In the build up to Varsity 2014, hype reached a whole new level with Team Southampton coming to life over Facebook, YouTube and the general buzz amongst sports teams, as we all received our new Team Soton kit with unified colours for the first time ever… Varsity was coming home! Check out the Varsity teaser here.
Varsity is not just about playing for your team, it’s the chance to represent your entire University wearing the Team Southampton colours with pride, putting them on our back and telling Pompey, we are better than you. That is what happened Sunday 9th March, the launch of Team Southampton.
Where else to start other than the epic ending to the Men’s game, which has gone viral with over 1.5k likes, almost 200 shares and reaching over 150,000 people and counting. This will definitely be one Varsity to remember, and I know every single member of SUBC can not stop watching and re-living this moment over and over again.
Firstly special mentions must go to the boys who finished off their SUBC career on a high, with Freddy Dines stepping up as point guard and bringing the intensity to the team in the first half, as the Sharks enjoyed a 20 point lead! Lewis Elliot impressed too, dominating the boards and hitting all of his jump shots. The game was looking comfortable, however Sharks took their foot of the pedal a bit in the 3rd, allowing Portsmouth to go on a huge run, bringing the game back into reach closing out the 3rd quarter to be within 10.
Liam Kelly, on his last Jubilee game after 7 years, made sure there would only ever be one outcome, scoring 19 points of his own. The most important of those came in the crucial closing moments as he cooly sank 2 free throws under immense pressure, bringing the score to 61 – 58! The Jubilee was full of support for both Team Pompey and Team Southampton, with everybody on their feet, constantly checking the clock as the game was coming to an end, and that is where the video starts… Instead of taking the easy look at a jump shot, Portsmouth’s #7 drove to the lane, making a tough layup through contact, picking up the foul call to give himself one shot to tie the game with 6.2 seconds remaining. The Sharks fans poured under the basket for distraction, but he had nerves of steel as he sank the shot to tie the game 61 – 61. The Team Soton crowd couldn’t quite believe that the game was looking to go into overtime.
Then the magic happened, with 4 seconds left Rabih Zahabi inbounds the ball to Omar, gets it back over the half way line and puts up a huge 3, beating the buzzer mid air as the crowd looks on in disbelief as it drops straight through the hoop, giving Southampton the most incredible finish to win Varsity 20114. Unbelievable scenes followed as the Team Southampton crowd flooded the court, with beers flying, bodies jumping and people just generally going crazy. It was an absolutely epic end to an incredible match, one which will definitely go down in Team Southampton history.
The Women’s team, after mopping up the beer from the epic celebrations that followed the buzzer beating shot, looked to finish off an SUBC triumph over Portsmouth Uni’s Basketball Club, and that is exactly what they did. Complete domination saw the girl’s smash Pompey 70 -25 with a great chance to rotate the bench, giving everyone minutes and baskets.
The Women’s side also had the same sort of start to the game, easily building up a big lead as Roisin Quinn playing in her last Varsity matchup hit 5 of the game’s opening baskets and the Sharks quickly built a 16-4 lead. The coaches then decided to get more of the bench on the court for vital game time experience, and Sharks finished the quarter up 19-7. In the 2nd quarter, Sharks stepped up on defence only allowing Portsmouth to score 1 point!
With premiership promotion playoff games coming up, the Sharks wanted to prove that they had what it takes as they hammered the ball up and down the court putting in 25 points in the 3rd. The Women’s team were victorious in the end and the celebrations continued as the whole club moved over to Wide Lane to enjoy the sunshine with free Dominoes, multiple drinks in hand to watch as Team Southampton continued the winning with the football and rugby.
Team Southampton smashed Team Pompey 204 – 64 across all sports and Varsity 2014 was finished off perfectly with Team Southampton taking over 90 degrees!
What a day. Varsity 2014!
SUBC aren’t finished yet though, as the girls look towards their 2 Premiership promotion play off games and the Men’s 1sts have just secured their place in the BUCS Cup final! Let’s go Sharks! We are Team Southampton.