Before I proceed to the game report, I would like to express the sincere and deepest commiserations of the entire Stockport team for the sudden and unexpected loss of Eric. Some of knew Eric personally from his Manchester University days. Most of the people in MABL would associate him with Chorlton Jedi and I hope they remember him as a worthy opponent but most importantly as a friendly sociable person.

Now to the game... It was an interesting and fiercely contested game. Throughout the game the two teams were neck-to-neck. In the first quarter Blackpool used efficiently the home advantage and was leading by 18-14. In the second quarter Stockport staged a come back and with an 8-0 run halfway through the quarter, was leading by 29-26 at half time in what proved to be a low scoring half.

Things picked up offensively in the second half for both teams. At the end of the third quarter Stockport was leading by 47-41. This set up the scene for a thrilling fourth quarter. Blackpool was catching up and Stockport then increasing the difference. With 6 minutes to go Stockport was leading by 2 and then had a 6-0 run which was answered by a 5-0 run from Blackpool. With 1 minute to go the difference was only 4 points and then free throws in the last seconds resulted in the final score.

Dave Siddal who had a quiet first half only scoring 2 points, came very strong in the second scoring 25 points!! Dave Lloyd had a superb game scoring 12 points with 2 crucial 3-pointer shots. Tom Sutton had some impressive rebounds both defensively and offensively and a spectacular dunk! He also contributed 10 points.