FORMER Worcester Wolves forward David Watts came back to haunt his old employers.

Converting all but one of seven long-distance shots, Watts led Manchester Giants to a 93-83 upset over the previously unbeaten Wolves.

There was no early indication Wolves would not carry on the form that saw them beat two British Basketball League pre-season title favourites in Newcastle Eagles and Cheshire Phoenix.

With three minutes left in the first-half, the visitors looked to be on cruise control with a healthy 48-33 lead.

But an explosion of three-pointers from Watts ignited a turnaround that propelled the hosts to just a single-point interval deficit.

The momentum was maintained after the break, leaving Wolves players to wonder what had just happened.

A succession of spin moves from Jamal Williams and a trio of dunks from Robert Thurman asserted early authority for Worcester.

Alex Owumi barrelled over another old Worcester favourite in Callum Jones to further add to the tally and a 28-16 first-quarter advantage soon widened.

Remi Dibo's double of three-pointers stretched the lead to 15 and Manchester coach Jeff Jones called for a much-needed time-out.

Watts was on target straight from the restart. Four consecutive misses from Wolves and a double of successes for Watts slashed the deficit to 51-48 in the final minute.

Jones added to the comeback on the buzzer.

Giants soon rewarded their fans’ enthusiastic support as British point guard Stefan Gill raced past transfixed Worcester defenders to nudge his team in front.

Moments later, Gill floated home a triple and once more dribbled through a static defence for another basket.

Wolves guard Chavis Holmes was the only player to fight back, notching seven third-period points, with his team-mates only mustering a similar total between them.

Watts executed an outrageous lofted score from the corner of the court as the period expired.

At 73-65 entering the last quarter, there was no easing of the Giants’ intensity.

Big men Ben Eaves and Mike Bernard confidently patrolled the area underneath each basket.

With Gill and Jones in charge around the perimeter, Manchester strolled home.

Wolves coach Paul James said: “We were cruising at the start because we were playing team basketball, both on offence and defence.

"But there was a collective collapse in the second quarter and we could not get back to the level we started at.

"Giants were inspired. They played hard, made tough shots and everything was falling for them.”

Wolves now take a near-fortnight break, returning to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday, October 17, to host Surrey United.

James added: “We need to go back to practice and work harder.

"We scored enough points to win at Manchester but our defence let us down.”