page_title: Portsmouth F.C. (basketball)
section_title: 1985-86 season
hierarchical_section_title: Portsmouth F.C. (basketball) / 1985-86 season
caption_attribution_description: English: Action from Portsmouth FC Basketball Club (in white) v Calderdale Explorers, National Cup semi-final, Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, November 30th 1986.
context_page_description: Portsmouth F.C. Basketball Club are a British professional basketball team based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, that played in the top league of UK basketball from 1985-88. They won the league championship in the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons and also reached four major cup finals, including those of all three main domestic knockout competitions in 1987-88.
  Virtually all home games were played at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, which had bleacher seating on either side plus a balcony around one end and one side. Part of the side balcony was reserved for directors and guests. Two matches in 1986-87 and two in 1984-85 were hosted by Havant Leisure Centre, one in 1984-85 by
  Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Eastleigh and one in 1984-85 by Winchester Recreation Centre.
context_section_description: The new Portsmouth line-up, with an all-blue first choice strip and all-white change colours, played on a green and terracotta roll-out carpet court at the Mountbatten Centre during 1985-86. After remaining unbeaten in a series of friendlies, including one against a German side at the Mountbatten Centre on 8 September, they made a tremendous start to the season, winning their first 16 matches, including 11 in the league. The first match was a 96-91 home National Cup win over Crystal Palace on 20 September 1985, followed by their first league game two days later, an 83-68 home victory over Solent.
  On 23 October Portsmouth went to the Tolworth Recreation Centre in Surrey and beat league champions Kingston 99-86. There was now a fierce battle for supremacy between these teams which defined Portsmouth's period in the UK game. The easy 65-mile drive up and down the A3 also meant large away followings for both clubs in these matches.
  Interest was rising among the Portsmouth public and on 9 November the home game against Manchester United, another team owned by a football club, was watched by 1,064 people. Led by a 22-point performance from Larry Dassie, Portsmouth won 72-71.
  The unbeaten run ended in the National Cup semi-finals, which were both held at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre in Birmingham in a 'final four' day  on 15 December covered by Channel 4. After following up their first round win over Crystal Palace with a victory away to second tier side Tower Hamlets and a quarter-final success at Tyneside, they faced another tussle with Kingston.
  But when Joel Moore suffered serious eye injuries in a road accident, American guard Jose Slaughter was brought in to replace him. This meant an enforced absence for Alan Cunningham, as only two overseas players could be selected for any game, and the revised Portsmouth line-up suffered a 75-92 defeat which denied them a trip to the Royal Albert Hall in London for the final.
  In the next game, three days before Christmas, mid-table Hemel & Watford Royals inflicted their first league defeat with a shock 82-79 win at the Mountbatten Centre, despite Kalpatrick Wells hitting 20 for the hosts. Another Sunday afternoon home loss followed on 12 January 1986, Leicester Riders pipping Portsmouth 114-113. But six victories in 18 days set up what was expected to be a title decider at home to Kingston on 5 February.
  A crowd of 1,511 crammed into the Mountbatten Centre, standing three deep on the balcony and sitting on the floor in front of the bleachers. Kingston, in red vests and yellow shorts, dominated the early exchanges and took a 2-15 lead, but Portsmouth outscored them by two points to one in the remainder of the first half. They took the lead at 24-21 and held their biggest advantage, 16 points, at 58-42 before a Martin Clark basket made it 58-44 at half-time.
  Kingston made some inroads after the break but when Colin Irish sank a three-pointer with 4 minutes 34 seconds to go Portsmouth still looked in control at 103-95. Two quick turnovers then cost them four cheap points, but the hosts regained command at 106-99 with 3 minutes 30 seconds left.
  The pace of the game then quickened and baskets were traded, but Portsmouth still led 112-109 with 1 minute 23 seconds remaining. Steve Bontrager, who had scored Kingston's previous four points, sank two free-throws to draw Kingston within one, then with 63 seconds on the clock Kalpatrick Wells dunked to make it 114-111 to Portsmouth and drew a foul in the process. Kingston instantly called a time-out.
  When the teams returned to the court amid a frenzied atmosphere, Portsmouth allowed victory to slip away. Wells missed his free-throw after the foul, then with 50 seconds remaining Joel Moore fouled Bontrager as he launched a three-point shot. Bontrager made all three from the line to tie the score at 114.
  On Portsmouth's next offence Dan Lloyd moved deep into Kingston territory, only for Bontrager to steal the ball near the endline. Bontrager dribbled into the Portsmouth half, set up a diversionary play then drove through the lane and shot off the
caption: Portsmouth (in white) attack against Calderdale, 30 November 1986
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