Basketball: Pullem walks out on Bears

CHRIS PULLEM has resigned as coach of the Budweiser League club Worthing Bears after just seven games, arousing suspicion that his decision was hinged on a new job in the United States, writes Richard Taylor.

Pullem was on a breakfast time flight to America yesterday barely eight hours after informing the club director, Christian Hamilton, that he was leaving.

Hamilton said: "I spent 90 minutes trying to persuade him to stay but it seems his mind was made up. We wanted him to stay, he's done a good job."

Worthing won three of their first seven games and Pullem said: "I'm not just abandoning them. It was a situation where I couldn't go on," adding that he felt he had been criticised too often.

Hamilton added: "Being a basketball coach he should be able to take pressure and comments from his employers."

Last season Worthing had four coaches on the way to their worst ever final League position, 12th.