Warwickshire Bears 3 just hold on after blazing into an early lead

The weakened Bears withstood a late Derby fightback to make it two wins from two and Smith said the visitors were well deserving of their victory despite the narrow margin.

He said: “It was a fantastic performance from a minimal squad.

“The effort given was not represented in the score.

“There’s a lot to build on for the rest of the season.”

With the experienced Adrian Taber and Brian Stone boosting their ranks, Bears opened up a useful 7-3 lead at the close of a first quarter in which both sides found it hard to score.

Bears extended their lead to seven points after a scrappy second quarter and the theme of the game did not change in the third quarter with missed chances and turnovers prevalent.

Neverthless, with the help of junior player Ellan Fraser, Bears went into the final quarter with a 19-11 lead.

Wheelblazers took to the court in the last quarter with renewed determination and began to chip away at the deficit.

However, the clock was against them and Bears were reilient enough to hold their slender advantage to the buzzer.