After last year’s remarkable journey to the cup final, the Surrey 89ers began this season’s journey with a qualifying round match-up with the visiting Caledonia Gladiators.

The two sides have met twice in league action this season so far, both picking up a victory on the road. A much-changed Gladiators roster arrived at Surrey Sports Park, minus the recently departed Kevin Allen, and injured Rian Holland, Ethan Wright and Malcolm Delpeche.

Surrey is also missing key players.  The sad announcement of a season-ending injury for Kareem Queeley, coupled with Andrew Lawrence also missing, saw more products of the Niners Pathway added to the roster in the shape of Max Coupe and Josh Smith-White.

The early exchanges became a shootout, with both teams showing proficiency from 3-point range.  Kino Lilly Jr for the Niners and Jet Speelman for the Gladiators both started with the hot hand. As the first quarter progressed, the Niners began to shut down the visitors’ offence and opened up a 29-21 lead at the break.

Koonce’s return has been vital

The return from injury of Owen Koonce really added to the Niners’ effectiveness on both ends of the court. A fit Koonce finally being able to showcase exactly what he can offer, particularly important in the absence of Queeley.

The game continued on a similar course through the remaining three quarters. Surrey’s offensive efficiency was matched by the Gladiators profligacy. Highlighted by 21 turnovers, the Gladiators seemed unable to string together any consistency on offence. Surrey continued to profit and ran out as comfortable 99-69 winners. Booking them a place in the cup quarter-final against the Leicester Riders.

The Niners led by the ever-impressive guard duo of Kino Lily and Ronald Polite, with the latter recording 15 points with 100% proficiency from the field. A real team victory for Surrey, with court time spread around, giving everybody much-needed minutes, and affording coach Gardner the chance to experiment with different lineups.

From a Surrey perspective, the highlight of this game was seeing more homegrown talent given the chance to shine. Never more evident than the performance of cult hero Timmy Nwankwo. In an impressive 23 minutes, Timmy recorded career high stats, eight points, seven rebounds and an assist, much to the delight of the Niners faithful.

The final lineup on court for Surrey really showed the belief in youth. Ronald Polite, Nedas Cholevinskas, Timothy Nwankwo, Max Coupe and Josh Smith-White are finishing the game. Will the SLB see a younger lineup than that this season?

Last season’s run to the cup final was a remarkable achievement for the Niners, considering the road games in every round. Who’s to say history cannot repeat itself, and another memorable journey may just be getting started.