Year: 2017

Magic BBL Trophy

Magic face a trip to Yorkshire to face Sheffield Sharks in BBL Trophy

Manchester Magic have been drawn away against DBL Sheffield Sharks in the BBL Trophy.

The Sharks, currently second in the BBL table, came to the Amaechi Basketball Centre for a pre-season friendly, eventually winning 76-64.

The Magic will head to the EIS Sheffield in mid-December to match-up with them again, this time in competitive action. 

We’ll update you to the exact date and time the game will take place as soon as we know.

Samantha Roscoe

Mystics go big with signing of University of North Dakota Forward Roscoe

Manchester Mystics have added Australian/British forward Samantha Roscoe for the remainder of the 2017-18 WBBL season and she will make her debut this weekend.

Graduating from the University of North Dakota earlier this year, she averaged a double-digit scoring return during her senior year with more than 10 points per game, as well as 5 rebounds per outing. Roscoe has also played recently in Australia with Lakeside Lightning.

“She has only been here a few days, but has settled straight in and we are very excited to have added Samantha to our roster,” enthused Mystics’ play-caller Jeff Jones.

“She brings us some real size at 6ft 3in tall and she will really help us and especially Dom [Allen] in the paint.

“A highly skilled player, Samantha also has a strong basketball IQ and when you take the whole package she offers into account, we are confident she will be a major asset for us and the league.

“We are looking forward to her making her debut this Saturday,” added Jones.

Mystics face BA London Lions at the National Basketball Performance Centre in a 3pm tip-off.

By the way, she’s famous for making this shot:

Manchester Magic logo

Magic await BBL Trophy fate

Manchester Magic will be challenging the big guns of the BBL this season after entering the BBL Trophy.

And Paul Middleton’s National League Division One side won’t have long to wait before learning who their first-round opponents will be.

The draw takes place at 6pm on Friday (3rd November) and will be streamed live on the BBL Facebook page.

Any chance of a home draw against Manchester Giants?

England Commonwealth Games 2018

Mystics’ Jones and Allen in England squad for Commonwealth Games squad

England Head Coach Jose Buceta has named his 23 strong long list of potential players as the 2018 Commonwealth Games edge ever closer. Mystics’ Georgia Jones and Dominique Allen have both made the list; the pair are also in the Great Britain Squad that play at the Mystics’ base (at the National Basketball Performance Centre) on Saturday 11th Novermber against Israel.

The basketball tournament at the Commonwealth Games gets underway on 5th April 2018 with 16 teams competing across the Men’s and Women’s competitions. In total 192 players will be selected from 11 different nations and Team England’s Women begin their Commonwealth Games campaign on 6 April 2018 against Canada before further games against Mozambique and Australia.

Full Squad can be found here

Mystics logo

Mystics’ Jones and Allen make WBBL Stat Stars for October

Manchester Mystics’ Georgia Jones and Dominique Allen make the WBBL Stat Stars list for the month of October.

WBBL Stats Stars for October
Mystics’ @gljones4
22ppg (3rd) 6.3apg (joint 1st) 90.9% ft% (1st) #Molton WBBL Player of the Month pic.twitter.com/8ePNSagPn6 — Manchester Mystics (@Mcr_Mystics) November 2, 2017

Jones averaged 22 points per game (3rd) dished out a 6.3 assists per game (joint 1st) and led the league in free-throw percentage with 90.9% from the charity stripe over the course of the month of October, to earn Molton Player of the month

WBBL Stats Stars for October
Mystics’ @dom_allen12
66.7% FG% (1st) pic.twitter.com/tOW7WnJ4Vq — Manchester Mystics (@Mcr_Mystics) November 2, 2017

Allen shot a league leading 66.72% from the field.

Georgia Jones

Mystics’ Jones name Molten WBBL Players of the Month

Manchester Mystics’ playmaker Georgia Jones has been handed the prestigious Molten WBBL Player of the Month award in recognition of her productive start to the new campaign.

No stranger to the monthly accolade, the Great Britain guard has showcased her skills once again with some stellar contributions that have returned a superb 22 points per game.

Georgia Jones player of the month

Jones leads the league in free-throw shooting and has also got her perimeter game going in impressive fashion – converting 50% from long-range, which is the second best in the league.

Always one of the leading lights, it will come as little surprise to followers of the WBBL that Jones is co-leader of the assists chart. She has created for her colleagues as usual with an excellent 6.3 assists per outing so far.

Jones fought off competition from Ashley Harris of Nottingham Wildcats and Alison Gorrell of Team Northumbria to take the award.

Source: WBBL

We Need Your Vote

Vote for our Basketball Roadshow

We need your vote!

The club is attempting to win funding for a brand new project that we believe will get more people playing and involved in basketball.

It’s a Basketball Roadshow that will visit parks, open spaces and festivals in Greater Manchester and the North West of England.

We’ve already come through two rounds of the Aviva Community Fund selection process.

Now we need your help to take us closer to our goal.

Click on the link below to find out more about the project and how your vote can help!

https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/17-6385

Aviva Community Fund

Manchester Mystics

Tough away loss on opening weekend for Mystics U14

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing to be thrown in at the deep end or not. It’s how I was ‘taught’ to swim but it didn’t enable me to go on to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres front crawl! I digress (as I often do). Before last Saturday, only 4 of Mystics new U14 twelve strong squad had ever represented the club at national league level and 2 of the 4 had had – not many people stutter when they write! – limited experience. Not ideal when your first conference game of the season is Sheffield away. (Never an easy fixture for all sorts of reasons.)

Would we sink or would we swim better than I can? In the event, we swam as well as anything aquatic. Prior to game, I was convinced I knew the make-up of their side. (Players not brand of lipstick, eye shadow etc.) I expected just 1 major player from last season’s team which reached the Final Fours to be involved. More incompetence! It turned out to be as many as 4. What I assumed would be akin to a test on the 11 times table had instantly become upgraded to an A level pure maths examination, particularly as 1 of the 4 was England U16 squad member, Abby Whitehouse.

I began with the under-sized 5 of Lily Hayes, Charli Wroe, Olivia Forster, Emily Wood and Jo Vourliotis. (Our 2 biggest players, Zara Masada-Tate and Eleni Vourliotis are both injured.) It became instantly apparent that we were as fit for purpose as several Presidents of the USA have been in recent times. We were confronted with too many physical match-up problems and soon trailed 2-6 in front of a healthy crowd. (None of them looked ill!)

We desperately needed someone to compete on the boards so I brought on the supremely athletic Kizzi Spence. Within 4 minutes, Kizzi helped turn the opening skirmishes in our favour. We now led 10-6 and despite our relative inexperience, looked to be the equals of our prestigious opponents. Our young players then held their nerve to shade the first quarter 15-13 as the closing 3 minutes consisted almost exclusively of our Charli driving to basket, being unceremoniously whacked and composing herself to convert the resultant free throws and their Abby powering her way through either on blistering give n goes or running through (literally) our defenders to secure offensive rebounds and convert unerringly.

Things got even better for us at the beginning of the second period. Our decision making remained sound and confidence continued to grow. Lily was doing a fine job containing Abby which severely hampered Sheffield’s scoring options. The hosts were having difficulty containing the skill and speed of Charli, Olivia and Kizzi. Over a productive 11 minute stretch, we outscored the opposition 22-10 which meant that with 14 minutes gone, we led 24-16. It then looked as if it would become 26-16 as Kizzi flew (she has wings!) past 3 defenders en route to basket. Unfortunately, she and a fourth defender collided heavily enough for this to be Kizzi’s final act on the day. She spent the rest of the day in A & E and was greatly missed.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, it coincided with Sheffield subsequently being awarded as many as 16 free throws in the remaining 5 minutes (the equivalent of a world record 128 if repeated over a full game)! These 2 things enabled our opponents to go from 8 points down to 4 up- just 3 short of a well-known fizzy drink! They went into the interval 30-34 to the good and the whole complexion of the contest had been turned on its head.

That said, Mystics took it all in their stride and came out after the interval in a positive frame of mind. The girls’ sheer effort and determination was such that for fully 9 minutes they restricted Sheffield’s potent offense to a mere 2 field baskets, an outstanding achievement by all concerned. Tellingly, however, the home side were awarded a further 8 free-throws, 6 of which were converted. In view of the fact that we were unable to utilise our most productive weapon, the fast break, due to the opposition’s dominance of the boards, we had to seek alternative ways to stay in touch. We did and again, shaded the quarter, 17-16.

This meant we entered the final period with all to play for at 47-50 but we were in foul trouble. Key players Charli, Olivia and 11 year old Daisy Bryan, who, as with the other 2, had made significant contributions at both ends of the floor, plus our leading rebounder, Esha Nayar, were all on either 3 or 4 fouls. Undaunted, in Kizzi’s absence, all 9 remaining Mystics on show- those already mentioned plus 4 more debutants, the tireless Nia Molloy and Emily Wood as well as the battling cousins, Lia and Jo Vourliotis- continued to display great resolve, giving their all for the team. As a result, we again shaded the quarter, 17-16.

Against all the odds, Mystics had managed to win 2 of the 3 quarters contested so far but still trailed 47-50. This was far from insurmountable, provided that we still had the necessary energy and focus to compete at a level previously unvisited by most of the team. We did so for 3 minutes and at 51-55 were like town criers- in with a shout! It seemed to be anybody’s game but Abby Whitehouse had other ideas. She used her physical superiority effectively enough to dominate proceedings for the next telling 4 minutes. She proved unstoppable and almost single-handed forged a crucial 15 point lead for her side. Far from crumble, Mystics dug deep and rallied to cut the margin to 8 and closing before running out of time.

Almost everyone likes to win but sometimes the performance is just as important as the result. This was one such occasion. Every Mystic did herself and her club proud with the manner in which they conducted themselves on and of court. It is very much to their credit that Sheffield’s accomplished coaching staff felt so threatened that they decided to give only 6 of their 10 players anything like meaningful court time. Of those 6, our gallant young team succeeded in almost completely nullifying 4 of them but we could not match up with the other 2 who were good enough and strong enough to amass a match-winning combined 58 points.

Our players will have gained an enormous amount of game experience (as well as plenty of bruises) which will undoubtedly stand them in good stead for the remainder of the season. Thank you so much to all parents and supporters, plus helpers-in-chief, James, Sam and Carys for your assistance and cooperation. It is much appreciated.

Next up on 22 October at 12.30 is a (very) local derby against Mystics II.

Jim

Becky Harwood-Bellis

Rising Mystics star says self-belief is the key

Becky Harwood-Bellis is in her first season with the Manchester Mystics, but the 15-year-old, whose twin brother, Taylor, plays football for Manchester City and England, is already making her mark.

Here, she tells us why she likes basketball and reflects on her Great Britain debut in the summer.

How did you get into basketball?

Becky: My brother. Someone came into my school. St Philip’s in Stockport, to run some basketball lessons. My brother said he wanted to start and I said I didn’t. I’ve always been scared to try new things. He really wanted to do it but said he would only do it if I did it. I decided to give it a go.

And you liked it?

Becky: I couldn’t even catch a ball when I started, but I stuck at it. I’d tried other things, like ballet, but nothing really appealed. I had two left feet when it came to football. With basketball, I enjoyed the amount of stuff there was to learn. And I liked the physicality, the toughness.

Becky Harwood-Bellis

Now you’re a GB international!

What was it like to get selected for the European Championships?

Becky: I cried a lot. I was in pure shock. Everyone else believes in me, but I don’t believe in myself.

Who was your debut against?

Becky: Denmark. I was so scared. I didn’t tell anyone I was scared. My brain was doing overtime. My first touch of the ball, I shot a three. I was so happy.

What difference has playing for GB made to you?

Becky: My confidence levels have gone from zero to a hundred. But I’ve still got more to give. I’ve also learned that if I want something I can achieve it.

So what now?

Becky: My weakness is still my confidence. I need to believe in myself.

And another Euros in 2018?

Becky: I’ve got more of a chance having played in one already, but I’m not taking anything for granted. I’ve got to keep on working.

Total Physio

Magic secure second season of sponsorship from Total Physiotherapy

Manchester Magic’s Division One team have secured a second season of sponsorship from Total Physiotherapy.

The deal means Magic’s squad will get the best care possible as they look to challenge for yet more honours in 2017/18.

“We’re very grateful for Total Physiotherapy’s continued backing,” said Phil Gordos, CEO of Greater Manchester Community Basketball, which runs the Magic.

“If we’re going to be competing for silverware again, we need our players are in the best shape possible. This agreement means we can support them professionally on and off the court.”

Richard Crook, CEO of Total Physiotherapy, added: “We look forward to supporting the Manchester Magic again.

“Welove supporting andhelpingoutthe communities we work in through thesponsorship of local clubs and this is agreatway of both doing that and promoting what we do.

“The Total Physiotherapy team look forward to seeing Manchester Magic is action this year and hopefully challenging for more silverware.”

Total Physiotherapy, which has 14 clinics and also incorporates the David Roberts Physiotherapy clinics, treats people across the North West of England.

Staff provide a holistic range of services, including physiotherapy, pilates, podiatry, chiropody, massage, acupuncture, psychological services, gym and personal training.

To find out more about Total Physiotherapy, visit www.totalphysio.co.uk or call head office on 0161 683 0652.

To find out more about the club and find out when the next home game is, visit www.manchestermagicandmystics.co.uk or follow the club on social media.