KING John School’s Year 10 basketball team are through to the Essex Cup final after beating Southend High School for Boys 63-50 at Eastwood School.

It was the first time King John had beaten Southend High after four years of trying, and was Southend’s first ever defeat.

The match was a close encounter, with Southend taking an early lead.

However, King John’s team managed to claw themselves in front by the end of the first quarter. They were then able to maintain the lead for the rest of the match due to some excellent defensive performances from Adam Liddell and Lukas Volk.

With Southend on the break in the last minute of the game, Danny Warrens topped off the team’s effort by chasing back to block a shot bound for the net. He then managed to gather the ball and travel to the other end of the court and score the last points of the game as the final buzzer sounded.

Jac Sexton, Chris Janes and Bert Wilton were also impressive throughout the game.

King John: Lukas Volk, Adam Liddell, Jac Sexton, Bert Wilton, Danny Warrens, Albert Taylor, Joe Burton, Bas Mendes, Oliver Helps, Chris Janes, Nick Skinner and Theo Fadayiro.