Loreto College beat Charnwood 61-59 in the final of the Under 17 English Schools competition on Thursday, to be crowned National Champions. Loreto’s Josh Pearce was named as the MVP.
Loreto made it to the final with a 68-66 win over Myerscough in the last eight before beating Haringey Sixth Form College 74-31 in the last four.
Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics would like to say a big thank you to Coolair Services Ltd after taking delivery of a brand new Citroen minibus.
The 15-seater vehicle, complete with Magic and Mystics artwork, is a key addition for the basketball club, which sends junior and senior teams up and down the country to fly the flag for Manchester basketball.
Manchester Mystics U16
The new bus will also help expand the club’s flourishing community programme as well as ensure coaches and players travel in style to their games.
“The minibus will have a hugely positive impact on what we do,” said club chief executive Phil Gordos. “I’d like to thank Coolair Services Ltd for the amazing generosity and Citroen’s Manchester dealership for their most helpful support.”
Phil Gordos, club chief executive, Andy Smith, Coolair Service Ltd’s UK operations director, Ian Wilson, Coolair Service Ltd’s regional operations manager, and Magic Under-16 player Ben Brocklehurst
Loreto College will battle it out with Charnwood in the final of the Under 17 English Schools competition on Thursday.
Loreto made it to the final with a 68-66 win over Myerscough in the last eight before beating Haringey Sixth Form College 74-31 in the last four.
Thursday’s final takes place at Leicester Arena (11am).
Loreto College’s Michael Anumba has been named the EABL’s West Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
The Manchester Magic point guard was also named to the All-West Second team, led the league in steals at an impressive 4.5 per game, which supplemented his 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Anumba said it was “a privilege to be recognised” by the EABL.
He added: “I’m really proud considering the talent on display week in week out. I could have never made it without my team-mates and my coach. The merit goes to them also.”
Loreto College’s Kaiyem Cleary has made the EABL West Conference All-First team.
The Manchester Magic player (pictured right) finished the league as the second leading scorer with 20.9 points per game.
He also averaged 8.4 rebounds per game, 1.4 assists per game, 1.8 steals per game, 0.9 blocks per game and was amongst the leaders in shooting percentage (58.3%) to help him finish eighth in efficiency, with a rating of 19.0.
Loreto guard and EABL steals leader Michael Anumba (pictured left) finished with 13.9 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 4.0 assists per game and 4.5 steals per game to make the West Conference All-Second team.
See full teams here
Other top statistical performers from Loreto:
Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo – averaged 8.4 rebounds per game, 3.4 offensive rebounds per game;
Maison Brown – averaged 40.7% from behind the 3-point line;
Hassan Ramic – averaged 40.0% from behind the 3-point line.
NB. Loreto College is our partner college in the EABL/WEABL or (Women) Elite Academy Basketball League.
A large number of our Manchester Magic and Mystics Under 18 players attend the college.
This partnership enables us to give Magic and Mystics players an educational pathway as well as a sporting one.
Kingsely Nwagboso was the last man standing of our players currently out in America in the US College System, as his Connor States side were involved in the NJCAA Division 1 National Championships, here’s how his team got on.
Kingsley Nwagboso (Sophomore) at Connors States (NJCAA Division 1)
Connors States Won the NJCAA Division 1 Region 2 Championship and advanced to the National Tournament as the number 17 seed (seeds are in brackets)
NJCAA Division 1 National Championships
First Round on Monday 20th March 11am EDT vs Spartanburg (#16) won 96 – 90 Kingsley played 2 minutes and grabbed 2 rebounds.
Second Round on Tuesday 21st March 3pm EDT vs San Jacinto-Central (#1) lost 77 – 115 Kingsley played 9 minutes scored 3 points, grabbed 1 rebound and blocked 1 shot.
(updated on 22/03/2017 at 12:31)
Last week we gave you an update to our former players currently playing out in America in the US College system, this week we have a couple of Tournament updates for you.
Aaron Menzies (Sophomore) at Seattle University (NCAA Division 1)
WAC Championship Quarter Final Lost 53 – 65 to Utah Valley on 9th March, Aaron DNP (injured)
Pharroh Gordon (Sophomore) at College of Saint Rose (NCAA Division 2)
College of Saint Rose made the NCAA Division Tournament
First Round Won 94 – 58 vs Bloomfield, Pharroh played 4 minutes, 3 points and 3 rebounds.
Second Round Won 67 – 47 vs Southern Connecticut State, Pharroh played 11 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Third Round Lost 66 – 69 vs Saint Thomas Aquinas, Pharroh DNP.
Kingsley Nwagboso (Sophomore) at Connors States (NJCAA Division 1)
Connors States Won NJCAA Division 1 Region 2 Championship to advance to the National Tournament.
Quarter Finals Won 87 – 85 vs Redlands
Semi Finals Won 74 – 72 vs Seminole State (OK)
Final Won 69 – 64 vs Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa
(no stats available at time of posting)
NJCAA Division 1 National Championships First Round on Monday 20th March 11am vs Spartanburg
(data accurate on 15/03/2017)
Manchester Magic Under 14s successfully defended their Sligo International title on Sunday to make it three straight wins in the annual tournament.
They beat Cork’s Blue Demons 63-42 in the final, with Magic point guard Noah Togo named MVP.
Magic began with a 77-19 win over Ballyshannon, then followed that with victories over Galway Titans (52-34), Sligo All Stars (37-12) and Dublin Sonics (35-26).
Their final group game was against Blue Demons, winning 50-28 before defeating the same opponents in the final a few hours later.
Magic coach Gary Williams praised his players on Twitter, quickly turning his attentions to the National League play-offs, which start later this month.
“So proud to coach the U14 boys with Coach Sam Gray this year! Great bunch of lads and parents! Onto the playoffs @Mcr_Magic
“Shoutout to @SligoAllStars for inviting us over for the U14 International. Great hosts as always for a great Irish basketball programme”
iCoachKids is a three-year project designed to improve the education and development of children and youth coaches across the European Union.
Led by Manchester Magic coach Sergio Lara-Bercial, a senior research fellow in sport coaching at Leeds Beckett University and the International Council for Coaching Excellence, iCoachKids aims to give coaches and parents the resources they need to:
Co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, iCoachKids has already created an interactive online platformwhere youth sport coaches can share and learn from each other.
For more information about the project, visit the official website at www.icoachkids.eu and follow @iCoachKidsEU on Twitter.
It’s March so it’s the time of year when US Colleges are in play-off action and with a number of our former junior players currently out in the USA playing at various Colleges we thought it would be nice to give everyone an update as to how they’ve got on this season.
Aaron Menzies (Sophomore) at Seattle University (NCAA Division 1) record 13-16
Seattle begin their WAC Championship play-offs against Utah Valley on 9th March
Season stats: Played 14 games, 14 starts, 21.8 minutes per game, 12.3 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 1.1 blocks per game (Aaron has been out injured since the last update)
Patrick Whelan (Junior) at William Jewell College (NCAA Division 2) record 9-17
Season stats: Played 26 games, 25 starts, 35.7 minutes per game, 19.7 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists per game, 0.8 steals per game
Patrick has picked up two awards All-GLVC Second Team and All-GLVC Defesive Team
and is a James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Nominee
He was 3rd in his conference in scoring and three-point shooting percentage (44.5%) and led the conference in minutes played per game.
Patrick also passed 1,000 career points at William Jewell this season, the 41st person to do so in the programme’s history.
Pharroh Gordon (Sophomore) at College of Saint Rose (NCAA Division 2) record 24-7
College of Saint Rose made the NE10 Conference Championships
Quarter Final 93 – 80 Win against Franklin Pierce, Pharroh did not play
Semi Final 63-65 Loss against Southern New Hampshire, Pharroh played 3 minutes and had 1 rebound.
Season stats: Played 20 games, 0 starts, 5.4 minutes per game, 1.3 points per game, 1.0 rebounds per game, 0.4 assists per game, 0.3 steals per game
Kingsley Nwagboso (Sophomore) at Connors States (NJCAA Division 1) record 14-4
Connors States begin their Post Season schedule on 8th March – 11th March
Season stats: Played 22 games, 0 starts, 5.2 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 0.6 assists per game, 0.5 blocks per game
Leah McDerment (Junior) at University of Massachusetts (NCAA Division 1) record 9-21
UMass made the A10 Tournament
Round 1 51 – 91 loss to Saint Louis, Leah played 40 minutes had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Season stats: Played 30 games, 30 starts, 37.8 minutes per game, 6.2 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 5.2 assists per game, 1.2 steals per game
Gina Brierley (Freshman) at Saint Leo University (NCAA Division 2) record 9-18
Saint Leo made the SSC Tournament
Round 1 55 – 91 loss to Fla. Southern, Gina started and played 27 minutes had 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
Season stats: Played 27 games, 27 starts, 28.7 minutes per game, 6.9 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game, 0.9 steals per game
(data accurate on 05/03/2017)