Adam Bailey

George Bates topped the weekend’s points standings in Spain and posted the joint-highest rebounds as Mideba Extremadura end 2020 level on points at the top of Spain’s Division de Honor, with seven GB players just one point behind after CD Ilunion’s victory over BSR Amiab Albacete. 

Bates scored a league-high 36 points and collected 15 rebounds as Mideba bounced back from their first defeat of the season with a 86:70 win over Fundación Vital Zuzenak to ensure they remain level on points with Bidaideak Bilbao BSR at the top of the table. 

Phil Pratt was influential once again, recording 11 assists and 12 rebounds, in addition to his four points, with the GB Men’s captain in the league’s top-five and top-10 for assists and rebounds, respectively, this season. 

With the latest round of fixtures the last before the league’s four-week mid-season break, next-up for Mideba will be a trip to Madrid to take on CD Ilunion when the season resumes on 16 January. 

Terry Bywater’s and Gregg Warburton’s CD Ilunion head into the festive period off the back of five successive wins, their latest coming at BSR Amiab Albacete on Saturday. The clash between Ilunion and Albacete is always one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures of the season, and on Saturday featured seven GB internationals. 

Lee Manning was the game’s highest-scoring player with 18 points for Albacete, but it was Bywater and Warburton who celebrated the win; a victory which saw Ilunion move level on points with Albacete in the table, one point behind the leading duo. 

Bywater was Ilunion’s top-scorer with 16 points, while Warburton claimed his team’s most assists with six, along with eight points, as Ilunion triumphed 62:72. 

For Albacete, Gaz Choudhry scored 17 points and a game-high total of 11 rebounds, while Kyle Marsh topped the assists charts with eight, along with 10 points. Harry Brown and Ben Fox were also in action for Albacete. 

Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack helped Iberconsa Amfiv secure their first win in six games, scoring six points each in Amfiv’s 61:65 victory over Fundacion FDI Las Rozas. Edwards also recorded five assists and 10 rebounds. 

Abdi Jama scored nine points as his Amivel side lost 72:60 to Fundacion Aliados, while there was also a defeat for James MacSorley, who scored four points in BSR ACE Gran Canaria’s 86:67 loss to league leaders Bidaideak Bilbao BSR.  

Will Bonner and Lee Fryer ended a busy December with victory as they were both part of the Servigest Burgos side which won 33:76 away at Getafe BSR. Fryer posted his highest points total of the season so far with 15 points, while Bonner scored six – equalling his season’s best. 

In Germany, Simon Brown and Ian Sagar ended the year on a high, thanks to a 90:40 win for RSV Lahn-Dill against ING Skywheelers. Brown scored six points and recorded the highest number of assists with 13 – nine more than any other player in Germany – along with nine rebounds. 

Sagar scored two points as RSV Lahn-Dill ended the calendar year four points behind Helen Freeman’s RSB Thuringia Bulls, who have played a game more. 

Most Points (GB Players) 

36 – George Bates (Mideba; Spain) 

18 – Lee Manning (Albacete; Spain) 

17 – Gaz Choudhry (Albacete; Spain) 

Most Assists (GB Players) 

13 – Simon Brown (Lahn-Dill; Germany) 

11 – Phil Pratt (Mideba; Spain) 

8 – Kyle Marsh (Albacete; Spain) 

Most Rebounds (GB Players)   

15 – George Bates (Mideba; Spain) 

12 – Phil Pratt (Mideba; Spain) 

11 – Gaz Choudhry (Albacete; Spain) 

This weekend is the final round of league fixtures in 2020 in Spain and Germany, and there will be a very British feel when BSR Amiab Albacete take on CD Ilunion in what is always a hotly-contested clash in Spain.

There’s strong British representation within the Albacete roster this season with Harry Brown, Gaz Choudhry, Ben Fox, Lee Manning and Kyle Marsh all featuring for the current league leaders, level on points with Bidaideak Bilbao BSR and Mideba Extremadura.

They will be aiming to continue their six-game winning streak when they welcome GB teammates Terry Bywater and Gregg Warbuton to Albacete. CD Ilunion are only one point behind the leading trio and travel to Albacete off the back of four successive wins, but which team will triumph when the two sides meet at 18:00 (UK Time) on Saturday?

Elsewhere in Spain, George Bates, Billy Bridge and Phil Pratt will be hoping they can help Mideba Extremadura bounce back when they host Fundacion Vital Zuzenak at 16:00 on Saturday. Their defeat to James MacSorley’s BSR ACE Gran Canaria was their first loss of the season and they will be eager to end 2020 on a high.

MacSorley’s Gran Canaria face another of Spain’s leading teams this weekend with a trip to Bidaideak Bilbao BSR on Saturday (18:00) looking to continue their good form having won four of their five games so far this season, including victories over CD Ilunion and Mideba.

Last weekend’s top-scoring British player Abdi Jama will be back in action when his Amivel side travel to Fundacion Aliados at 17:00 on Saturday. It’s been a mixed season so far for Amivel with three wins and three defeats, so they’ll be wanting to end the calendar year with a win.

The same can be said for Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack who were unlucky not to be on the winning side last weekend when Amfiv narrowly lost to Fundacion Vital Zuzenak. They end the year with a trip to Madrid to play Fundacion FDI Las Rozas, who are level on points with Amfiv. Tap-off is 15:00 on Saturday.

It’s been a busy December for Will Bonner and Lee Fryer with their game away at Getafe BSR on Saturday (16:30) their sixth game in 16 days for Servigest Burgos.

In Germany, Simon Brown and Ian Sagar will be in action for RSV Lahn-Dill in their final game of 2020. Due to game postponements, last weekend’s game against RSB Thuringia Bulls was only their third game of the season, and on Saturday (13:00) they host ING Skywheelers hoping to end the year on a high.

Spain (all to be played on Saturday, 19 December)

Fundacion FDI Las Rozas v Iberconsa Amfiv (15:00)	Lewis Edwards Sam Mack
Mideba Extremadura v Fundacion Vital Zuzenak (16:00)	George Bates Billy Bridge Phil Pratt
Getafe BSR v Servigest Burgos (16:30)	Will Bonner Lee Fryer
Fundacion Aliados v Amivel (17:00)	Abdi Jama
BSR Amiab Albacete v CD Ilunion (18:00)	Harry Brown (Albacete) Gaz Choudhry (Albacete) Ben Fox (Albacete) Lee Manning (Albacete) Kyle Marsh (Albacete) Terry Bywater (Ilunion) Gregg Warburton (Ilunion)
Baideak Bilbao BSR v BSR ACE Gran Canaria (18:00)	James MacSorley

Germany

RSV Lahn-Dill v ING Skywheelers (13:00)

Simon Brown Ian Sagar

Abdi Jama was the weekend’s top scoring British player in Europe on a weekend which saw eight GB players level on points at the top of the table in Spain and a brilliant battle in Germany featuring Helen Freeman, Simon Brown and Ian Sagar. 

It was a successful weekend on the road in the north of Spain for Harry Brown, Gaz Choudhry, Ben Fox, Lee Manning and Kyle Marsh with the five GB players helping BSR Amiab Albacete secure two wins to move to the top of Spain’s Division de Honor. 

A trip to Fundacion Vital Zuzenak was the first stop for Albacete’s double header, with Marsh leading the game standings for both points scored and assists as Albacete began their weekend with a 50:94 victory in Zuzenak. 

Marsh’s game-high 21 points included two three-pointers, while Fox scored 17 points and collected a game-high 11 rebounds. Choudhry added 14 points to Albacete’s total, while Manning and Brown scored 10 and four points, respectively. 

The next morning Albacete were back in action against Servigest Burgos, featuring Will Bonner and Lee Fryer. Manning’s 20 points was the game’s joint-highest total and his 14 rebounds were also a game-high as Albacete picked up their second win of the weekend, thanks to a 61:82 win over Burgos. 

Against Burgos, Fox added a further 15 points to his season’s tally, with Choudhry scoring eight points and Marsh seven. Brown’s seven assists was a game-high, who also added three points to his team’s total. 

Lee Fryer scored 10 points, a day after recording the same total in Burgos’ 76:55 victory over Fundacion FDI Las Rozas. Will Bonner scored two and four points in Burgos’ two games. 

Albacete’s two wins sees the club move to the top of the table, level on points with Bidaideak Bilbao BSR and Mideba Extremadura, who suffered their first defeat of the season against BSR ACE Gran Canaria on Saturday. 

James MacSorley scored 12 points in Gran Canaria’s 70:65 win over Mideba, in what was a competitive and close game with the two teams level heading into the final quarter. Phil Pratt was the game’s highest scoring British player, scoring 13 points for Mideba, with George Bates and Billy Bridge scoring six points each. 

Abdi Jama had the honour of being the weekend’s top-scoring GB player in Spain, scoring 28 points and recording a game-high 10 assists as Amivel beat Getafe BSR 107:14. 

Gregg Warburton posted his highest points tally of the season as Warburton and Terry Bywater helped CD Ilunion claim a fourth successive win; their latest coming thanks to a 85:75 victory over Fundacion Aliados. Warburton scored 18 points, while Bywater’s 14 included two three-pointers. 

Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack were in action twice for Iberconsa Amfiv. Edwards scored nine points and Mack five as Amfiv lost 93:51 to Bidaideak Bilbao BSR on Saturday, before both players increased their points tallies even more on Sunday, with Edwards scoring 19 and Mack six in Amfiv’s narrow defeat to Fundacion Vital Zuzenak (56:53). 

In Germany, Helen Freeman, Simon Brown and Ian Sagar were all involved in the much-anticipated clash as RSB Thuringia Bulls v RSV Lahn-Dill went head-to-head. Seven points was the difference between the two sides at the final buzzer, with the win going to Freeman and Thuringia Bulls (79:72). 

Freeman scored two points for Thuringia Bulls, who extended their lead at the top of the table, while Ian Sagar and Simon Brown posted 10 and two points, respectively. 

Thomas Smith was the highest scoring GB player in Germany, scoring 18 points as Baskets 96 Rahden secured a 40:77 victory over ING Skywheelers. Peter Cusack and Jake Robinson added six and four, respectively, to Rahden’s total.

Most Points (GB Players) 

28 – Abdi Jama (Amivel; Spain) 

21 – Kyle Marsh (Albacete; Spain) 

20 – Lee Manning (Albacete; Spain) 

Most Assists (GB Players) 

10 – Abdi Jama (Amivel; Spain) 

7 – Harry Brown (Albacete; Spain); Kyle Marsh (Albacete; Spain) 

6 – Gregg Warburton (Ilunion; Spain) 

Most Rebounds (GB Players) 

14 – Lee Manning (Albacete; Spain) 

11 – Ben Fox (Albacete; Spain) 

8 – Phil Pratt (Mideba; Spain) 

It’s set to be a full programme of fixtures featuring GB players this weekend with 11 fixtures involving clubs featuring GB athletes in Spain and Germany, including a double gameweek for nine athletes.

It will be a busy weekend for Harry Brown, Gaz Choudhry, Ben Fox, Lee Manning and Kyle Marsh as BSR Amiab Albacete travel to the north of Spain for two games in 17 hours.

First-up for Albacete will be Fundacion Vital Zuzenak on Saturday (18:00, UK Time) before they travel 70 miles south west to play Servigest Burgos on Sunday (11:00).

The GB five will be hoping they can use the momentum of back-to-back games to continue their good form after securing their fourth successive victory last time out.

Their second game of the weekend will see the five GB players go head-to-head with Academy athletes Will Bonner and Lee Fryer, who continue their busy schedule playing for Burgos with another two games this weekend.

It will be their fourth game in nine days when they host Fundacion FDI Las Rozas on Saturday (17:00), before Albacete visit on Sunday.

Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack will also have two games in as many days, with trips to Bidaideak Bilbao BSR and Fundacion Vital Zuzenak scheduled for Saturday (17:30) and Sunday (10:30), respectively, as Iberconsa Amfiv aim to get back to winning ways.

There will be British interest on both sides of the court when BSR ACE Gran Canaria host Mideba Extremadura on Saturday (18:00). George Bates, Billy Bridge and Phil Pratt helped Mideba extend their perfect start to the season to six games with last weekend’s win against Amfiv. It’s a record they’ll be eager to continue when the league leaders head to James MacSorley’s Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria will be wanting to bounce back following their first defeat of the season against Albacete last weekend.

Terry Bywater and Gregg Warburton will be back in action after the success of CD Ilunion’s two victories last weekend. It’s now three successive wins for Ilunion, who host Fundacion Aliados in Madrid at 17:30 on Saturday.

There’s also a home game for Abdi Jama in Spain’s top division as Amivel take on Getafe BSR in Malaga at 17:00.

In Germany, the much-anticipated clash between RSB Thuringia Bulls and RSV Lahn-Dill will see Helen Freeman, Simon Brown and Ian Sagar all involved as the top-two RBBL1 teams from last season go head-to-head on Saturday (17:00).

Both teams remain unbeaten this season although RSB Thuringia Bulls – featuring Helen Freeman – have played two games more than RSV Lahn-Dill, with Simon Brown and Ian Sagar returning to league action last weekend for the first time since the opening gameday at the end of October.

Last week’s victory came against Baskets 96 Rahden last week; a game which saw Thomas Smith post his highest points total of the season. Smith, Peter Cusack and Jake Robinson will travel to ING Skywheelers on Saturday (17:00).

Jim Palmer’s Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden will be in action for BBC Munsterland an hour later.

Gaz Choudhry was the leading British points scorer and posted the joint-highest assists total in Spain during a weekend which included double delight for Terry Bywater and Gregg Warburton, and a successful return to action in Germany for Simon Brown and Ian Sagar. 

It’s been a high-scoring start to the season for GB players, a trend which continued over the weekend, with Choudhry scoring 27 points and recording a league-high 16 assists as British players impressed in BSR Amiab Albacete’s 79:65 win over James MacSorley’s BSR Ace Gran Canaria. 

Sixty-nine of Albacete’s 79 points were scored by British players with Lee Manning scoring 20 points to continue his record as having one of the best points and efficiency averages in the league this season, along with a game-high 11 rebounds against Gran Canaria.  

Kyle Marsh added a further 12 points to Albacete’s total, while Harry Brown posted his highest points total of the season so far with 10 points to help Albacete secure a fourth successive victory. 

James MacSorley scored six points as Gran Canaria’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end. 

It was a successful weekend for Terry Bywater and Gregg Warburton, who celebrated two wins from two games during a busy couple of days for CD Ilunion. Their first win came on Friday evening as Bywater scored 16 points and Warburton six in Ilunion’s 87:69 victory against Servigest Burgos. 

After victory over Burgos, CD Ilunion secured their second win of the weekend, just over 24 hours later, thanks to a 68:41 win over Abdi Jama’s Amivel. Bywater and Warburton scored eight and six points, respectively, while Jama scored four points for Amivel. 

It was Bywater and Warburton’s second game of the weekend against British players with Will Bonner and Lee Fryer both playing for Burgos. Fryer scored two three-pointers in his points tally of 11 against CD Ilunion, before scoring four points in Burgos’ defeat to Bidaideak Bilbao BSR on Saturday. It’s the start of a busy period for the two Academy athletes who will be back in league action on Tuesday against Fundacion Aliados (11:00, UK Time). 

After their two wins, Ilunion are two points behind Mideba Extremadura in the table with Mideba – featuring GB’s George Bates, Billy Bridge and Phil Pratt – extending their winning start to the season to six games with victory over Iberconsa Amfiv, 75:44. 

Bridge was the highest scoring British player in Badajoz, scoring 13 points, while Bates and Pratt scored nine and six points, respectively, as they helped Mideba continue their perfect season to date. 

Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack both featured in Amfiv’s defeat, adding 10 and two points, respectively, to their team’s total. 

In Germany, it was a successful return to action for Simon Brown and Ian Sagar as RSV Lahn-Dill played their first game in five weeks. Sagar scored 17 points and Brown three as Lahn-Dill beat Baskets 96 Rahden 63:74 in a game which featured five GB players. 

Thomas Smith was Rahden’s top-scorer with 20 points, Peter Cusack was influential at both ends of the court, posting 12 points along with a game-high 13 rebounds (all defensive) and Jake Robinson added two points to Rahden’s total. 

With Helen Freeman’s RSB Thuringia Bulls game postponed, Jim Palmer was the only other GB player to be in action in Germany, scoring two points as his Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden side continued their mixed start to the season with a 75:43 defeat against Hannover United.

Most Points (GB Players) 

27 – Gaz Choudhry (Albacete; Spain) 

20 – Lee Manning (Albacete; Spain); Thomas Smith (Rahden; Germany) 

17 – Ian Sagar (Lahn-Dill; Germany) 

Most Assists (GB Players) 

16 – Gaz Choudhry (Albacete; Spain) 

7 – Terry Bywater (Ilunion v Amivel; Spain); Gregg Warburton (Ilunion v Amivel; Spain) 

6 – Terry Bywater (Ilunion v Burgos; Spain) 

Most Rebounds (GB Players) 

13 – Peter Cusack (Rahden; Germany) 

12 – Phil Pratt (Mideba; Spain) 

11 – Lee Manning (Albacete; Spain) 

Today, British Wheelchair Basketball’s ‘Return to Play’ plans have been given clearance to enter into the revised Stage 1 of our guidance in England. 

In response to the new-tiered restrictions in England, the Stage 1 guidance will return in two participation pathways: 

• Stage 1A (Tier 1 England):  This applies to all participants and clubs located in Tier 1 (England). This inclusive stage of return remains largely unchanged from the pre-November lockdown plans but includes additional measures around encouraging COVID-19 responsible behaviours outside of the sport as well as during activity, and an updated Risk Assessment template for clubs. 

• Stage 1B (Tier 2 & 3 England): This applies to all participants and clubs located in Tiers 1 & 2 (England). This is a new pathway for Stage 1, where session attendees (excluding coach) must be disabled as defined by the Equality Act 2010.  This also includes the Stage 1A new measures around encouraging COVID-19 responsible behaviours outside of the sport as well as during activity, and an updated Risk Assessment template for clubs. 

We believe that our club network is well equipped to adapt to the updated Return to Play plans. We now have over 80 COVID-19 Officers across the UK, and host monthly network meetings for this group.  

As an inclusive sport, we have given considerable time and consideration to the decision to adopt the disability exemption for Tiers 2 & 3.  We realise that it is disappointing for our non-disabled participants located in the higher tiers that they will not be able to return to court. However, we hope that everyone understands our intention with the new Stage 1B is to support our disabled participants, many of whom have been most impacted by this pandemic, to access activity via the Government’s disability exception for indoor sport. 

We have updated our website to include the new Return to Play Guidance and Matrix document, as well as updating the Club Risk Assessment.  

Finally, it is hugely important that we all take our responsibilities to respect and adhere to COVID-19 measures seriously both during activity and also whilst we are away from sport.  

We would like to remind our members that British Wheelchair Basketball’s Guidance extends to pre-training and post-training protocols, not just on court activity.  We also cannot stress enough how important it that our members’ act responsibility away from a court setting, so that we can limit risk when accessing training.  

Our Sport’s Code of Conduct was updated in August to include an expectation that all participants will act and respect the health and welfare of others. Any breaches of this expectation are to be reported to membership@britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk and will be subject to our Disciplinary Process.  

Useful Link: 

Grassroots Sport Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-grassroots-sports-guidance-for-safe-provision-including-team-sport-contact-combat-sport-and-organised-sport-events 

Please note: This information was correct at the time of publishing (4^th December 2020). Please read in conjunction with British Wheelchair Basketball’s Return to Play Guidance and Matrix. Please read this document in conjunction with your home Government’s guidelines.  

Today, British Wheelchair Basketball has released updated guidance and matrix which will see our Stage 1 ‘Return to Play’ approach take two participation pathways.  

• Stage 1A: The first pathway, Stage 1A, is inclusive and applies to all participants of wheelchair basketball (disabled and non-disabled). This pathway is to be adopted only if your local protection level allows for indoor team sport for everyone. At the point of publication, this Stage applies to the following Protection Levels in Scotland:  0, 1 & 2. 

• Stage 1B: This pathway applies only to disabled participants and coaches (disabled & non-disabled).  At the point of publication, this tier does not apply to any Protection Level in Scotland.  

We have updated our website to include the new Return to Play Guidance and Matrix document, as well as updating the Club Risk Assessment.  The documentation updates highlight the specific risks associated with activity/participation through droplet, fomite and population activity.  

Finally, it is hugely important that we all take our responsibilities to respect and adhere to COVID-19 measures seriously both during activity and also whilst we are away from sport.  

We would like to remind our members that British Wheelchair Basketball’s Guidance extends to pre-training and post-training protocols, not just on court activity.  We also cannot stress enough how important it that our members’ act responsibility away from a court setting, so that we can limit risk when accessing training.  

Our Sport’s Code of Conduct was updated in August to include an expectation that all participants will act and respect the health and welfare of others. Any breaches of this expectation are to be reported to membership@britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk and will be subject to our Disciplinary Process.  

Useful Links:  

• Latest Sport and Physical Activity Guidance: https://sportscotland.org.uk/covid-19/latest-sport-and-physical-activity-guidance/ 
• Sport Specific Guidance – Disability Sport (Published w/c 23 Nov): https://www.scottishdisabilitysport.com/sds-return-to-sport-and-physical-activity-5-tier-system-guidance-paper-updated-20-november/ 

Please note: This information was correct at the time of publishing (4^th December 2020). Please read in conjunction with British Wheelchair Basketball’s Return to Play Guidance and Matrix. Please read this document in conjunction with your home Government’s guidelines.  

Today, British Wheelchair Basketball have released updated guidance and matrix which will see our Stage 1 ‘Return to Play‘ approach take two participation pathways Stage 1 A&B.  

• Stage 1A: The first pathway, Stage 1A, is inclusive and applies to all participants of wheelchair basketball (disabled and non-disabled).  

At the time of publishing, Welsh members and clubs will ‘Return to Play’ at Stage 1A. 

We have updated our website to include the new Return to Play Guidance and Matrix document, as well as updating the Club Risk Assessment.  The documentation updates highlight the specific risks associated with activity/participation through droplet, fomite and population activity.  

Finally, it is hugely important that we all take our responsibilities to respect and adhere to COVID-19 measures seriously both during activity and also whilst we are away from sport.  

We would like to remind our members that British Wheelchair Basketball’s Guidance extends to pre-training and post-training protocols, not just on court activity.  We also cannot stress enough how important it that our members’ act responsibility away from a court setting, so that we can limit risk when accessing training.  

Our Sport’s Code of Conduct was updated in August to include an expectation that all participants will act and respect the health and welfare of others. Any breaches of this expectation are to be reported to membership@britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk and will be subject to our Disciplinary Process.  

Useful Link:  

COVID-19 Regulations Guidance: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-regulations-guidance#section-46351 

Please note: This information was correct at the time of publishing (4^th December 2020). Please read in conjunction with British Wheelchair Basketball’s Return to Play Guidance and Matrix. Please read this document in conjunction with your home Government’s guidelines.