VArsity 2024 match report

Panthers - Win 38-25 - Captains: Chiho Asano, Defne Kisinbay





The Cambridge Panthers clashed against the Oxford Twos in an intense Varsity basketball showdown on the 2nd of March at the Cambridge USC. The court was charged with anticipation as both teams aimed for victory in this highly anticipated matchup. It was a fantastic and intensely defensive performance from the Cambridge Panthers which resulted in a 38-25 victory over the Oxford Twos.

The game commenced with an electrifying atmosphere, showcasing the talent and determination of both teams. In the first quarter, both teams demonstrated remarkable accuracy with their shots, consistently finding the basket even under pressure. However, the Cambridge Panthers defensive teamwork made it difficult for the Oxford Two players to penetrate, evident in their struggle to score within the 24-second possession. However, the Oxford Twos excelled in their shooting precision and offensive rebounds, The quarter ended at 5-15 in favour of Oxford.

In the second quarter, Cambridge's strategic defensive adjustment, employing an full-court press, posed a formidable challenge for Oxford and stifled their scoring opportunities, narrowing the point gap. Despite Cambridge's determined efforts to catch up, Oxford managed to maintain their composure and control, ultimately outscoring their opponents in the last two minutes of the quarter. Oxford secured vital points and preserved their lead with the score 12-19 heading into halftime.

In the third quarter of this intense clash, Cambridge intensified their defensive strategy with an improved full-court press, effectively preventing Oxford from advancing beyond the centre line within the eight-second limit. This relentless defensive pressure led to numerous turnover opportunities for Cambridge, disrupting Oxford's offensive rhythm. Capitalising on these turnovers, Cambridge surged ahead and managed to secure a narrow lead, with the scoreboard reading 22-21 in their favour. The heightened defensive intensity and strategic adjustments made by Cambridge proved instrumental in their comeback, setting the stage for a thrilling conclusion to the match.

As the game approached its climax, tension gripped the audience as each possession became critical. Cambridge continued aggressive defence and fast breaks, demonstrating their scoring prowess. Although the Oxford Twos initiated their own full-court press, the Cambridge Panthers continued to secure the ball possession, maintaining and advancing their lead. As the final buzzer sounded, the Cambridge Panthers celebrated their long awaited triumph in the Varsity match with pride, cherishing the momentous occasion and laying the foundation for future success.



Women’s Blues - Loss 29-54 - Captains: Rose Conway and Lauren Harrison-Oakes

Another Varsity clash between Cambridge and Oxford women’s first teams saw Oxford take the win, though it was a fantastic performance from both teams. Defence took centre stage, with both teams limiting the other to below 20 in the first half and keeping both final scores below those seen in games throughout each team’s BUCS season. We also saw some fantastic individual defensive efforts - more than one dramatic block from Cambridge’s players.

The game tipped off with Cambridge securing the ball. But the back-and-forth exchange in the first minute ended with Oxford securing the first 2 points from free throws. Cambridge went on to dominate Oxford on the offensive boards, though their shots continued to struggle to land. A big block from Cambridge in the 8th minute followed by a beautiful elbow shot on the other end of the court gave Cambridge their first 2 points. Oxford answered immediately with a mid-range shot and the back-and-forth continued with some nice pick-and-roll offence from Cambridge. The quarter continued to be low scoring from both teams, ending with a final score of Cambridge 7 - 10 Oxford.

The second quarter kicked off with Cambridge scoring off a fast break lay-up to bring them just 1 behind Oxford. Oxford pulled away again though following a lay-up and banked 3. But Cambridge kept their no-quit mentality, drawing a foul and draining both their free-throws amongst Oxford fan’s taunts - Ice cold! Both teams played intense defence but gave away fouls in doing so, bringing both Cambridge and Oxford into the penalty. This cost Oxford free-throws late in the second, with Cambridge converting. At half time the game remained tight at Cambridge 14 - 17 Oxford, with the score reflecting the struggles of both teams in draining shots and high effort defence.

Going into the second half, tight defence from both teams meant that the first buckets were scored almost three minutes into the first quarter by Oxford. A strong 3 and a sharp cut into the paint for a lay-up. Cambridge countered with playing down low with post moves drawing fouls on the way up and getting lots of chances from the line. Oxford had a strong mentality around offensive rebounds, getting many second chance shots, but still their main game was in their pinpoint 3-point shooting. Cambridge had incredible hustle keeping them in the game exemplified in a heroic jump dive to keep the ball in play near the end of the quarter. But Oxford gets the last bucket, a banked 3, leaving the score Cambridge 21 - 30 Oxford.

The final quarter opens quickly with a put-back by Oxford, punishing the zone defence Cambridge has put on. A fastbreak opportunity for Oxford is stopped dead in its tracks by a powerful block near the rim. Oxford ,not deterred, starts putting on the pressure and increasing their intensity, winning many offensive boards and opening space for strong 3-point shots, off both of which they coolly continue to turn into points, widening their lead. Though Cambridge is not deterred, they continue to fight tooth and nail to stay in the game with great plays against Oxford’s tough zone defence and making tricky shots. With such high intensity, Cambridge quickly builds up to team fouls which Oxford continues to exploit, with good free-throws. Towards the end of the game Oxford continued to pull away with very strong jump shots and cuts through Cambridge’s zone defence. In the end they put the game to bed with a fantastic final quarter leaving a final score of 29-54.

Overall, it was a thrilling game to watch with very strong defence from both sides. Oxford took the victory with their consistency from range, which Cambridge just couldn’t quite match playing close. There were great ball movements and fantastic hustle all around, giving us a Varsity Blues match to remember.

Lions - Loss 46-55 - Captain: Matt Greenig

Heading into the 2024 Varsity Match, Oxford and Cambridge M2 had both competed in BUCS Midlands Division 3, where Oxford had secured 4th position in the table while Cambridge had struggled mightily all season, failing to secure any wins despite some competitive showings. The two teams had faced off in two prior league matches during the season, with Oxford taking the first game comfortably with a score of 74-53 and securing a close win in the next fixture with a score of 82-76. Cambridge therefore entered the arena with a lot to prove while Oxford set out to maintain their advantage. 

The Varsity Match started off with high intensity on both sides, with Oxford opting for a man-to-man defensive scheme characterised by intense ball pressure and liberal back-side help, daring Cambridge to beat them off the dribble and make the correct pass after a defensive rotation. Cambridge, on the other hand, set up their 1-3-1 zone defence, a scheme that had worked well for them in previous fixtures by taking advantage of their speed at the guard position and their length at the wings. Some early scoring around the basket by Emils Bahanovskis forced defensive adjustments from Oxford, prompting them to dial back slightly on ball pressure in favour of protecting the paint. Cambridge subsequently took advantage of the increased space around the perimeter with some hot outside shooting by Bora Olmez and Modestas Matusevicius.  Early scoring by Oxford’s John Mazlish and Daniel Lane took advantage of the gaps in Cambridge’s zone defence, and throughout the quarter Oxford were able to generate high quality shots particularly by finding space along the baseline, exploiting a key weakness of the 1-3-1 zone. Cambridge’s shot making kept them in the game but Oxford’s ability to generate open shots around the basket by finding gaps in the zone proved to be the decisive advantage, and the first half finished 28-20 in favour of Oxford. 

The second half introduced a variety of adjustments from both teams. Defensively, Oxford continued to prioritise protecting the paint over defending Cambridge around the perimeter, a choice that Cambridge struggled to capitalise on as they struggled to make outside shots. Nevertheless, Cambridge were able to generate offence by instead creating shots in transition. These efforts were spearheaded by Jakob Stadler, whose speed and intensity on the fast break generated a huge number of opportunities for Cambridge, with Jakob himself showcasing an array of dynamic scoring moves around the basket. Oxford, on the other hand, continued to generate good looks on offence with unselfish ball movement to find gaps in the zone, with Antoine Berger finding key pockets of space to score and Daniel Lane catalysing the offence with key passes. Despite Oxford’s strong passing, some defensive improvements from Cambridge were evident compared to the first half, owing to the great intensity brought on the perimeter by Mason Rodriguez and Jakob Stadler, who forced a number of turnovers from Oxford’s guards. Nonetheless, despite these efforts Cambridge were only able to break even with Oxford in the second half, failing to make up the deficit incurred in the first half. The game finished with a final score of 55-46 to Oxford. 

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Men’s Blues - Win 88-67 - Captain: Alex Ramsay


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Unlike last season, being in BUCS Division 1 this year allowed us to have two looks at Oxford prior to the Varsity match. In both regular season fixtures we came away with convincing victories so needless to say our confidence was high heading into the biggest match of the year. That being said, Coach Tim Weil emphasised to us in the preceding weeks that the heightened importance of Varsity, complete with its traditions and history, meant Oxford well and truly would not go down without a fight. My message to the team was much the same in the huddle before tip-off: we have to come out firing and maintain that energy for all 40 minutes. We did not disappoint. With an opening few minutes of tenacious offence rebounding, hard screens, and active hands-on defence, I was able to knock down a few shots and we were quickly able to assume a 15 to 3 lead. Oxford stuck with us for the remainder of the quarter, however, only for a late run and a couple of free throws from Carter Beatty seeing the opening quarter end with us in the lead by 26 points to 18.

It was on the back of our defence that we were able to expand our lead in the following quarters. We stayed in a man-to-man defence the entire game which saw us come away with a number of steals, force a string of turnovers, and allow the opposition little purchase at the rim. On the offensive end, that same tenacity, aided by a barrage of interior pick-and-rolls, provided Luca Lukacevic with a series of dunks that added to the score and even more to the energy of the arena. Carter Beatty and Kostas Tsigaridis too made outside shot after outside shot, Vik Varma and Anton Kamke characteristically patrolled the mid-range and, in the rare event that a shot bounced off the rim, our bigs did an excellent job of securing the rebound. This all-round team effort engendered a ballooning of our lead and a half-time score of 51 points to 35.

After continuing our strong efforts in the third quarter, Oxford pleasantly surprised us in the fourth by opening with a short-lived 2-3 zone defence that created open looks from the three-point line that we were able to capitalise on. The story was much the same as before and we were able to maintain a sizeable lead throughout, despite Oxford playing bouts of intense defence and knocking down shots here and there. As a captain, perhaps the most rewarding feeling is seeing the team come together for a big game and play for each other. In what was perhaps our most complete game of the season, it was easy to see that everyone was having fun, embracing the moment, and absorbing the support from a hearty Cambridge crowd. When the final whistle blew, everyone on the team had received game time, everyone had given maximum effort, and it was reflected by an 88-67 score line.

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College League All Stars - Loss 59-63 - Captain: Andrej Jovanovic

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On the 2nd of March, Cambridge hosted Oxford for the annual Varsity Basketball weekend. Only this time, there was a special fixture in the line-up. Cambridge had put together a team of their best and brightest college league all stars to take on Oxford’s M3 team. The team, organised by Darwin College, comprised players from Darwin, Churchill, Wolfson and Girton. This was a first for the men’s side of the draw; a testament to the growing basketball community at both universities.

On paper, the fixture did not seem that it would bring up much excitement. A 9am tip-off, and a College League All-Star team (CLAS), that only had six training sessions as a group, going up against a much more experienced Oxford side who played regularly in their local league. Not only that, but, frankly, the CLAS seemed out of place with their assortment of non-matching basketball shorts. Yet, this fixture ended up being the most exciting basketball played that weekend. 

The game begins! The plan for the CLAS was to apply considerable pressure onto the Oxford team from the outset, cleverly drawn up by coaches Mia Hassoun and Daniel Watts. CLAS took a commanding lead over the M3s going into the half thanks to the veteran leadership of their starting five. At this point, it seemed that Cambridge had the win in the bag; the pressure was on them to keep the game in control. 

However, Oxford were not going down without a fight. With huge support from the away crowd, and an eruption from their star point guard Ramón Nartallo-Kaluarachchi, Oxford were able to mount a comeback and take the lead back a few minutes into the fourth. The real battle had begun. Unfortunately, CLAS big-man Andreas Economou suffered a season-ending injury down the stretch; a massive blow for the team’s paint presence. The CLAS and Oxford traded baskets back-and-forth, with the game going down to the wire. CLAS players Matthew Liu and Ziyang Sun tried to keep Cambridge in the game with a couple of clutch three pointers. However, the experience of the Oxford side showed as they were able to keep calm under pressure and convert where it counted - at the free throw line.

In the end, Oxford secured the win by a margin of four points in a nail-biting finish. Nevertheless, despite what was written on the scoreboard, the CLAS kept their heads up high and took the result as a success. They produced an incredible showing, despite the odds being stacked against them. We hope that the competitiveness shown in this year’s fixture paves the way for a rematch in Oxford next year; the CLAS are hungry for redemption!

A special shout out goes to Andreas - get well soon, big fella!


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