Manchester Magic have signed former junior Andre Gayle for the 2018/19 NBL Division 1 season.

The 6ft 4in shooting guard joins from NBL Division 2 side Liverpool, where he played 18 games last season.

He made 13 starts, averaging 26.2 minutes, 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game.

The 23 year-old is Magic’s third signing of the summer, joining the returning Kayin Darbey and new-recruit Ali Sbai.

“I am very much excited to be back at my home town team and I am excited to play for a coach who is so passionate and has so much love for the game like Coach Ollie does,” said Gayle.

He made two appearances as a Magic junior at the annual Haris Memorial Tournament in 2011 and 2012, with the Magic finisheing second and third respectively.

He also won back-to-back National Cup titles with the Magic.

Gayle is the nephew of former Magic player and British basketball legend Steven Gayle.

Speaking about his uncle’s influence on him, Gayle said: “I first got into basketball when I went to high school because my uncle was the basketball coach at my school.

“I then started to take basketball more seriously and joined Manchester Magic at 15.”

Magic head coach Verbukas said: “I am happy to see one of our juniors returning. This fits well with our club ethos and philosophy of loyalty.

“Andre is a good player that will make a big impact straight away.

“The qualities he will bring to the team are his court vision, shooting ability and leadership potential that will go a long way to aiding the development of our juniors around him.”

The Manchester Magic have wasted no time in signing the talented youngster Ali Sbai for the NBL Division One Men 2018-19 Season.

The 6ft 5in Moroccan/British Small Forward Sbai joins the Magic from league rivals Reading Rockets, where he played 25 games last season, making 3 starts, averaged 15.7 minutes per game, 7.3 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, making 1.2 3-pointers per game.

The 20 year-old, is Coach Verbukas’s second signing of the summer, joining the returning Kayin Darbey, and Sbai is excited to be on board, “I’m excited to play for the Magic because when I played against them in the past, the atmosphere was amazing and you can see how much support the community gives to the club. I can’t wait to be a part of the Magic family.”

Sbai and Magic Head Coach Verbukas have worked together before as Sbai explains: “When I first met Coach Ollie it was at Deng Camp, he helped me so much.

“I’ve always wanted him as a Head Coach because I know that he can get the best out of me. I can’t wait.”

Coach Verbukas is thrilled to welcome Sbai to Manchester, “We are delighted to welcome Ali to the Magic family.

“Ali is a very passionate player who I’ve worked with over previous years at the Deng Top 50 Camp.

“He is a proven junior with experience in NBL Division One and we look forward to working with him to achieve this season’s objectives.” 

Image Credit: Deng Camp

Seven Magic players have been selected to represent the North West at the Under 13 Boys Regional Development Tournament on 7th-8th July at the National Basketball Performance Centre.

Magic’s Sam Andrew, Matthew Goodwin, Lucas Ricketts, Moroni Manuel, Robbie Wild, Toby Akinlade and Thomas Kelly will be joined at the Tournament by Magic’s Gary Williams as Head Coach and Suzanne Wild as Team Manager.

Results:

Saturday 7th July

10:00 North West vs Yorkshire – Yorkshire Win

14:00 North West vs South West – North West Win

16:00 North West vs East – East Win

18:00 North West vs West Midlands – North West Win

Sunday 8th July

9:00 North West vs North East – North West Win

11:00 North West vs East Midlands – North West Win

13:30 North West vs South East – North West Win

North West finish 5th

The Manchester Magic are delighted to announce that our first signing of the summer is British point guard Kayin Darbey. The long serving play-maker will be suiting up for the team once again.

Darbey is known for his lighting quick guard play, has committed to continue with the club once again. The 6 foot ball-handler has been a loyal and much valued club member since his junior years.

Head coach Verbukas is happy to see Kayin continue with the club.

“Kayin is a loyal member of the programme and has great character. I am delighted to see with us again next season.

“He has a lot of experience in this league and that will help us massively as we look to build a team ready for the challenge NBL Division One basketball brings.

“He is a player we always value, as he is not just a good player, but also has great character that fits with our club ethos.”

Darbey commented, “Playing for the Manchester Magic provides intense training and a great team atmosphere both off and on the court – whilst maintaining a high standard of basketball.

“Coach Ollie has a huge passion for basketball and knows a lot about the sport, I feel he can teach me a lot this season.”

We will have more announcements in the coming weeks.

The Manchester Magic Under 12s took part in the Leeds Basketball Tournament this past weekend at Leeds Beckett University, taking home the trophy after being crowned Tournament champions.

The team played four games on each day, against teams from around the Country; the Magic side remained the only team undefeated at the end of the two day event to pick up the silverware.

Saturday’s results

York Eagles 13-61 Manchester Magic

City of Birmingham 9-49 Manchester Magic

Manchester Magic 91-8 Leeds II

Manchester Magic 34-24 Brentwood I

Sunday’s results

Manchester Magic 37-16 Mersey Mavericks

Manchester Magic 26-24 Brentwood I

Nottingham Hoods 14-37 Manchester Magic

Leeds I 22-40 Manchester Magic

Manchester Magic coaches, Aurimas Verbukas and Tom Paraskeva, have been invited to coach at the highly prestigious Chus Mateo Basketball Academy Summer Camp in Spain this summer.

The Camp, in Spain, is run by Chus Mateo, who has just become EuroLeague Champion with Real Madrid, and is one of the most prestigious camps in Europe, with coaches from EuroLeague, ACB (Spain’s top Division), Finland, Denmark and other top clubs in Spain.

There are some places available on the camp, which runs 14th July to 22nd July, if anyone is interested in attending they can email Coach Ollie for the information, we have two of our kids already registered.