Reading Rockets shot down as Worthing Thunder edge thriller

The decisive fourth quarter saw them limit their hosts to just 11-points. Hafeez Abdul once again led Thunder with 26-points, followed by Daniel Johnson-Thompson with 12 and Tom Ward with 10.

Reflecting on a brilliant evening, Ishmael Fontaine said, “We’ve been establishing a defensive mentality all season and we saw a cohesive effort to be organised and accountable. We were singing from the same hymn sheet.”

He advocated for calm though: “I don’t use single games to draw conclusions. Every team we play are different; mentality is important.”

While Thunder arrived in the doldrums of four straight defeats, their hosts had only one loss in their last four. They found themselves in despairingly familiar territory when Jermiah Jenkins converted his own steal to put Rockets ahead by 7-points early in the fourth.

Luke Moore typified that, producing a play for a tape when he finished a long two after blocking Zack Powell, all thanks to Fontaine’s surgical pass, using an angle no-one but him saw.

Captain Abdul paid the price which accompanies being second top average points scorer. He took 9 fouls throughout the evening, more than double anyone else. He responded when he backed Elijah Maynard to the basket to put Thunder clear by four-points; his triumphant battle cry showed the meaning of victory.