In a week where the Ipswich Basketball Academy were crowned National Champions in the men’s 3-on-3 competition, several of the future stars of the Academy shone for the club.

East Anglian Daily Times: Esther Little is a star of the futureEsther Little is a star of the future (Image: PAVEL.KRICKA@btinternet.com)

Coach Arron MacDonald’s U16 Boys travelled to face Brentwood Fire, hoping to avenge their heaviest defeat of the season, and they doused the Fire early on, as it rained threes in Essex – with Lewis Tebbit, Ben Winter, Joe Hindley and Matt Spurling all dialling it up from long range, helping the Blues open on a 34-14 tear.

Fire chipped-away at the lead as Ipswich battled foul trouble, taking a three-point lead themselves with three minutes to play, but three straight stops from the Suffolk side combined with their leading scorers Winter (26), Tebbit (22) and Spurling (8) connecting from the charity stripe in crunch time sealed a tense 72-71 win.

The Under 16 Girls travelled to face Southend Swifts in their first game since the Christmas break, and lost by 11. Esther Little (27), Cameron Taylor-Willis (17) and Ella Pearson (10) led the way for Ipswich.

Coach Dave Girling’s U18 Men were also in action against Swifts, where the Suffolk side continued their winning streak, extending their lead at the top of the East conference with a hard-fought 79-76 win. Caleb Moses led the way with 23 points for the Blues.

Coach, Syd Payne’s U14 Boys II endured a heavy defeat to a much more experienced side, but there were positives on-show for the blues, highlighted by Joe Thomas taking a great charge for the team, as one of the division’s youngest sides continues to learn, compete and grow.

The U14 Girls started slowly against Norfolk Iceni, but as their defence clicked into gear in the second quarter, the blues eased away to an 80-28 win.

“We played great defence today” said Coach Hayley Rigby, “and while there’s still a lot to work on, the players have performed really well and gained a lot of confidence today, which should help us next week against Hornets at home, who narrowly took a four-point decision in our last meeting.”

Alicia Bossy (20), Makenna Williams (12) and Emily Boddy/Abbie Yorke (10) led the U14 Girls in scoring.