Bears went to Whiteley with a squad seriously depleted of regular inside players. Big Phil Bechmann and Woody were away on business, Richard "Moon" Holbrook had injured his ankle and unable to play, Chika suddenly dropped out an hour and a half before the game, and Matty J is still in Australia. The hosts have been playing well this season, notching up some impressive victories along the way, and boosted by proven big man Mike Sampson. So Bears knew that this was going to be a really tough night and they would all have to pull together to keep their unbeaten record intact.

A slow but solid start saw them trade early baskets with the Oaks as the led 9-8 half way through the quarter. However, the introduction of Volkan Dik brought a spark to the offense and all of a sudden Bears rushed into a 12 point lead and simply never looked back. Fantastic defensive effort against big man Sampson saw his offensive threat diminshed to nothing as the hosts had no answer to the Bears hustle and pressure.

The 2nd quarter was quite simply the Liam Wyatt show. He put in one of his best ever performances in a Bears vest and lit up the offense for 14 points, backed up by defensive steals and tremendous team leadership. 22 points down at the half and the game was almost over.

Bears slowed a little in the 3rd but continued to dominate the game, great work throughout the team saw them extend the lead further to 25 points as the buzzer sounded, and it was clear that there was no way back for Whiteley.

The 4th proved to be a slightly disappointing affair. Experimental line-ups with no big men and then no point guards failed to gel, and the hosts managed to claw back a few points, but it was way too little, and way too late as Bears ran out 16 point winners (85-69).

This was a real team effort and one that shows how well Bears have progressed over the last 2 years. In previous seasons, this would undoubtedly have been a loss for the Bears, struggling without key inside players. But there is a new resolve in the Bears camp, and there was no chance of returning home without a victory. Well done Liam for an awesome display on both ends of the floor. Volkan showed his class again with some awesome moves that had the hosts totally baffled. Ahmed and Simon worked tirelessly to stop Sampson all night long, whilst George and Martin "Sauna" Saunders showed how effective their quick hands can be, playing with huge intensity all night.