Downs Junior School emerged as the winning team at the Brighton Cougars
Yummy Lollies inter school basketball  tournament on 14 March.

The team in red played eight schools and two Brighton Cougars teams to face
Somerhill Junior School in the final.

At half time Somerhill were leading 14-12 but Downs fought back and
clinched the game in the final seconds to scoop the top prize with a 26-24
win.

In the third and fourth placed game Cottesmore were up 12-6 at half time against
Brighton Cougars Blue, eventually taking third place 20-12.

Downs basketball coach Jamie Pittam said:

"It was superb to see so many schools and children being active and enjoying 
themselves through the median of competitive basketball. 
Throughout the morning Downs Junior school continued to improve individually 
and as a team and managed to finish top of group A with 3 wins and a draw. 
The final saw us overrun during the first half against a very good and organised 
Somerhill side, coming into the break trailing 14-12. As a team we decided we 
were being a little slow to set up defensively after conceding possession or 
scoring a basket. The second period saw a huge improvement with the team working 
superbly together to win back possession, allowing us to limit Somerhills 
chances and scrape a hard fought victory.
"The whole team contributed thoughout the tournament, however Thomas Clark 
and Joseph Edwards produced fantastic individual performances
to help us pull through in the final."

Sponsored by Yummy Lollies, suppliers of 100% real fruit school compliant
ice lollies to schools across the country, the event saw medals for the top
four teams.

The participating schools were Westdene, Goldstone, Stanford, Cottesmore,
Downs, Saltdean, Carden and Somerhill.

Brighton Cougars chairman Jon Lloyd said:
"This was a fantastic tournament with lots of children enjoying playing
the game as well as parents and teachers getting into the spirit. It’s great
that we had so many schools involved so we want to thank them for taking
part but also thank our sponsor Yummy Lollies for making a generous
contribution that helped to make this happen.
"Basketball's popularity continues to surge in Sussex and the South East
and in particular in Brighton & Hove with our under 11s Saturday All Stars
session being more popular than ever. We're always keen to take on new
boys and girls who want to try the game whether they are 5 or 15"

Zoe Meredith from Yummy Lollies, said:

"Yummy Lollies is all about healthy, fun and active lifestyles and this
makes us a perfect fit with basketball. Brighton Cougars is the most
successful club in the city so we have been delighted to sponsor this
tournament for under 11s. We hope the children playing and all the family
can come along to enjoy what should be a fantastic sporting event with a
Yummy Lolly afterwards to refresh and hydrate."