Bunten: We just made the wrong court decisions

CHRIS BUNTEN blamed a lack of concentration and miscommunication for a heartbreaking loss against Cardiff - but claimed Team Northumbria can still cause a stir in the play-offs.

Last season’s play-off champions fielded two teenagers in Wales with no end in sight to the club’s terrible run of injuries.

However, Bunten refused to blame the absence of key players for a last-second defeat after TN went down 58-55 in Cardiff.

He said: “Poor decision-making and miscommunication cost us in the end and it was a frustrating way to lose a basketball game.

“We should have won that match. Our best three players are better than their best three players and that showed for long periods of the match.

“At the very least we should have taken the match into overtime and won from there.

“We had a plan to deal with their final possession but it was not carried out.

“In the end we left their best player wide open for a three-pointer which she converted in the last second. I am still struggling to understand how we lost.”

Bunten will be absent from Sunday’s homecourt clash against Oaklands at Sport Central but has left his players with explicit instructions.

He added: “We know all about Oaklands and where their threat lies but it really is not about them.

“This weekend is all about us and making sure we stick to what we do best.”

TN host Oaklands from 2.00 on Sunday.