Bethan Fagan

GB Round-up: 16/17th April

Success in the semi-final playoffs in Germany for Simon Brown’s team, and GB talent tops the stats across the Spanish league.

In Germany, RSV Lahn-Dill (Simon Brown) are heading to the final after winning both of their playoff matches against Hannover United in a best-of-three format. In the first game on the road, Lahn-Dill won 42:68 and two days later won 56:48 at home. In the first playoff match, Simon Brown scored 14 points and in the second scored 8 points.

In Spain, Amiab Albacete (Kyle Marsh, Harry Brown, Ben Fox, Gaz Choudhry, Lee Manning) won their match away against Iberconsa Amfiv 41:89 – a 48-point lead at the final buzzer. Gaz Choudhry was game leader on both points and assists, with 28 points and 11 assists, and had 8 rebounds. Kyle Marsh had 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 19 points with a 2pt average of 90% (9/10). Harry Brown had 4 rebounds and 4 points. Ben Fox had 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 14 points.

A clash of GB talent saw Mideba Extremadura (Charlotte Moore, Phil Pratt, Lewis Edwards) defeat CD Ilunion (Gregg Warburton, Terry Bywater) in a close game ending 66:75. For Ilunion, Gregg Warburton had 6 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Terry Bywater (Ilunion) had 12 points, 8 assists and 12 rebounds. For Mideba Extremadura, Phil Pratt was game leader on assists with 12 assists, team leader on points with 20 points, and had 6 rebounds. Lewis Edwards (Mideba Extremadura) had 19 points, 4 assists and was team top performer on rebounds with 9 rebounds.

Amivel Reyes Gutierrez (Abdi Jama, Tyler Baines, Peter Cusack) won 61:40 at home against Fundación FDI Las Rozas. Abdi Jama had 2 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. Peter Cusack had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

At home in the National League, Maddie Thompson (Sheffield Steelers) had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in their Premier Division win over Exeter Otters. Jade Atkin (Exeter Otters) had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist.

Northern Ireland Men’s and Scotland Women’s qualify for Birmingham 2022!

Images credit: Chris Cox / TUB Podcast

Northern Ireland Men’s and Scotland Women’s 3×3 teams have qualified for the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games, taking place in Birmingham later this year. Both teams qualified on Thursday at the IWBF Europe 3×3 Commonwealth Games Qualifiers held at the sportscotland Inverclyde National Sport Training Centre in Largs on the scenic west coast of Scotland.

England Men’s and England Women’s 3×3 teams have automatic qualification for the Games due to host nation status. All four Men’s and Women’s teams will join four other nations each at the Games in pursuit of gold.

The teams heading to Birmingham 2022 will be making history as wheelchair basketball is set to make its debut appearance in the competition, marking the first time the sport has been included within a Commonwealth Games.

The wheelchair basketball competition format at the Games will be 3×3, a faster paced version of the game which is set to thrill the fans.

On qualifying for the Games, James MacSorley (Northern Ireland) said:

“It feels absolutely amazing. I’ve been saying to people there is a rich history of wheelchair basketball in Northern Ireland and it’s absolutely a pleasure to be another piece of that.

“[on the 3×3 format] I play so much 5×5 that it took a little bit for me to get used to it. I was really well supported by everyone at Disability Sport Northern Ireland, everyone from Sport Northern Ireland, and Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland. They enabled us to come in in good shape, ready, prepared, we’ve done everything possible to come here and try to win the tournament which we were able to do.”

Image credit: Chris Cox / TUB Podcast

On Scotland Women’s performance and qualification, Robyn Love said:

“It’s unbelievable getting to represent Scotland at home and captain my country – I think I’m the most proud person in the world right now.

“[on preparations for Birmingham 2022] In the summer we’ll be doing much of the same: building and watching video. We are all learning this 3×3 game and we are all learning together. For us I think it will be a fun adventure in the summer.”

Final results from the qualifier:

SCO Men vs NIR Men12 – 14Men’s Pool A
SCO Women vs WAL Women21 – 4Women’s Pool A
SCO Men vs WAL Men18 – 7Men’s Pool A
WAL Women vs SCO Women3 – 17Women’s Pool A
WAL Men vs NIR Men 5 – 15Men’s Pool A
SCO Women vs WAL Women21 – 0Women’s Pool A
NIR Men vs SCO Men11 – 10Men’s Final
Source

WPL Round-up: 9th April

A close match in Cardiff ends in victory for the Archers, and Lightning make a statement with a 24-point lead at the final buzzer.

Cardiff Met Archers 35 – 32 Worcester Wolves

Worcester Wolves travelled to Cardiff Met Archers, fresh off the back of their first win in the WPL having beaten East London Phoenix the weekend previous. After a steady first half, the Archers came out of the half-time break with renewed vigour and seemed unstoppable in Q3, building a 17-point lead. Wolves met the challenge, giving a huge performance to recover lost ground in Q4 by bringing the score near-level from the 17-deficit. Archers held off the Wolves offense, winning 35:32 in front of their home crowd.

Leah Evans (Archers) was game leader on points with 16 points. Jade Atkin was second top performer for Archers with 8 points, followed by teammate Anastasia Blease with 7 points.

Blease was game leader on rebounds with 16 rebounds, with J. Atkin second top performer for Archers with 7 rebounds. Maddie Martin and Fran Antoniazzi tie for third on Archers top performers with 4 rebounds each. Blease was top performer for Archers on assists with 2 assists.

For Wolves, there was a three-way tie on top points with Jade Loughlin, Sarah Hope, and Ellan Fraser all getting 10 points each.

On rebounds, Hope had 14 rebounds, followed by Ellan Fraser with 13 rebounds – a double-double for both players. Kayla Bell was third top performer for Wolves with 7 rebounds. Hope was game leader on assists with 4 assists.


Loughborough Lightning 66 – 42 East London Phoenix

Lightning made a statement on Saturday at home with a 24-point victory over visitors East London Phoenix. After an exchange of game leadership in the first quarter and into the second, Lightning switched on in Q2 and lit up the scoreboard with a flurry of impressive shots. Phoenix worked to regain momentum as the deficit grew, chipping away at the home team’s defense where they could. At the final buzzer, Lightning took the win and continued their perfect streak – 7/7.

Lucy Robinson (Lightning) was game leader on points with 21 points, with teammate Robyn Love as second top performer for Lightning with 16 points. Laurie Williams and Siobhan Fitzpatrick tied for third top performer for Lightning on points with 10 points each.

Love was game leader on rebounds with 16 rebounds. Williams was second top performer for Lightning with 10 rebounds, followed by Niamh Horan with 7 rebounds.

Williams was game leader on assists with 12 assists, followed by Love with 9 assists.

Bethany Wheeler was top performer for Phoenix on points with 18 points, followed by Amy Conroy with 11 points and Alice McHaffie with 9 points.

Wheeler had 14 rebounds, making her top performer for Phoenix on rebounds, followed by Amy Conroy with 10 rebounds, and joint third top performer was Curran Brown and McHaffie with 5 rebounds each. Wheeler was top performer for Phoenix on assists with 6 assists.


BWB WPL Fixtures and Results: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/womens-premier-league-2021-22/

BWB WPL Fanzone: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/womens-premier-league/

GB Round-up: 9th/10th April

In Spain, the final stage of the competition approaches with GB talent topping the league stats. Phil Pratt (Mideba Extremadura) is current league leader on average assists with an average of 9.3 assists per game, and Lee Manning (BSR Amiab Albacete) leads on rebounds with an average of 12.1 rebounds per game.  

Amiab Albacete (Kyle Marsh, Harry Brown, Ben Fox, Gaz Choudhry, Lee Manning) won their match 92:57 against Fundación Aliados. Albacete are current overall league leaders with a tie on points with Mideba Extremadura – both teams have won 16/19 matches this season so far.

In Albacete’s victory over Aliados, Gaz Choudhry (Albacete) was game leader on points with 34 points, with 73% on 3pts (8/11), and had 6 assists and 9 rebounds. Kyle Marsh (Albacete) had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Harry Brown (Albacete) had 5 points, and 2 assists. Ben Fox (Albacete) had 20 points, 3 assists and 9 rebounds.

Bidaideak Bilbao BSR (James MacSorley) won their home game 72:51 against Iberconsa Amfiv. James MacSorley had 4 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound.

Amivel Reyes Gutierrez (Abdi Jama, Tyler Baines, Peter Cusack) won 57:70 on the road against home team Fundación Vital Zuzenak. Abdi Jama had 20 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Peter Cusack had 7 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds.

CD Ilunion (Gregg Warburton, Terry Bywater) were narrowly defeated 79:73 by home team BSR Ace Gran Canaria. Gregg Warburton was top performer for CD Ilunion on points and assists, with 20 points and 9 assists, and had 2 rebounds. Terry Bywater had 15 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds.

Mideba Extremadura (Charlotte Moore, Phil Pratt, Lewis Edwards) won their match 54:74 against UCAM Murcia BSR. Charlotte Moore had 4 points. Phil Pratt had 8 points, 1 assist and 5 rebounds.

Servigest Burgos (Lee Fryer) were defeated 63:54 by Fundación FDI Las Rozas.

In Germany, Rhine River Rhinos (Jim Palmer) were knocked out of the playoffs by RSB Thuringia Bulls after a second defeat (84:45), which ends their season. Jim Palmer had 9 points. RSV Lahn-Dill (Simon Brown) prepare for their playoff matches against Hannover United after their match needed rescheduling.

At home in the National League Premier Division, Jack Perry (London Titans) had 14 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists in a home game win against visitors Thames Valley Kings.

In the Women’s Premier League, Jade Atkin (Cardiff Met Archers) had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in the Archers 35:32 victory over visitors Worcester Wolves (Sarah Hope, Kayla Bell). Sarah Hope (Wolves) had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Kayla Bell (Wolves) had 2 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist.

Loughborough Lightning (Lucy Robinson, Robyn Love, Laurie Williams, Jude Hamer, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Niamh Horan) won their match 66:42 against East London Phoenix (Amy Conroy). Lucy Robinson (Lightning) had 21 points and 6 rebounds. Robyn Love (Lightning) had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists. Laurie Williams (Lightning) had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.  Siobhan Fitzpatrick (Lightning) had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Niamh Horan (Lightning) had 8 points 7 rebounds and 1 assist. Amy Conroy (Phoenix) had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Junior League Elite 8’s teams confirmed!

The teams set to battle it out at the highly anticipated Junior League Elite 8’s competition have been confirmed.

The top two teams at the Elite 8’s competition qualify for the Junior League gold medal match, which takes place in May at the National Championship Finals. Alongside the finals for the National League divisions and Women’s Premier League, the National Championship Finals event will see the 2021-2022 Junior League champions named at this prestigious event.

Teams have been seeded ahead of the competition based on their performances across the pool stages throughout the season.

Elite 8’s will take place at the Nottingham Wildcats Arena on April 23rd and will see fierce competition throughout the day with a full set of fixtures.

Teams competing at Elite 8’s:

SeedTeam
1stWakefield Whirlwinds
2ndNorth Wales Knights
3rdThames Valley Kings
4thThe Bears
5thSouth Wales Fletchlings
6thMohawks
7thScottish Wizards
8thAces

GB Round-up: 2nd/3rd April

Play-offs are underway in the German League and the stage is set for a thrilling final in Italy.

In Spain, Bidaideak Bilbao BSR (James MacSorley) won their match away against Iberconsa Amfiv 56:82. James MacSorley had 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Amivel Reyes Gutierrez (Abdi Jama, Tyler Baines, Peter Cusack) were defeated on the road 72:63 against home team BSR Ace Gran Canaria. Abdi Jama had 6 points, 1 rebound and 7 assists. Peter Cusack had 16 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.

In Germany, Rhine River Rhinos (Jim Palmer) were defeated 62:86 by RSB Thuringia Bulls in their first game of the playoffs. Both teams will meet again this weekend for two more matches.

In Italy, tension builds for Briantea84 Cantù (Ian Sagar, Sophie Carrigill) who will meet Deco Metalferro Amicacci Abruzzo in a series of three final games to decide the 2021-2022 champions. On Saturday, to qualify for the final games, Briantea84 Cantù won 77:58 against visitors S. Stefano AVIS. Ian Sagar had 20 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist. Sophie Carrigill had 1 point.

Dinamo Lab Banco Di Sardegna (Billy Bridge) won their game against GSD Porto Torres 62:68. Billy Bridge had 16 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists.

At home in the National League Premier Division, Tom Smith (CWBA) had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists in CWBA 1’s victory over visitors Exeter Otters 1.

In the BWB Women’s Premier League, Loughborough Lightning continue their winning streak with a home game victory over Cardiff Met Archers. Laurie Williams (Lightning) had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Lucy Robinson (Lightning) had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist. Siobhan Fitzpatrick (Lightning) had 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Robyn Love (Lightning) had 24 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Niamh Horan (Lightning) had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Jade Atkin (Archers) had 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Sarah Hope (Worcester Wolves) had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in their victory over East London Phoenix. Kayla Bell (Wolves) had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Amy Conroy (Phoenix) had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 1 assist.

WPL Round-up: 2nd/3rd April

Photo credit: Purple Swan Photography

Worcester Wolves celebrated their first win of the season, and Loughborough Lightning’s winning streak continues.

Loughborough Lightning 65 – 39 Cardiff Met Archers

Lightning added another W to their perfect record this season so far with a home game victory over visitors Cardiff Met Archers.

Robyn Love (Lightning) was game leader on points with 24 points, followed closely by teammate Lucy Robinson with 23 points. Love was game leader on rebounds with 15 rebounds, with Laurie Williams and Robinson joint second on total rebounds for Lightning with 6 each.

Williams was game leader on assists with 10 assists, followed by teammate Love who had 7 assists.

For Cardiff Met Archers, Jade Atkin was top performer for the Archers on points with 17 points, followed by Anastasia Blease with 14 points and Maddie Martin with 4 points.

Blease was top performer for Archers on rebounds with 11, followed by Jade Atkin with 8 rebounds. Adele Atkin and Katie Morrow were joint third top performers on rebounds for Archers with 4 rebounds each.

Maddie Martin was top performer for Archers on assists with 4 assists, followed by Blease and Phillips who each had 1 assist.

Worcester Wolves 49 – 43 East London Phoenix

After an exciting match against East London Phoenix, Worcester Wolves celebrated their first win of the season. Following a rocky first quarter, Wolves came back from a 5-point deficit with determination and kept ahead of visitors Phoenix for the rest of the game. In the early stages of the fourth quarter, home team Wolves had an 11-point lead over Phoenix.

Jade Loughlin (Wolves) was top performer for the Worcester side on points with 13 points, followed by Sarah Hope with 12 points and joint third was Ellan Fraser and Kayla Bell with 10 each.

Hope and J. Loughlin were tied team top performers on rebounds with 10 rebounds each, with Bell close behind with 8 rebounds.

Another tie for team top performer for Hope and J. Loughlin who both got 6 assists each, joint game leaders on assists, followed by Kayli English with 3 assists.

Amy Conroy (Phoenix) was game leader on points with 25 points. Alice McHaffie was second top performer for Phoenix on points with 10 points, followed by Emily Branthwaite with 6 points.

Conroy was overall top performer on rebounds with 13 rebounds, with McHaffie as second top performer for Phoenix with 8 rebounds and Curran Brown with 5 rebounds.

Freya Levy (Phoenix) was top performer for Phoenix on assists with 4 assists, followed by McHaffie with 3 assists.


BWB WPL Fixtures and Results: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/womens-premier-league-2021-22/

BWB WPL Fanzone: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/womens-premier-league/

GB Round-up: 26/27th March

GB athletes across the European leagues are battling it out for the top spots as they head into the final stages of competition.

In Spain, Amivel Reyes Gutierrez (Abdi Jama, Tyler Baines, Peter Cusack) had a 69:49 victory at home against visitors UCAM Murcia BSR after a close first quarter. Abdi Jama had 16 points and 6 rebounds. Peter Cusack had 7 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds.

A win for CD Ilunion (Gregg Warburton, Terry Bywater) at home as they won 77:72 against BSR Amiab Albacete (Kyle Marsh, Harry Brown, Ben Fox, Gaz Choudhry, Lee Manning). Six GB athletes took to the court in this high-scoring match. Gregg Warburton (Ilunion) was top performer for Ilunion on points with 28 points, with a 2pt average of 75% (9/12), game leader on assists with 9 assists, and had 3 rebounds.

Kyle Marsh (Albacete) was game leader on points with 32 points, joint team top performer on assists with teammate Gaz Choudhry (Albacete) with 4 assists each, and had 4 rebounds. Choudhry had 6 points and 7 rebounds. Harry Brown (Albacete) had 11 points and 3 rebounds. Lee Manning (Albacete) had 9 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Manning currently is league leader on average rebounds per game, with an average of 12.1 per game.

Bidaideak Bilbao BSR (James MacSorley) had a 44:63 victory on the road against Fundación Aliados. James MacSorley had 4 points and 2 rebounds.

Mideba Extremadura (Charlotte Moore, Phil Pratt, Lewis Edwards) had success at home, winning 72:65 against BSR Ace Gran Canaria. Charlotte Moore had 4 points and 1 rebound. Lewis Edwards had 8 points and 10 rebounds. Phil Pratt was game top performer on rebounds and assists, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and had 19 points.

Servigest Burgos (Lee Fryer) had a strong performance against Fundación Vital Zuzenak, winning 71:47 at home.

In Italy, the competition to claim the top spot turned up a notch. Briantea84 Cantu (Sophie Carrigill, Ian Sagar) suffered a 77:69 defeat in the first stage of the semi-final, away to Stefano Avis. Ian Sagar had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist. Sophie Carrigill had 2 rebounds.

Dinamo Lab Banco Di Sardegna (Billy Bridge) won their match against GSD Porto Torres 67:58 – an important win in the final stages of the league competition. Billy Bridge had 12 points, 4 rebounsd and 7 assists.

In Germany, Rhine River Rhinos (Jim Palmer) played their last match of the regular season, and were defeated narrowly at home by visitors Doneck Dolphins Trier 75:78. Jim Palmer had 1 point. The German League now prepares for the play-offs, which are set to be an exhilarating end to the 2021-2022 season.