Storming finale to slam-dunkin' season
THE OXFORD Men's Blues Basketball Team put the finishing touches to a dream season during the last weekend of Hilary term by winning the BUSA National Championship at Loughborough University. With their victory in the final over the hosts, the Blues completed their "triple crown" by adding the national title to victories over Cambridge and an Oxford Town side which plays in the first division of the National League.
The Blues won all five of their matches in the weekend tournament, where the eight best university teams in Britain did battle against one another. They began by crushing Loughborough, a side widely considered to be Oxford's main rival for the title, by more than twenty points. Ben Markovits' dunk at the buzzer served notice that the path to the title ran through Oxford. Loughborough were not accustomed to being blown out, as was demonstrated by the ejection of their coach and a series of technical fouls following unsporting conduct from several of their players. Blues captain O.J. Choutka, who was consistently outstanding throughout the tournament, hit three out of four three-point shots, scored eighteen points, and made the opposition look foolish with his precision back door passing.
King's and Lancaster were quickly dispatched on the Saturday. Will Burdette, determined not to go hungry, nailed four three-pointers in the first match, which Oxford won 82 - 66. Against Lancaster, the strong inside play of Tim Walker, the veteran leadership of Martin Gilkes, and the tireless defence of Charlie Olson helped close out an easy 77 - 40 victory for the Oxford side.
Sunday morning saw Oxford with a semi-final against a very physical team from Brunel, West London. Brunel tried to intimidate Oxford to take them out of their stride, but Oxford's experience showed when the team's President Jade Newburn politely declined a Brunel player's offer to pursue matters outside after the match. The BUSA MVP's muscle on the court was more than Brunel could handle, as he scored twenty-two points and grabbed a stunning 15 rebounds while leading Oxford to a 73 -57 victory. Burdette, who hit a key three-pointer at the buzzer of the first half, explained that Newburn had been planning to take a nap after the match and didn't have time in his schedule for unnecessary waking activity.
Oxford had been waiting for the final all season long. Loughborough comfortably defeated Oxford Brookes in the other semi-final that morning, setting up a championship game which pitted the Blues against their biggest rivals over the last few years. Loughborough had narrowly beaten Oxford in the semi-final in the same venue in 1998, but were themselves hungry for the national title, having lost in the final that year. The Oxford women's team set the stage for the men by winning their second consecutive national championship immediately before the men's match. About three hundred Loughborough supporters gave the hosts their perennial home court advantage, and provided an electric atmosphere for the match.
Loughborough held the early advantage, jumping out to a six point lead, but made a crucial mental error mid-way through the first half, when their seven-foot Budweiser League centre picked up his third personal foul, and then immediately committed his fourth by slamming the ball on the court in protest of the call. Oxford's point guard, Diego Angemi, was engaged in a fierce battle with his counterpart from Loughborough, known only as 'The Badger'. Angemi wore him down, occasionally even provoking cheers from the hostile crowd for his quickness and hustle. The Loughborough supporters did find an easy target for derision in Oxford's coach, Rich Parkes, suggesting via the medium of song that he was follically challenged, with a less than sylph-like waistline and of limited sexual appeal.
The excellent team defence combined with strong inside play from both the former England juniors captain, Steve Riley, and the ferocious Newburn provided Oxford with a seven point lead at the half. But at the start of the second period Oxford found themselves with disciplinary problems of their own, as Riley picked up his fourth foul, putting him at risk of being sent off. Power forward James 'Homo Hurrionus' came off the bench and provided some muscle in Riley's absence, but Loughborough narrowed the Blues' lead to four points. The game was still close when Newburn committed his fourth foul, and had to be taken out of the game. Ben Markovits filled in as a much-needed force inside, grabbing four key rebounds down the stretch, blocking a shot, and a making a remarkable eight of nine shots from the floor.
Oxford held a tenuous four-point lead, and their failure to hit their free-throws in the game's final minutes made the match closer than it might have been. But two key plays regained momentum for the Blues. First, Markovits made the play of the season, throwing down a spectacular dunk over the outstretched arms of Loughborough's seven foot center. Then the shifty Angemi drew a fifth foul from 'The Badger', leaving Loughborough without a true point guard. Oxford pulled away, getting sweet revenge with a 73 - 66 victory, and their first national championship in four years.
That key contributions were made by many different players, typical of Oxford's performances this season. The team's well-roundedness is an important part of what has made it the best Blues basketball team since Bill Bradley played here, and perhaps before.