IT'S WIN WITHOUT THREE

All were guards: No 1 Danny Hildreth was best man at a north-country wedding on Saturday, accompanied by No 2 James Brame as a guest and by No 3 Sam Mead with his disco. Pianist Mead is also a DJ and certain commitments have taken him out of recent Thunder games.

Regulations require National League teams to name a minumum of seven players. They had David Butterworth, Okoli Ugbana, Steven Gayle, Teon Knox, Steve Parillon, skipper Gaylon Moore and Jon Bailey.

Coach Gary Smith, himself a point-guard had to kit up in the event of requirement (would Ugbana stay on court, might there be an injury?). And Smith also had assistant Alan Sweetman-Hicks ready to step on court if necessary.

On October 2, Thunder went out of the blocks to trounce Kingston 98-74 in the opening game of the season. But this one could have been different '” but the margin instead of 24 points, was still 22, on Kingston's floor. Thunder won 127-105, scored 15 points more than their highest tally this season, and neither "Chicken" Smith nor Sweetman-Hicks was required.

For a second time in three matches, power forward Steve Parillon led all scorers from the three spot. He netted 33 points ahead of Gaylon Moore's 28 and Teon Knox's 25. Height told with these three, and Parillon and Knox both had 10 rebounds.

For Wildcats, former Worthing Bear Sammy Salter led with 20, Dwaine Martin and Wayne Henry had 16 apiece.

Chicken paid tribute to his team: "I was happy with the guys. The seven out there did really well. They understood our predicament, they were aware of the foul trouble possible but also the need still to play smart defence.

"With Kingston you never know what's going to happen. They can catch you off your game if you're not ready. They have several shooters '” Henry, Martin, Shaun Grey and they have added Salter from Leicester.

"But we played solid '” in a six-man rotation and Jon came on for the final three minutes. It could have been the pressure on us, but we executed at the defensive end.

"If we were going to run down court we needed to secure the rebounds first. The game started on a turnover by us but we boxed out well.

"David Butterworth played in the two spot. He had to mark Wayne Henry but he remained active and knocked down shots when they went into their zone defence and we were looking to him.

"Stevie Gayle was at the point despite not having played there for a long time. When he brings the ball up the court he's hard to guard. He can go past you and open up the court for a pass or dish an assist or make his own lay-in."

London United, unbeaten in the league, lost here to Thunder 102-89 in the National Cup on October 17, when shooting guard Jacek Jagodka looked a quality act. A fourth Pole has been added to their main mix by coach Jack Majewski and the fans might well rename them Warsaw United on Saturday.

Thunder derived a resurgence of confidence in their unlucky last-shot cup loss at City of Sheffield '” especially important for centre Teon Knox's rookie learning curve '” and this match will sizzle.

With backing by R.Barker of Tarring and increasing spectator support from youth sports clubs, Thunder's appeal is taking effect.