MAGIC ran up a cricket score against Fourth Division Wirral to maintain their grip on the National Cup.

Jeff Jones' team have won the trophy for the past two seasons and progressed into the third round with a romp at the Amaechi Centre.

But the veteran coach knows that, despite five wins from five so far this season, he is going to have his work cut out on the sideline during this campaign.

Last season Jones had an experienced and multi-talented roster that charged its way to an EBL treble.

Many of those players have departed and Magic are relying on their youth ranks to make up the numbers this time around.

"Last season, it was almost a case of just picking the five on the floor," joked Jones. "This time there is going to be a lot more coaching, with the amount of kids we have got.

Finished

"We have got a good bunch, but they are not the finished article so that makes my job harder."

Jones was vocal from the bench as he prompted his team to a clear victory.

Youngsters such as Connor Gent, Dean Williams, Laurie Warburg and Tom Sutton got signficant court-time as Magic overwhelmed their opposition.

Gent, in particular, stood out with 14 points in 20 minutes, with a display of accurate shooting.

Experienced hands Stefan Gill (26 points), Taner Adu (19) and Brandon Kimbrough (14) carried the main scoring load, but all 11 Magic players registered.

Wirral maintained some kind of contact with Magic during the first half, but still went in 17 points down. Then Magic really turned on the heat in the third quarter, racking up 26 points and restricting the Hornets to just four.

Fine

"The third quarter was fine," added Jones. "That is how we should be playing."

Meanwhile, the coach is still waiting to find out if he will have the services of league MVP Duncan Ogilvie by the time the league fixtures start in two weeks.

The forward is having a trial with a second Spanish club, but will return to Magic if he is not successful.

That would be a huge boost for Jones, who needs to add height to his ranks. If Ogilvie doesn't return, Jones will look to add an American big man.

THE Mystics started their league campaign with a thrilling 50-48 win at London Mets.
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