Month: September 2017

Rheanne Bailey

Influential Bailey back on board with Mystics

Manchester Mystics have secured the return of highly influential forward Rheanne Bailey ahead of the new WBBL season.

As head coach Jeff Jones starts to reveal his plans for the 2017-18 campaign, there is a strong suggestion that there will be plenty of continuity and chemistry to build upon.

One of the fundamental pillars of the team’s breakthrough season last year when they landed the WBBL Cup at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, Mystics will be hoping for more trademark contributions from Bailey.

“Obviously Rheanne was an integral part of our success and progression last season and we are delighted she will be part of the continued growth of the team,” enthused Coach Jones.

“There is also the added dimension that Rheanne is very much central to the partnership we have with Manchester Metropolitan University – both through her education and responsibilities of coaching the first team.

“All the intangibles Rheanne brings to the team is paramount to us progressing as a club. She always demonstrates to our younger players the wider aspects of being in a team and all that entails,” reiterated the play-caller.

Bailey averaged 11.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for Mystics last season in the WBBL Championship.

Basketball England

North West U17 Girls finish 1st whilst Boys finish 4th at the U17 Regional Tournament

Manchester Magic had six players and the Mystics eight players on North West duty for the Under 17 Regional Development Tournament on the weekend of 9th/10th September.

Magic’s Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo, Daniel Gargan, Joshua Grant, Aaron Martin, Frederic Rouse and Noah Tchifounga were part of the 12-strong squad for the two-day event at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue.

Leading them into battle as head coach were Magic’ coaches Tom Stansfield as Head Coach and Aurimas Verbukas and Edward Bradley as Assistant Coaches

Mystics’ Chloe Andrew, Niamh Kelshaw, Jessica McGrath, Silvia Okuonghae, Lucy Threlfall, Bethany Waugh, Sophie Wilson and new comer Jessica Izevbigie were part of the 11-strong squad for the two-day event at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue.

Leading them into battle at head coach was Mystics’ coach Mbongéni Greg Mpofu.

Saturday’s Results:

10:00 Girls 46 – 18 West Midlands – Win

11:30 Girls & Boys shooting test heats

13:00 Girls 41 – 39 South East – Win

14:30 Boys 70 – 46 East Midlands – Win

17:30 Boys 52 – 44 West Midlands – Win

Sunday’s Results:

10:00 Girls 49 – 39 London – Win

11:30 Boys 35 – 47 East – Loss

North West Boys (Magic’s Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo) and Girls (Mystics’ Chloe Andrew and Sophie Wilson) were both 3rd in the Shooting Competition

Final 13:00 Girls 50 – 46 South West – North West U17 Girls were Tournament Winners

3rd/4th 15:00 Boys 41 – 49 London – North West U17 Boys finished in 4th place

Ali Barvareh

Keep Your Head Right

We are all excited that the National League Season will start soon. Basketball is the game we all love. Coaches, players, parents, physiotherapists, strength and conditioning specialists, team followers and managers spend hours in training sessions, games and on the road pursuing The Excellence of victory. However, all cannot be achieved unless we provide a safe environment for our athletes.

Concussion in sport, especially in basketball, is a common and serious injury that can affect any athlete. It must be recognised and the player must be removed when signs and potential symptoms of concussion are observed in practice sessions or games.

What is Concussion?

–          Concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by biomechanical forces.

–          Concussion is a brain injury caused by either direct or indirect forces to the head.

–          Concussion typically results in the rapid onset of short-lived impairment of brain function.

–          Loss of consciousness is NOT a requirement to diagnose concussion.

Visible signs/ what you see (Signs that coaches, patents and all involved see in players):

• Dazed, blank or vacant look

• Lying motionless on ground / Slow to get up

• Unsteady on feet / Balance problems or falling over / unco-ordination

• Loss of consciousness or responsiveness

• Confused / not aware of plays or events

• Grabbing / clutching of head

• Convulsion (seizure)

• More emotional / Irritable

What you feel (Players)

• Headache • Dizziness • Mental clouding, confusion, or feeling slowed down • Visual problems • Nausea or vomiting • Fatigue • Drowsiness / Feeling like “in a fog“/ difficulty concentrating• “Pressure in head” • Sensitivity to light or noise

Questions to ask:

Failure to answer any of these questions correctly may suggest a concussion:

• “What venue are we at today?”

• “Which half is it now?”

• “Who scored last in this game?”

• “What team did you play last week / game?”

• “Did your team win the last game?”

If a player has signs or symptoms of a possible concussion that player must be:

RECOGNISED AND REMOVED and IF IN DOUBT, SIT THEM OUT.

Your club physiotherapists are following GB basketball guidelines in concussion assessment, management and will guide you towards the correct direction. If they are around at the time of injury, notify them immediately and if they are not available the player must be taken to hospital for the check-up.

Take the concussion seriously, Keep Your Head Right and always remember the 6 Rs in concussion care:

Recognise – Remove – Refer – Rest – Recover – Return.

Ali Barvareh

Manchester Magic Basketball Physiotherapist

Main Reference:

http://img.basketballengland.co.uk/media/BasketballEnglandWeb/Docs/Safeguarding/Concussion%20Guidelines%20Feb%202016.pdf

Magic and Mystics Great Britain

Summer of International Basketball Schedule and Results

Great Britain Summer Schedule:

GB Senior Men – EuroBasket – 31st August – 17th September – Group D in Istanbul, Turkey

Fri 1st at 12:15pm GB 90 – 103 Belgium

Sat 2nd at 7:00pm GB 70 – 84 Turkey

Mon 4th at 12:15pm GB 92 – 97 Latvia

Tue 5th at 3:00pm GB 68 – 82 Serbia

Thu 7th at 12:30pm GB 70 – 82 Russia

GB finish bottom of Group D, missing out on a place in the Round of 16.

All of GB Senior Men’s games available to watch LIVE over at https://www.facebook.com/FIBA/

All GB games for U20, U18 and U16 Men and Women will be Live Streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/fiba

GB Under 20 Men – Division B – 14th – 23rd July – Group B in Oradea, Romania

Fri 14th at 6:45pm GB 65 – 74 Netherlands

Sat 15th at 6:45pm GB 64 – 57 Russia

Sun 16th at 2:15pm GB 67 – 53 Slovak Republic

Tue 18th at 2:15pm GB 111 – 68 Azerbaijan

Fri 21st at 12:00noon GB 71 – 69 Poland Quarter Finals

Sat 22nd at 6:45pm GB 69 – 79 Croatia Semi-Finals

Sun 23rd at 4:15pm GB 81 – 65 Russia 3rd/4th Classification Games

GB Under 20 Men finished 3rd and gained promotion to Division A for next year

GB Under 20 Women – Division B – 8th – 16th July – Group B in Eilat, Israel (Mystics’ Alumni Gina Brierley)

Sat 8th at 6:30pm GB 69 – 46 Ireland Gina played 9 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 steal

Sun 9th at 4:15pm GB 74 – 48 Romania Gina played 7 minutes, 2 points, 1 steal

Mon 10th at 4:15pm GB 50 – 88 Israel Gina played 18 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound

Wed 12th at 2:00pm GB 58 – 70 Belarus Gina did not play

Thu 13th at 6:30pm GB 38 – 72 Croatia Gina played 21 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound, 2 assists 

Sat 15th at 2:00pm GB 71 – 77 Czech Republic 5-8 Classification Games, Gina played 3 minutes 

Sun 16th at 1:30pm GB 49 – 77 Israel 7th/8th Classification Games, Gina played 18 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound 

GB Under 20 Women finished 8th

GB Under 18 Men – Division B – 28th July – 6th August – Group A in Tallinn, Estonia (Magic’s Kaiyem Cleary)

Fri 28th at 11:45am GB 84 – 55 Czech Republic Kaiyem played 16 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists

Sat 29th at 6:30pm GB 87 – 76 Netherlands Kaiyem played 23 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals

Sun 30th at 4:15pm GB 67 – 69 Sweden Kaiyem played 22 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks

Tue 1st at 2:00pm GB 91 – 82 Luxembourg Kaiyem played 16 minutes, 2 points, 7 rebounds and 1 steal

Wed 2nd at 11:45am GB 100 – 43 Albania, Kaiyem played 20 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals

Fri 4th at 11:45am GB 76 – 73 Bulgaria Quarter Finals, Kaiyem played 7 minutes, 3 points and 1 assist

Sat 5th at 4:15pm GB 75 – 61 Estonia Semi Final, Kaiyem played 7 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist

Sun 6th at 6:30pm GB 84 – 90* Croatia Final *Overtime, Kaiyem played 8 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal

GB Under 18 Men finished 2nd and gained promotion to Division A

GB Under 18 Women – Division B – 4th – 13th August – Group D in Dublin, Ireland

Fri 4th at 6:15pm GB 80 – 63 Ukraine

Sat 5th at 4:00pm GB 148 – 28 Moldova

Sun 6th at 6:15pm GB 81 – 46 MKD

Tue 8th at 6:15pm GB 49 – 63 Ireland

Wed 9th at 1:45pm GB 86 – 64 Slovak Republic

Fri 11th at 8:30pm GB 55 – 46 Romania Quarter Finals

Sat 12th at 8:30pm GB 55 – 64 Germany Semi Finals

Sun 13th at 6:15pm GB 50 – 64 Poland 3-4 Classification Games

GB Under 18 Women finished 4th

GB Under 16 Boys – Division B – 10th – 19th August – Group D in Sofia, Bulgaria

Thu 10th at 6:30pm GB 77 – 43 Luxembourg

Fri 11th at 6:30pm GB 85 – 58 Georgia

Sat 12th at 2:00pm GB 94 – 52 MKD

Mon 14th at 6:30pm GB 57 – 35 Kosovo

Tue 15th at 4:15pm GB 64 -54 Portugal

Thu 17th at 2:00pm GB 85 – 54 Hungary Quarter Finals

Fri 18th at 4:15pm GB 52 – 75 Greece Semi Final

Sat 19th at 4:15pm GB 63 – 64 Georgia 3-4 Classification Games

GB Under 16 Boys finished 4th

GB Under 16 Girls – Division B – 17th – 26th August – Group D in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (Mystics’ Ashana Hinds, Khia Lee and Rebecca Harwood-Bellis)

Thu 17th at 3:30pm GB 53 – 67 Denmark Ashana played 26 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, Khia played 22 minutes, 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, Rebecca played 7 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal

Fri 18th at 11:00am GB 68 – 35 Albania Ashana played 22 minutes, 6 points 3 rebounds, 1 assist, Khia played 11 minutes, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, Rebecca played 13 minutes, 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block

Sat 19th at 11:00am GB 39 – 79 Switzerland Ashana played 18 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, Khia played 15 minutes, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, Rebecca played 13 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal

Mon 21st at 1:15pm GB 36 – 47 Slovak Republic Ashana played 28 minutes, 1 point, 4 rebounds, Khia played 18 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals and Rebecca played 5 minutes

Tue 22nd at 1:15pm GB 43 – 56 Bosnia and Herzegovina Ashana played 19 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, Khia played 22 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, Rebecca played 3 minutes, 1 rebound

Fri 25th at 11:00am GB 43 – 42 Iceland 17-22 Classification Games, Ashana played 23 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound 1 steal, Khia played 18 minutes, 3 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and Rebecca played 2 minutes, 3 points

Sat 26th at 11:00am GB 50 – 53  MKD 17-18 Classification Games, Ashana played 26 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, Khia played 16 minutes, 2 rebounds and Rebecca played 4 minutes, 1 steal

GB Under 16 Girls finished 18th

Wales Summer Schedule:

Wales Under 16 Boys – Division C – 23rd – 30th July – Group A in Andorra La Vella, Andorra (Magic’s Sion Gordon, Ben Gordos, Luke Gordos and Fredric Rouse, plus Head Coach Aurimas Verbukas aka Coach Ollie)

Sun 23rd at 1:15pm Wales 55 – 64 Moldova Ben played 19 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals, Luke played 23 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, Fredric played 9 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 2 steals and Sion played 16 minutes, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal

Mon 24th at 11:00am Wales 47 – 43 Malta Ben played 19 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, Sion played 20 minutes, 2 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, Luke played 9 minutes, 5 rebounds and 1 steal and Fredric did not play

Wed 26th at 3:45pm Wales 66 – 81 Gibraltar Ben played 36 minutes, 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, Sion played 31 minutes, 6 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks, Luke played 12 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists and Fredric played 8 minutes, 2 rebounds

Thu 27th at 1:15pm Wales 53 – 85 Armenia Sion played 24 minutes, 6 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals, Fredric played 16 minutes, 7 points and 3 rebounds, Luke played 13 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist and 1 steal and Ben played 11 minutes, 1 assist

Sat 29th at 1:15pm Wales 47 – 58 Albania 5-8 Classification Games, Sion played 32 minutes, 6 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, Luke played 30 minutes, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block, Ben played 13 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block and Fredric played 6 minutes

Sun 30th at 11:15am Wales 65 – 60 Moldova 7th/8th Classification Games, Sion played 21 minutes, 16 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 4 blocks, Luke played 32 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, Ben played 22 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal and Fredric played 14 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound and 2 steal

Wales Under 16 Boys finished 7th

Wales Under 16 Girls – Division C – 25th – 30th July – Group B in Gibraltar (Mystics’ Beth McLoughlin)

Tue 25th at 5:30pm Wales 48 – 46 Gibraltar Beth played 26 minutes, 7 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals

Wed 26th at 3:15pm Wales 31 – 63 Armenia, Beth played 29 minutes, 5 points, 8 rebounds and 1 steal

Thu 27th at 3:15pm Wales 47 – 45* Principality of Monaco *Overtime Beth played 36 minutes, 5 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal

Sat 29th at 3:15pm Wales 33 – 61 Malta Semi-Final, Beth played 30 minutes, 7 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist

Sun 30th at 3:15pm Wales 45 – 66 Georgia 3rd/4th Classification Games, Beth played 29 minutes, 8 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists

Wales Under Girls finished 4th

(All times are UK times, follow links for LiveStats)

North West at the Regional Development Tournaments at the National Basketball Performance Centre

U13 Boys 1st- 2nd July Results here

U13 Girls 8th – 9th July Results here

U15 Boys 16th – 17 September

U15 Girls 16th – 17th September

U17 Boys 9th – 10th September

U17 Girls 9th – 10th September

Michael Anumba and Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo

Young Magic Stars Anumba and Emeka-Anyakwo on their success at Deng Camp

Manchester Magic teenager Michael Anumba was already marked out as an enormous talent with a very bright future.

His star is burning even brighter after finishing as the top-ranked player at the prestigious Deng Camp, a four-day gathering in London for the top 50 junior players in the country.

Michael was joined in the top 10 by Magic and Loreto College team-mate Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo, who left Crystal Palace as the seventh-best player, another stunning effort.

We spoke to both players about their experiences…

Wow, what an amazing four days at Deng Camp. How do you sum up the experience?

Michael: It was very tough, both physically and mentally. The best 50 players in the country were there. It was hard. After injuring my knee towards the end of last season, I went there thinking that I wanted to do my best and finish in the top 10. I never thought about being number one. But when I was ranked second after the first day, it pushed me to finish top. Then, when I got to number one, I wanted to stay there.

Arinze: I was just aiming to make the top 20. That was my goal. So to be ranked ninth after day one… I was not expecting that at all. It gave me a massive confidence boost.

Michael and Arinze

Michael, was there a lot of pressure to remain number one?

Michael: Yeah. The other players wanted to guard me, to bring me down and improve their own ranking. I had so much pressure on me. I had lots of messages of support from my friends and family, too. That was extra pressure because I didn’t want to disappoint them.

So to finish number one…. how did that feel?

Michael: Amazing. I didn’t know how to react. For 10 minutes, I couldn’t believe it. To talk to Luol Deng and get respect from Luol Deng was just amazing.

Arinze, seventh spot must have given you a lot of satisfaction?

Arinze: It was a massive surprise. I thought I might have dropped down the rankings after the All Star game. When they got to eight and still hadn’t said by name, I didn’t know what to think. So seventh was amazing.

Michael and Arinze

What’s the most important thing both of you will take from Deng Camp?

Michael: That it’s easy to let laziness take over when the going gets tough. You need to work hard all of the time. I want to thank Arinze for pushing me on. He is a very close friend of mine and he was my room-mate and my team-mate at Deng Camp. We talked a lot, pushing each other on. Arinze helped me a lot.

Arinze: We recognised when each other was a little flat, so we’d encourage each other, have each other’s back. Deng Camp also taught me that I am a different player when I play with confidence, that I need to be focused all the time and need to play to my strengths, like my athleticism, my defence and my ability to initiate the offence.

So is confidence an issue for you?

Arinze: Confidence can be a big issue for me. In practice, I feel very comfortable dribbling the ball, making plays, shooting the ball when I’m open, but I don’t always have that confidence in games. I need to remind myself that I can do this, to stay positive when I make mistakes and to stay focused even when the confidence is not there.

Finally, what has the Deng Camp experience meant to you both?

Michael: It’s made me want to work even harder. I am a target now and a lot more people know who I am. I’m going to have to work harder than I have ever done before.

Arinze: It’s made me want to be a big part of the Division One team, to help the U18s win Final Fours, to get in the top 10 for rebounds in the EABL, and to make a name for myself.

WATCH: Michael Anumba’s Deng Camp highlights here