two stone lighter. The coach's instructions that nobody should shoot the ball one second into an offence (apart from himself) were widely ignored until he secured his spot in front of the Eastbury bench and coolly nailed a succession of jump shots, including 4 three pointers.

The fourth quarter saw Martin take Garbage's place with Ken Bates now dominating him at both ends of the floor resulting in Martin picking up three fouls, no rebounds, three turnovers and being scored on at ease. Garbage re-entered the game and, realising that the easy option was to throw shots up from outside, he rained a succession of missed three pointers. Erks then ran out easy winners.

Erks scorers:

Declan McCusker 28, Gareth Sims 26, Martin Overare 20, Garbage Time Dave Churches 18, Rela Agbolegbe 14, Twinkle Toes Atkinson 8.

With Cardinals beating Stars last night, this has almost certainly meant that Erks will now finish fourth and will look back at the three losses away at Forest and Home to Stars and Gintaras which has probably cost the Erks at least three league places.

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Last updated: 6/3/08

The EMBL title is still a three horse race after tonights results

Cardinals 82 v stars 71

Erks 114 v Tigers 39

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Last updated: 5/3/08

Gintaras beat Lakers last night 79-49.

Gintaras now hold 1st spot in the EMBL top scores.

1. A.Dires 228 Gintaras

2. M.Ornella 212 Tigers

3. A.Sakurouas 202 Gintaras

4. Pennock 200 Forest

5. R.Hall 198 Lakers

(see result page for the full list off top 10 players.)

Cardinals play stars on Thursday in the crunch match of the EMBL if stars win its all but over in the race for the title. cardinals and Gintaras will then slug it out for secound spot on March 18th.

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Last updated: 29/2/08

Then there were three!

Last night saw Erks give up any hope of the EMBL crown. Gintaras and Cardinals are still in with a chance if results went there way in the next few games. Stars look like it could be there year, but may have to wait till the last game of the season to get their hands on the trophy

Erks - 71 Gintaras 75 (Report Declan McCusker)

Gintaras 100% record against Erks over the last two season continued last night winning their fourth straight game over the current (and outgoing) EMBL champions.

It now appears Erks hope for finishing second is now gone and must now rely on other results to secure third spot.

For the second week running, Erks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a final minute of madness, fouls, turnovers and completely ignoring the specific instructions of coach McCusker during two separate time outs in the last thirty seconds.

Erks had started brightly and finished the first quarter leading by 18 points to 14. However, a 10 point swing to Gintaras meant that Gintaras went into half time leading 39 to 33.

At the start of the second half, Gintaras went out to a 13 point lead midway through the third quarter and it looked as though Gintaras were going to pull away. However, in line with previous games, Mark Denchfield (who generally turns up at tip off time and then misses all this shots in the first half through not having time to warm up) eventually found his range and sunk a succession of 3 pointers in the final two quarters to tie the scores at 71 - 71 with one minute to go.

Erks found themselves with the ball with the ties scored at 71 and just over thirty seconds remaining. Although the Erks main ball handler, Keith Pringle had gone off injured earlier in the quarter, the game was still there to be won. The coach's instructions were to make sure that Erks' took their time, or drew a foul on a good look to the basket, a bizarre Churches jump shot with six seconds gone into the offence gave Gintaras the ball and a full twenty four seconds to dictate the outcome of the game. A needless foul by Erks put Gintaras on the line with fifteen seconds to go. When Daglizis missed the first the first free through and hit the second, the game was still there for the taking by the Erks. However, an acute angle in bound play from under their own basket saw Erks turn the ball over, give the ball back to Gintaras and foul Daglizis once again.

A further time out by the Erks resulted in specific instructions as to whether none, one or both of the three throws were successful. De ja vu then took place as Daglizis missed the first free throw, hit the second and all instructions went out the window with the wrong person in bounding the basketball from directly under the basket to cause yet another sloppy in bound pass, a subsequent turnover and a layout for Gintaras to secure yet another victory.

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Last Updated: 28/02/08

Game 37 28/2/08 Cardinals v Forest called off Forest (Now game 37a TBA)

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Last Updated: 27/02/08

Pennock from forest still number one !

THE TOP TEN EMBL SCORES.( ALWAYS ON RESULTS PAGE)

Position Player Name Team Total Points Scored

1 Pennock Forest 200

2 A.Dires Gintaras 193

3 M.Ornella Tigers 189

4 E.Seaman Stars 184

5 R.Hall Lakers 183

6 A Sakurouas Gintaras 178

7 C.Mark Lakers 171

8 K.Pringle Erks 163

9 R.Alandra Stars 151

10 T.Buivydas Gintaras 135

Stars 4 games left

Erks 2 games left

Gintaras 4 games left

cardinals 4 games left

Lakers 2 games left

Forest 2 games left

Tigers 2 games left

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Last Updated: 25/02/08

Game 33 Cardinals v Gintaras (called off 14th Feb by Gintaras)

Now Game 33a 18th March Only date Cardinals can play

Game 27 cardinals v Tigers (called off Tigers) TBA

..........STARS WIN BY TWO...........(Report posted by Erks)

Stars all but clinched the Essex Met title with a hard fought win over a depleted Erks team, a rally in the final 3 minutes seeing the Stars come back from 74-69 down to lead 81-75, after a flurry of Erks turnovers, a succession of Rodney Alexander drives to the hoop and a banked three pointer from Jon Clark finally broke the back of the Erks resistance.

The Erks were depleted as a result of Dave Churches absence at a quiz night, the veteran centre being accompanied by slightly less veteran centre Jon Lee (who is excused due to recent surgery on a ruptured Achilles) in a team rumoured to be named '11 feet 2 inches of idiot'. In a bonus for Erks website readers, we can report on both the game and the progress of our heroes at the quiz night.

First quarter:

The Erks started with Keith Pringle, Lee Atkinson, Mark Denchfield, Martin Overare and Craig Pringle against a Stars line-up of Paul Edwards, Graham Hill, Rodney Alexander, Rob Burns and Erroll Seaman, the first time in living memory that the Erks were the smaller, lighter and younger team. The Hainault approach from the start was to utilise their size advantage with Seaman, Alexander and Hill looking to go to work around the basket against the Erks man to man defense. A couple of early fouls hinted at a long night for the Erks, but once the game settled down the Erks did a respectable job playing Stars straight up, especially as any double onto Erroll Seaman usually resulted in a pass and open layup for the man left open.

At the other end, the Erks jump shooters came out firing, both Pringles and Denchfield taking advantage of sagging defenders to hit their shots, the Erks taking a 24-19 lead into the break.

Progress was equally encouraging at this stage for our intrepid quizzers in the Geography round, as the country of which Budapest is the capital was easily identified by Churches, although some reports indicate that he was actually enquiring when the buffet opened, as he vehemently stated "Hungry".

Second quarter:

The Stars started the second period positively, a marked increase in defensive intensity forced turnovers and allowed opportunities for Alexander and Seaman to get out on the run against a less crowded defence. Paul Edwards also found his range to fire the Stars into a 36-30 lead. However an Erks timeout gave the hosts an opportunity to recover their composure and the introduction of Gareth Sims sparked a 3 point barrage, Sims hit one and then Keith Pringle caught fire from the top of the arc, hitting three successive bombs to regain the lead for the Erks and send them into halftime 5 points to the good at 45-40.

At the quiz, things were still going swimmingly for Churches, as the subject for the third round was 'stations of the District Line', which is second only to 'High and Mighty Summer Collections 1997-1999' as the big man's specialist subject.

Third quarter:

The Erks emerged from the halftime break and continued where they left off, Craig Pringle hitting from the top of the key and Mark Denchfield taking advantage of being the spare man on offense (as some of the Stars were labouring back on D)with a couple of treys.

At this stage the Erks had stretched their lead to 61-44 and were in danger of pulling away, however Edwards brought the Stars back into the game as others threatened to lose their heads, hitting a lay up and a three pointer and then driving and distributing to allow Seaman and Alexander to get to the hoop. Stars closing with a 9-0 run to leave the score at 61-53 entering the final period.

Things were also starting to hot up at the quiz night, as a combination of 8 pints, 3 plates of vol-au-vents and a tricky General Knowledge round rendered Churches about as effective as he was at the reverse fixture at Stars.

The big man, like Erkenwald, was now hanging on waiting for the final whistle....

Fourth quarter:

Although Craig Pringle stretched the Erks advantage to 10 points with the first basket of the final period, the Stars big men then took charge, a typical Graham Hill move and shot off the glass finishing a 6-0 run that brought the lead back down to 4. After that, baskets and free throws were traded until an unlikely hero stepped forward for the Stars, Jon Clark taking advantage of the space being afforded to him by nailing an open three to cut the margin to 1 point.

Although the Erks again fought back with a trademark Martin Overare up and under move, things started to go pear-shaped for the Erks from then on, as scenting a comeback victory, the Stars closed the lanes for Keith Pringle and with the rest of the Erks somewhat static, turnovers and bad shots were forced and Alexander needed no excuse to go coast to coast, making a pair of lay ups and drawing 2 shooting fouls. Seaman also nailed a couple of free throws to give the Stars a 78-75 lead before Jon Clark hammered the nail into the coffin with a three pointer from the top of the key that rattled in off the backboard. Amazingly Craig Pringle replied with a similar prayer to cut the margin back to 3, but Graham Hill hit one of two as he was fouled with 10 seconds remaining and although the Erks hit a two on the buzzer, time had expired to leave the visitors 82-80 winners. Stars can now afford one defeat and would still clinch a deserved title, congratulations from all at Erkenwald on taking our crown!

At the quiz night, it was a similarly sad story for Churches as the final 'History' round proved a bridge too far, the question 'What happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963?' being particularly unfair as Churches only started watching in the series when Bobby came out of the shower some time around 1986. The Churches/Lee axis eventually finishing out of the money in 4th place.

Scorers:

Erks: K Pringle 26, C Pringle 25, Denchfield 16, Overare 10, Sims 3

Stars: Alexander 28, Seaman 17, Hill 15, Edwards 14, Clark 6, Burns 2

We can also report that the Essex Met's pilot scheme to field a referee's assessor at each game was a qualified success, Daphne Charles and Ben Januskevicius no doubt benefitting from Rodney Alexander's critique of every call or non-call made whilst the Stars were on offense. Presumably the same rigorous review of calls wasn't afforded when the Erks were on offense because the assessor's position towards the half way line cheating the break didn't give him the optimum view of proceedings....

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Last updated; 22/02/2008

Stars go top of the EMBL after a 82-80 win over Erks

Cardinals move up to forth after a 62-51 win over Tigers

NEXY WEEKS EMBL GAMES ALL THURSDAY 28th FEBRUARY

TIGERS V STARS

CARDINALS V FOREST

ERKS V GINTARAS

WHO WILL BE TOP BY FRIDAY?

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Last updated; 21/02/2008

Tonight will see either Erks or Stars at the top off the EMBL.

They face each other in what is a crucial game for both clubs as they push for the EMBL title.

Also tonight Cardinals take on Tigers and need to close the gap at the top if they are going to win the EMBL.

With so few weeks left Cardinals have more games to play than any other team and are hoping that they can fit them all in by March 24th, when the play offs start.

Gintaras will be watching as they take on Erks next week and have aspirations on the title themselves.

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Last updated; 18/02/2008

Still two games T/B/A

Game 27a cardinals v Tigers (called off by Tigers)

Game 33A cardinals V Gintaras (called off by Gintares)

Games must be played before MARCH 24th !

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Last updated; 13/02/2008 17.58

GAME 33 CARDINALS V GINTARAS 14.02.08

(CALLED OFF BY GINTARAS)

NEW DATE TBA

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Report posted: 11/02/08

Erks kept up the pressure on Stars and Gintaras in the Essex Met league by completing a double over old rivals Cardinals. The Erks overcame a horror first quarter, in which they only tallied four points, to keep Cardinals in range and when the shots finally started dropping for Mark Denchfield in the final quarter, the visitors were unable to respond.

In an ugly first quarter, Cardinals big man Mike Defoe was the only player to show any sort of offensive touch, as he scored his side's first six points with a variety of post moves on Erks centre Dave Churches. With shots clanging from all angles, Cardinals took an 8-4 lead, with the Cardinals' zone narrowly outperforming the Erks man to man. The Erks only baskets came from Keith Pringle and Lee Atkinson on the break.

The second quarter saw visiting point guard Molnar break free for his only baskets of the game, a pair of long bombs that vaulted Cardinals into an 18-9 lead. Erks were still hanging in there however, with Sims, Churches and Denchfield all replying with treys to close the half just 8 points behind at 17-25, the Erks having made just seven field goals in the entire half.

Things had to improve in the second half and initially it was the Pringle family who sparked the Erks comeback, Keith hitting from long range and Craig starting to wear down the veteran Tony Peltier with some strong moves around the basket. However it was the benching of Erks centre Churches that really sparked a run. Churches was struggling, his frustration with the referees being compounded by his inability to finish around the basket and Defoe scoring on him at will at the other end. He was replaced with Martin Overare's less orthodox play in the paint and Overare quickly scored a couple of off balance bank shots to justify the move. Player-coach Declan McCusker was also playing extended minutes leading the Erks defensive effort and with a much improved showing, the hosts closed to 37-38 at the end of the third quarter, the Erks smaller quicker unit starting to pick up some easy points as the forty something legs of Eric Andrew and Tony Peltier and the bad back of centre Defoe were starting to become a problem.

With the game in the balance, the suspicion was that if anybody could make a few shots, the game would be theirs. And so it proved, as Erks gunner Mark Denchfield caught fire in the fourth quarter, hitting four treys in the first five minutes to vault the Erks into a nine point lead. That proved more than enough to take the game, as the final five minutes were a scrappy affair with the odd Cardinals basket being matched by Erks free throws as the visitors were forced to foul to stop the clock, the Erks ultimately closing with a 63-51 victory to move to a 6-3 record, maintaining their push for a top 2 finish.

The league title appears out of the Erks grasp now, with Stars very much in pole position after a second victory over Gintaras on Sunday, which leaves them on 6-1 with the head to head over the Lithuanian side on 6-2. An Erks victory over Stars in their rearranged clash would at least set up a tense finish to the campaign however.

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Last updated; 10/02/2008

This years EMBL title looks like it could go right down to the final few games, Erks stay top this week but have played more games than the three chasing teams. Gintares stay secound even though Stars beat them today 82-67.Gintares having played one more game than Stars. Stars move to third place, but have only played seven games. Cardinals stay in fifth spot but have played three less games than Lakers who are fourth. Forest & Tigers will fight it out for the wooden spoon but could draw Lakers into the bottom if the results went their way.

All in all its looking good for the EMBL.

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Last updated; 04/02/2008

With no games played last week the EMBL still stands with Gintares at top spot. The big four all play this week.

Thursday Erks v Cardinals

Sunday Stars v Gintares

Also this week Lakers take on Forest.

Who will be top by Sunday ???????

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Last updated; 01/02/2008

Game 28 Tigers v Gintares called off NOW 28A 13.03.08

Game 29 Erks v Stars Called off NOW 29A TBA

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Last updated; 24/01/2008

Game 27 Cardinals v Tigers not played .(TBA)

Erks get back to winning ways !

Erks 70 Lakers 59 Erks now secound in the EMBL.

Game 35 Stars v Forest moved to 13.03.08

Now Game 35A Forest v Stars

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Last updated; 23/01/2008

Gintares go top after beating Forest 116-38

Erks & Cardinals can close the gap at the top of the EMBL if thay both win on Thursday night.

Cardinals v Tigers

Erks v Lakers

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Last updated; 20/01/2008

Stars 73 Erks 65. Stars go joint top of the EMBL.

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Last updated: 17/01/2008

Forest win agian !

Tigers 53-Forest 60

Cardinals beat Lakers 89-47

The six man team of Lakers was no match for the impressive squad of Cardinals who in their new kit were looking to play as good as they appeared. From the start Cardinals number 9 A.Molnar started to hit three pointers and hit seven in the first two quarters. Cardinals played hard and had a 51- 16 lead at half time. Lakers C.Marks and R.Hall scored most of Lakers baskets. Lakers tried to hold up the onslaught of runs by Cardinals J.hinds & J.Baukham but by the end of the night Cardinals were to strong and with the final score 89-47 the best team won.

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Last updated: 11/01/2008

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GAME 24 GINTARES V FOREST 15.01.08 CALLED OFF NOW 22.01.08

GAME 35 STARS V FOREST 24.02.08 CALLED OFF

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Lakers beat Eastbury 71-45

Erkenwald beat Forest 90-51

Report of game

Erks closed to within 2 points of Gintaras at the top of the Essex Met league with a convincing victory over Forest, Craig Pringle leading all scorers with 31 points. From the outset, it was clear there was to be no repeat of the Erks shock defeat at Forest earlier in the campaign. Craig Pringle’s size and strength proved too much for the Forest defenders as attacked the basket regularly and Keith Pringle had his jumpshot firing early on.

With Forest struggling to score and often forced to take off balance shots, the Erks were able to break, and Lee Atkinson and Gareth Sims took advantage to register some easy points. Sims then started to hit from outside as the defence attempted to clog the lanes around the basket, and the halftime score was a comfortable 53-24 to Erks.

At halftime, coach Keith Pringle looked to keep the Erks focused by setting them the target of keeping Forest to less than 50 points, and then promptly got burned by Forest’s elusive point guard Pardo for 14 points in the second half, picking up 4 fouls in the process. Forest made it to 51 with a Pardo layup on the last offense of the game, however by that time the Erks had hit 90, Craig Pringle continuing to score freely and Mark Denchfield finding his range in the 4th quarter.

The only downside for Erks was an ankle injury to centre Jonny Lee after his 4th attempt to bat the same offensive rebound to himself or another Erks player ended with a Forest player landing on his Achilles tendon. Hopefully the injury is just bruising and Lee will be back for the Erks next Essex Met game at Stars on Sunday 20 January.

Stars 1 point victory over Gintaras in the first game of 2008 kept Erks slim hopes of another League Championship alive. However Erks will likely need to beat Gintaras and then Stars home and away to retain their crown.

Erks Scorers:

C Pringle 31, G Sims 17, K Pringle 16, M Denchfield 12, L Atkinson 10, D Agbolegbe 2, J Lee 2.

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Last updated: 09/01/2008

Stars win 77-76 in the first game of this year and end Gintares 100% record. GAME 21

Last updated: 07/01/2008

And so the New Year is fully under way and we are all trying to recover from one too many mince pies that we may have consumed during the festive period...

With that in mind I am please to confirm that the season starts again this week with games 21, 22 & 23 being played.

Best of luck for the final stretch of the season.

Last updated: 07/12/07

Lakers lost 65 - 90 and Stars now make their way up into the top four of the EMBL. Stars play Gintaras in the first game off 2008 and on the back of tonights victory this could be a big game for both clubs.

Erks go secound in the EMBL after victory against Cardinals last night.

Can they keep up with Gintaras in the second part of the season ?

Last updated: 01/12/07

Pinch punch its the first of the month !

Both Stars and Erks won this week and begin their climb up the table.

Erks play Cardinals on Thursday 6th December and are sure to bring out all the big guns, for what will be a big game as the winner will take second place in the league.

Lakers remain in third place, but have now lost three games in a row. Lakers play Stars on Friday 7th December in the last league game before xmas. Will the Lakers coach survive until January?

Eastbury hold the table up for the first time this season and will start January with only one direction they can go, but they do have EMBL's top scorer to date.

Forest are holding out for their second win of the season, but also have one of the leagues top scorers to date.

GINTARAS will remain top regardless of the results of this weeks games and will go into the new year undefeated.

Please continue to text/email me the scores as and when the games are played.

Last updated: 21/11/07

GINTARES STAY TOP ... Gintares maintain the top spot in the EMBL with a ten point win over last years champions Erks. Thire next game is on January 8th when thay play Stars ( The only team thay have not played so far this campaign.) Can the Stars stop them ?

Last updated: 18/11/07

Gintares go top and maintain their great start to the 07 / 08 season

Stars get their first win at home and hope to kick start their season

This week sees Erks v Gintares . Could this be their black Tuesday ?

Last Updated: 10/11/07

Cardinals go top after their win over Lakers. Is this their year ?

They play last years champions Erks in their next game and will be looking for revenge for last season. Erks have to overcome Gintaras before they meet cardinals.

Who will be top at Christmas ?

Last Updated: 09/11/07

Match Report - Black Thursday

Forest 74 – Erkenwald 69

The reigning Essex Met champions were stunned by Forest, as shorn of their national league contingent and missing the inspiration of coach Declan McCusker, their ageing squad surrendered a 12 point third quarter lead amidst a hail of turnovers and some matador defense that allowed lay up after lay up for an enthusiastic Forest side who thoroughly deserved their victory.

The school side, led by big man Strike and with eye-catching performances from guards Pardo and Pennock, at times ran the legs off the Erks, who perhaps persisted with a man to man defence too long, once it became clear that the speedy Forest guards were getting into the lane with ease and also that some of the Erks contingent (average age at least double that of Forest) were either exhausted, saving their effort for the offensive end or are incapable of playing any help defence.

The game was close for much of the first half, as Pardo lead the attack for Forest and Martin Overare scored at will for the Erks, however a late burst of defensive effort gave the Erks a 36-29 halftime lead. That lead had stretched to 12 midway through the third quarter, before the Erks, presumably assuming the game to be won, started to throw careless passes across the top of the key and allowed the rangy Pennock to make move after move to the basket, most of which he finished with aplomb.

As Forest took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the Erks offence started to stagnate, as shots were hitting the front of the rim, drives to the hole were more in hope than expectation, and the space for Martin Overare started to disappear as Forest, scenting a victory, played with more intensity. Ultimately, the Erks were unable to get sufficient defensive stops to claw themselves level and Forest were able to run out the final seconds to claim a famous victory.

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Last Updated: 08/11/07

Game 8 Stars v Erks (called off 14th oct 07)

NOW Game 8a 20th January 08

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Last Updated: 07/11/07

Gintares go top and maintain their 100% start to the 2007/2008 season.

Thay play Erks in two weeks time . Can thay be stoped ?

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Last Updated: 19/10/07

Match report By Declan McCuskar

Erkenwald (18, 28, 49) 72 – Eastbury (9, 15, 27) 35

Erks tipped off their defence of the Essex Met League crown with a victory over old local rivals Eastbury at Sydney Russell School. In the absence of the Erks national league contingent and with Coach Declan McCusker also missing on family duty, Gary Glennard took up the coaching reigns with a 6 man squad long, and in some cases wide on experience.

From the outset, the Tigers main threat Italian guard Ornella looked to drive and pull up and veteran Wood just looked to drive, both achieving a certain amount of success in the first quarter as the Tigers hung in at 9-10 with 7 minutes gone, provoking the first of Coach Glennard’s “you lot are useless” timeouts of the new season. Suitably fired-up, the Erks embarked on a 12-0 run, with a couple of Gareth Sims treys adding to the usual first half barrage of mid-range jump-shots from Lee Atkinson.

Despite most of the Tigers squad having played against Atkinson for at least 15 years, it regularly takes at least 20 minutes before their sag-off zone makes the necessary adjustments to stop Atkinson being given the sort of uncontested mid-range shots that he makes in his sleep.

With Atkinson and Sims firing away from outside the Erks offence was somewhat one dimensional, but with Tigers struggling to score at the other end, the Erks were still relatively comfortable, taking a 28-15 lead into the half-time break.

The second half went to the script for the Erks, with Tigers once again struggling for baskets, only the occasional circus shot from Ornella and the odd drive to the hoop troubling the scorers. Erks centre, Richard Williams, returning to action after a couple of seasons absence, an ACL reconstruction and the addition of a couple of stones, protected the basket well on defence and pulled down the boards to enable Glennard and Dela Agbolegbe to get out on the break. As Tigers tired, Erks forward Martin Overare started to rack up the points as the spaces opened up and Gary Glennard started to find his shot and roll out the behind the back passes in a virtuoso garbage time performance as the Erks eased to a 72-35 victory.

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Last Updated: 15/10/07

Game 8 Stars V Erks Called off TBA

Change of ref Game 9 Erks V Tigers 18/10/07 Now Colin & Emma

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Last Updated: 13/10/07

GINTARAS BEAT LAKERS 12/13/07

GAME 9 Erks v Tigars REVERSE FIXTURE

GAME 41 Tigars V Erks REVERSE FIXTURE

GAME 14 Erks V Lakers Called off

Moved to 24/1/08 GAME 14a

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Last Updated: 12/10/07

Lakers beat Forest 11/10/07

A big thank you to Jenney for refereeing this game on her own.

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Last Updated: 10/10/07

GINTARAS... OFF TO A GOOD START..

Gintaras beat Cardinals 89-64 in their first game of the EMBL. Gintaras play Lakers on Friday.

A big thank you to Daphne for refereeing this game on her own.

Gintaras did confirm the referees prior to the game.

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Last Updated: 07/10/07

Cardinals go top 7/10/07

Cardinals beat Stars 68-65 on Sunday to continue their great start to this years fixtures. Will this be their year ?

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Last Updated: 05/10/07

A BIG WELL DONE...Tigers go top 4/10/07

The five man team of Tigers beat the 11 man team of Forest.Those five players including Brian Pittman played the whole game and hopefully the two weeks rest till there next game should be enough to find the rest of there team .It did help that the leagues top scorer M Ornella put in 48 points to help prove that you can play basketball with just five players of any age. The rest of the league beware..

Lakers beat Tigers 28/9/07

Cardinals beat Forest 27/9/07

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Last Updated: 30/09/07

NEW!!! - On the Results page I have now added the top 10 scorers across all the teams in the league. This will be updated as and when I receive the completed score sheets. One score sheet received to date hence only two teams in the Top 10 scorers.

ALSO - Should anyone wish to write any match reports or wish for anything to be posted on this website then please contact me at info@essexmetropolitanbasketballleague.co.uk

FINALLY - Welcome back BRIAN PITTMAN who played and score 6 points in his first game back since retirement.

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Last Updated: 26/09/07

Game 1 Forest v Cardinals Thursday 27th

Game 2 Lakers V Tigers Friday 28th

Send in score sheets A.s.a.p

Good luck !!!

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Last Updated: 16/09/07

Game 4 - Lakers V Gintares 05/09/07 called off by Gintares

New date confirmed as Friday 12th October 2007 - Game 4A

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Last Updated: 10/09/07

First game Thursday 27 th September; 1 CONTACT REFS

2 SEND IN SCORE SHEETS A/S/A/P

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Last Updated: 05/09/07

"If anyone is interested there is a Level 2 referees course organised in Ilford for the 15th and 16th September 2007.

Should you wish to attend please contact Darren Trippick on 020 8708 3045."

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Last Updated: 28/08/07

"Can all clubs please email Wayne to cofirm you have read the upcoming seasons fixtures (07/08).

Cardinals - I need to know the address and directions for your court"

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