Pilots in Leicester & London

I figured I would start a thread specific to this topic.

Here is the itinerary for the trip:


Info from the UP site on the trip is located here: www.portlandpilots.com/londontour

Per a post on the UP link above, today's (Tuesday) game at 11:30am Pacific Time will have a live stream available via the host's (Leicester Riders) Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/ridersbball/ .  Some of us need to work, but I am hoping a few can catch some of the game and let us know how it goes.  

GO PILOTS!

Pilotnut wrote:Some of us need to work,

Lol.

When has that stopped anybody before?

Ran into a guy today whose brother recently signed with the Newcastle Eagles. He says it's not their top team the Pilots are playing today, but a Select team which I understand to be a university team affiliated with Newcastle somehow? He thinks the Pilots should win today.

1st quarter thoughts: Pilots down 20-16.

Pilots starting lineup:
Porter, M.
Porter, F.
McSwiggan
Diabate
Hartwich

Subbed in:
Shaver Jr., Jackson, Smoyer, Tyson, Hogland.

Thoughts...
- Turnovers and turnover potential: Lots of miscues by the Pilots thus far. Still figuring out each other's playing style. Might just be the cobwebs from flying or the FIBA rules. Lots of travel issues which is a FIBA rule.
- Porters both look solid. Good decision-making on passes and shots.
- McSwiggan and Diabate both look really athletic but just could not get the shots to fall.
- Hartwich finally using his size to his advantage over shorter opponents. Hopefully, he continues to do that. Still not a great ball handler.
- Defense overall looked decent at times.

Halftime: Pilots up 31-30.

2nd quarter starting lineup:
Shaver Jr.
Tyson
Jackson
Smoyer
Hogland

Just realized that this team has a few former college players. So, somewhat professional. The next game against the Riders of Leicester will feature some of the first team for Leicester. Should be a good test. Commentators mentioned that this Newcastle team is just a bunch of guys who haven't played together for anytime at all either.

Their commentators are doing a really good job at knowing the Portland roster and giving shoutouts to our social media. Real good promotion of our team. Highest viewer count I saw, though was 90 for the stream. They mentioned 2,000-3,000 unique views, though.

- Turnovers starting to be an issue. We are down 17-25.
- Tyson is still a streaky three shooter, but does well when he takes it to the hole.
- Hogland is a strong rebounder. Volleyball skills showing. But has been foul prone.
- Shaver Jr. with a clutch buzzer-beating shot at the end of the shot clock. Gave us some momentum.
- Jacskon with a clutch three to bring us within one point.

- Back to the starting lineup plus JoJo Walker instead of Diabate. Tie game at 25!
- McSwiggan with some bad passes and a few too many turnovers for my taste. He is just trying to be a little too fancy maybe. Good defensive hustle, though. Finally scores this quarter.
- Franklin Porter continues to impress.
- Pilots force a shotclock violation!
- Hartwich doing a much better job of attacking the rim. Keep doing that.
- I just witnessed goaltending on a free throw in the Pilots favor.
- TURN. OVER. S.
- Lots of good blocks on defense.

Portlandpilots wrote:MBB: Pilots carry a 31-30 lead into the half. Franklin Porter with game-high 8 pts and 6 rebs, Hartwich with 6 pts as well. #GoPilots

Goaltending on a free Throw?

3rd quarter score: 47-47.

3rd quarter starting lineup:
Porter, M.
Porter, F.
McSwiggan
Diabate
Hartwich

Stone subbed in for Hartwich. Porters out with Walker and Jackson coming in. Tyson in for McSwiggan.

- Diabate scores! Has a great move on his next shot, but it doesn't fall. He is just so close on so many shots and makes very athletic moves to the hoop, but they just aren't quite falling for him. Somewhat reminds me of Kevin Bailey because of this.
- McSwiggan with more fancyness that leads to a turnover. But, he has a sweet floater.
- Defense is forcing several rushed shots (that miss) as the shot clock expires for Newcastle. This is good. More good blocks. Defense is what is keeping us in this game.
- Stone calmly hits his first shot: a jumper from the free throw line. Hits his next shot, which is another midrange jumper.
- Tyson hits an NBA range three from the top of the arc. He is like a much more useful Tanner Riley in this game.

Geezaldinho wrote:

Portlandpilots wrote:MBB: Pilots carry a 31-30 lead into the half. Franklin Porter with game-high 8 pts and 6 rebs, Hartwich with 6 pts as well. #GoPilots

Goaltending on a free Throw?

That is what I believe happened. Hartwich stepped to the line for two shots. He hits the first. The second rattles around the rim for a bit and the Newcastle team jumps up to poke it out while it is still above the rim. Referees never really made a clear call, but one point was added to our score.

Pilots win at the buzzer!  67-66 over Newcastle, driving the length of the floor in the final 6 seconds to score the game winner at the buzzer... I only could watch the last minute or so, and had no sound, so I couldn't tell who hit the shot, but it was a back-and forth nail biter at the end.

Edit to add: Franklin Porter with the game winner. It looks like the entire game is now available for replay on the facebook link above, and you can fast forward to the last 3 minutes of the video to see Porter's final shot from just inside the free throw line to win it.

Final Score: Pilots 67 Newcastle 66. Pilots WIN!

4th quarter lineup:
Walker
Jackson
Tyson
Stone
Smoyer

McSwiggan and Hartwich in for Stone and Smoyer.

- Wheels falling off this quarter. Pilots down 7 with 3:16 to play.
- At some point Shaver Jr. switched to jersey 50. Not sure what happened. Regardless, hits a needed layup on the fastbreak.
- It's getting aggressive here with 2:21 to play. Pilots starting to come alive.
- McSwiggan hits a three to pull the Pilots within 1: 62-61. Then, he gets an offensive foul called on him during the following possession.
- Good free throw defense. 1 minute to play.
- McSwiggan with a important shot. Pilots up one. Give up a shot on the next defensive possession. Down one again.
- We foul. Newcastle can't inbound and our defense secures the turnover. Pilots hit the basket! Pilots up one with 10 seconds left!
-  Newcastle converts. Pilots down one.
- Franklin Porter runs the ball down the court and scores the floater! Pilots win!


Overall impressions:

Always great to win the first one! We clearly suffer from inexperience and unfamiliarity with each other. The defensive effort was phenomenal. It kept us in the game. But, no matter the size of the hole we kept digging ourselves, we kept coming back. Franklin Porter goes God mode on the last possession and wins the game for us! That all being said, let's talk about individual players.

- Diabate: really raw and athletic. He will be a beast, but he just needs to hit those shots.
- McSwiggan: flashy. Sometimes too flashy. But, he has earned that right because when he gets to work he scores.
- Franklin Porter: game winning shot.
- Malcolm Porter: good point guard and leader.
- Hartwich: same old, same old. He is much bigger and was playing more physical. That needs to carry over to the regular season. He was a huge part of the defensive effort with several blocks. He needs to continue to take advantage of his size over opponents. When he went strong to the basket, good things happened.
- Jackson: a great role player. Definitely a good guy to have coming off the bench right now. Should be a starter in the future.
- Stone: very impressed in his few minutes. Wish I could have seen more.
- Tyson: you already know.
- Walker and Shaver Jr.: both looked good, but nothing really caught my eye. Not necessarily a bad thing. Both should be GREAT players in the future after a little Terry Porter development.
- Hogland: foul prone. Didn't play much. Still glad to have him.
- Smoyer: still needs time to develop. Didn't do anything bad during his time in the game.

Hope this was helpful for everyone. Sorry that it's long, wordy, and not well-written.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Hope this was helpful for everyone. Sorry that it's long, wordy, and not well-written.

This is greatly appreciated... Thank you! I checked in here a couple times when the boss wasn't looking and was glad to have your updates!

As I noted above it looks like the entire replay of the game is available at the facebook link above. You can easily move to about 4 minutes left in the video to see the last couple possessions, and Franklin Porter's buzzer-beater to win it.

Greatly appreciated.

So.... we win on a goaltended free throw. Sweet.

Did they play international or NCAA rules?

Geezaldinho wrote:Did they play international or NCAA rules?

International/FIBA rules.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Hope this was helpful for everyone. Sorry that it's long, wordy, and not well-written.

Sorry, nothing! These were great to read. Like PilotNut and probably a few others, I was at work so wasn't able to tune in beyond the first couple of minutes or so (enough to be impressed by both Porters). The thorough breakdown was greatly appreciated.

PilotNut wrote:

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Hope this was helpful for everyone. Sorry that it's long, wordy, and not well-written.

This is greatly appreciated... Thank you!  I checked in here a couple times when the boss wasn't looking and was glad to have your updates!

As I noted above it looks like the entire replay of the game is available at the facebook link above.  You can easily move to about 4 minutes left in the video to see the last couple possessions, and Franklin Porter's buzzer-beater to win it.

Agreed. I was able to watch bit and pieces in between work, but your updates filled in those blanks nicely.

My overall impression is that we are much more athletic, but still very raw. This overseas trip came at a good time for the team. Hopefully they will continue to gel before they get thrown to the wolves at PK80.

The Pilots are now 2-0 on the trip across the pond, after the closed door scrimmage yesterday against a select Leicester team.  I am not sure why this would have needed to be closed door?  The UP recap (linked on the UP site above) indicates the Pilots cruised comfortably to a 86-49 win.

The team indicates that today's (Thursday) game against the Leicester Riders team will be the toughest test of the trip.  The game tips at 11:30am PDT, and will be streamed again on the Riders' Facebook page (link in the first message).  Hopefully SCP will provide his summaries again!

Go Pilots!

Note that the Pilots are alternating starters at guard. As well as the two Porters played in the first game, they did not play in the second. Walker played well in the second based on my review of the box score--though I looked at the box last night.

Thank you South Carolina Pilot. I would take issue only with calling Franklin Porter's effort at the end "God like," for a whole number of reasons, among the least of which would be that he was not well guarded and that he obtained a kindly bounce from the rim for the shot to settle into the net. Not to say that his effort wasn't laudable . . .Well heck, I cannot find the comment now . . .

Hartwich is a guarding the rim like few Pilots we have seen before him, but the competition is likely adding to his stats.

First of all. Not too sure how much of this I can provide today. I too have a job. Haha. I will do my best for now.

1st quarter score: Leicester up 27-13.

1st quarter lineup:
Shaver Jr. (wearing 50 again?)
Porter, F.
McSwiggan
Diabate
Hartwich

Subbed in: Porter, M., Walker, Tyson, Stone, and Smoyer.

- I have to wonder if we are tired from playing three games in three days. It has been a very sloppy game thus far.
- Franklin Porter and Shaver Jr. both look like ballers.
- Hartwich and Diabate both struggle with holding on to the ball.
- Sometimes we just force things too much. Trying to pass the ball inside over people who steal it away. Driving the lane and putting up a shot against three defenders instead of passing it to an open man.
- Smoyer reminds me of Hartwich during Hartwich's first couple seasons: taller than everyone else, but not physical/strong enough to play post.
- Stone has a good midrange jumper. That will be valuable.
- Our guards are soooo much better than our forwards, in my opinion.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Shaver Jr. (wearing 50 again?)

I'm really hoping this is only temporary. Bringing up too many bad Bryant Reeves memories for this former Vancouver Grizzlies fan.

Halftime: Pilots up 41-39!

2nd quarter lineup:
Walker
Porter, M.
Tyson
Stone
Smoyer

Subbed in: Shaver Jr., McSwiggan, Hartwich, Diabate, Porter, F. After Shaver Jr. hurt himself (see below), Porter M. comes back in.

- This is a much, much better team than the last two we have faced. But, these guys are mostly pros who are older.
- Walker hit a deep three with a hand in his face.
- Commentators mentioned this (and I agree): this game is a good test for our bigs. They need a lot of developmental help.
- Stone with the elbow jumper. Seriously a good shot.
- Tyson is hitting his shots today.
- Shaver Jr. and Porter, F. with some important threes to bring us within 3. Then Leicester hits one of their own.
- Shaver Jr. reminds me of Wintering. He did this total north-south run for a layup that reminded me of Alec. But, he hurt his ankle and limped off on his own power. Porter, M. comes in to replace him.
- Hot take: Franklin Porter is our best player. We should steal more St. Mary's players.
- Hartwich sends a Hail Mary pass to Porter, M. for a buzzer beater layup at the end!

Dean Murdoch wrote:

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Shaver Jr. (wearing 50 again?)

I'm really hoping this is only temporary. Bringing up too many bad Bryant Reeves memories for this former Vancouver Grizzlies fan.

I would laugh so hard if Vancouver got an NBA team again before Seattle. I know they are making a case for themselves since they already have an arena.

Fun Fact: when I was a kid I thought the Vancouver Grizzlies were from Vancouver, WA.

3rd quarter score: Pilots up 63-55.

- Their stream had some technical issues, but once I got it up we were suddenly winning 52-39.
- Well, their video and audio feeds dropped, but the score bug is still on the stream and it shows us up 61-46.
- Video is back!
- Sorry, all. This quarter was a loss for me.

Final Score: Leicester wins 80-79.

4th quarter lineup:
Walker
Porter, M.
Tyson
Diabate
Stone

Subbed in: Hartwich, Shaver Jr., McSwiggan, and Jackson. Tyson in for McSwiggan. I lost track after that. Too many to keep track of during the final minutes.

- Diabate got blocked hard, but then serves up a brick wall for Leicester immediately on the other end. Good recovery.
- Just realized that the 3-point line is deeper in FIBA rules, which makes what we hit from beyond the arc all the more impressive.
- Diabate can be frustrating to watch offensively. Sometimes, he just tries to be too much of a hero right now. I can't wait for him to develop a little bit more, because he could be unstoppable. Defensively, he is already a beast: pulling down rebounds, boxing out, and blocking well.
- Leicester put their best players in with 2 minutes left. They want to win. Make no doubts about that. Their fans have gotten in to it.
- Pilots up 3 with two minutes to go.
- Porter, F. weaves between two defenders and banks the layup off the glass.
- Hartwich with the in-your-face flush! Do that more man!
- Pilots up 3 with 50 to go.
- We keep giving up second chances to Leicester. It's why they are still in this game. They airball many shots and no Pilots are there to grab the rebound. Puzzling.
- Leicester hits two free throws. Pilots up 1 with 29 seconds
- We get called for a 5-second violation inbounding it. Leicester went with a full-court press. Reveno-esque.
- Leicester hits one free throw and its tied at 78 with 29 seconds.
- Shaver attacks the basket and draws a shooting foul! 9 seconds left. Shaver misses the first, but hits the second!
- Leicester misses and Pilots can't rebound. Ball goes out-of-bounds to Leicester with 1 second left.
- Pilots players checking in at the scorer's table during subs, which is amusing to the commentators because it's unnecessary in FIBA rules.
- Leicester hits a layup at the buzzer to win the game. Little backdoor cut and our bigs missed it. Learning opportunity.
- For all intents and purposes this game was a draw. Scoreboard just has to read a certain way at the end. Oh well. Keep in mind we did this against a professional team.


Followup: hope this was helpful again. I will not be able to provide such commentary for our next game.

Thank you, SCP! Good stuff.

Maybe we should hire you to live tweet all games?! And by hire, I mean pay you the same salary that I get from this site.

Is the game at the Copper Box being streamed on Sat. ?