Category: Mystics

Manchester Mystics

Mystics quartet 2019-20

Mystics quartet make the grade on and off the floor

Manchester Mystics players Chloe Andrew, Remi Idowu, Beth Waugh and Lina Asobirionwu have shown they can succeed on and off the court this year.

The talented quartet have been key members of the Mystics U18 National League and WEABL squads for the past two seasons.

The National League team claimed silver at Basketball England’s Final Fours in May.

Now Chloe, Remi, Beth and Lina have triumphed in the classroom, too, completing their A levels in style after two years at Loreto Sixth Form College.

Chloe now heads to the USA to play and study at the University of Northwestern, an NAIA College in Ohio.

Remi is off to the University of Essex to study Mechatronics, Beth will study Quantity Surveying at Sheffield Hallam University, while Lina will study Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Nottingham.

We’d like to congratulate them on their successes and wish them all the best for the future.

Manchester Magic and Mystics News

Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics have appointed their first ever welfare officer

Morag Gilronan

Morag Gilronan, who has a daughter in the Mystics programme, has agreed to take on the volunteer role for the forthcoming season.

“It’s a really positive move for us,” said club chief executive Phil Gordos.

“Safeguarding and child welfare is increasingly important to clubs like ours, so we are taking steps to ensure we are on the front foot.

“Morag has a strong background in social work and safeguarding, so she is the perfect person to take on this new role.”

The club is looking for other adults to join the welfare team, which will be led by Morag.

“We want adults who are passionate about children’s safety and wellbeing who are willing to assist the club on a volunteer basis,” she said.

Anyone interested in joining the welfare team or who wants to find out more, please email the club at welfare@manchestermagicandmystics.co.uk or call the office on 0161 881 0090.

Until the welfare team is up and running, Morag will be the point of contact for any welfare concerns.

You can contact her at welfare@manchestermagicandmystics.co.uk.

Steve Vear Academy US Consultant 2019-20

Academy appoints Vear as US Colleges consulant

The Manchester Magic and Mystics Academy has named Steve Vear as its first ever United States colleges consultant.

The move is designed to give all EABL and WEABL academy players and parents the best advice possible when it comes to pursuing playing and academic opportunities in the US.

“It’s a major step forward for the Academy because it adds expertise in a key area,” said club chief executive Phil Gordos.

“We want to make sure our players and parents are equipped with all the right information to make the best choice for them.

“Steve has a lot of knowledge and contacts. He also knows British basketball, so it’s the perfect fit.”

Vear, 36, is well known for running Luol Deng’s global player talent camps and has since started She’s Got Next, a recruitment service helping female players in the UK gain scholarships in the US. 

Based in Los Angeles, he played and coached in the UK before moving to the States three years ago.

“It’s no secret many UK players and parents have a tough time with the US college recruitment process,” said Vear.

“I’ve learnt so much over the last five years through my own research. I’ve also gained invaluable knowledge from some key people, like Jackson Gibbons, Lloyd Gardner and Shane Howard.

“I’m now in a place where I feel very confident that I can spread my experiences and knowledge to really make a big difference.”

Vear will meet Magic and Mystics players and parents for this time when he visits Manchester later this month.

Basketball England

Magic and Mystics U15s take centre stage

North West will feature a hefty number of Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics players when the inaugural U15 Aspire Tournament takes place at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue this weekend.

Toby Akinlade, Ben Brown, Thomas Kelly, Sam Lolenga, Bradley May, Thomas Mayor, Emanuel Oyebadejo and Lucas Ricketts are joined in the boys’ squad by recent Magic recruits Ben Prince, Joe Buchanan and Josh Kubacki.

The Mystics make up 10 of the 12 players on duty in the girls’ event. They are Daisy Bryan, Caitlin Doohan, Saffron Erving-Murphy, Olivia Forster, Esha Nayar, Kizzy Spence, Emily Taylor, Eleni Vourliotis, Jo Vourliotis and Charli Wroe.

The boys have been drawn in Pool A with London, East, Yorkshire and South West.

The girls are in Pool Y with East, South West, South East and West Midlands.

The pool games run on Saturday from 9am, with the classification games on Sunday.

The Aspire Tournaments will bring together 480 players, 120 coaches and 90 officials from across the country.

U15 Aspire Tournament Schedule/Results:

Saturday

9:00am North West Boys 46-38 Yorkshire

10:00am North West Girls 37-18 South West

1:00pm South West 27-35 North West Boys

2:00pm West Midlands 17-42 North West Girls

3:00pm London 34-46 North West Boys

4:00pm South East 25-23 North West Girls

5:00pm East 41-36 North West Boys

6:00pm East 20-33 North West Girls

Sunday

10:00am South 47-60 North West Boys

11:30am North West Girls 48-42 South

1:00-1:30pm Shooting Test Finals (Boys and Girls)

1:30pm Boys Final East 50-72 North West 

3:00pm Girls Final London 32-55 North West

North West Boys and Girls Crowned Aspire U15 Champions 2019

North West U15 2019
Basketball England

Magic and Mystics players line up for North West

Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics will be well represented this weekend when the inaugural U13 Aspire Tournament takes place at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue.

Five Magic players – Luca Lara-Sanchez, Robbie Wild, Dom Goodwin, Nathan Brown and Daniel Laycock – have all been selected by North West for the boys’ event.

They have been drawn in Pool A with London, Yorkshire, East Midlands and North East.

Nine Mystics players – Maria Bianco, Carina Costa, Elizandra Costa, Dominique Feurtado, Alex Escriva Gay, Molly Finn, Maisie Keyes, Holly Stones and Isobel Thompson – have been called up by North West for the girls’ campaign.

They are in Pool B with South West, East Midlands, Yorkshire and West Midlands.

The pool games run on Saturday from 10am, with the classification games on Sunday.

The U15s will take centre stage the following weekend.

The Aspire Tournaments will bring together 480 players, 120 coaches and 90 officials from across the country.

U13 Aspire Tournament Schedule/Results:

Saturday

10:00am North West Boys vs East Midlands – NW Win

11:00am North West Girls vs South West – NW Win

1:00pm West Midlands vs North West Girls – NW Win

2:00pm North East vs North West Boys – NW Win

3:00pm Yorkshire vs North West Girls – Yorkshire Win

4:00pm London vs North West Boys – London Win

5:00pm North West Girls vs East Midlands – East Midlands Win

6:00pm Yorkshire vs North West Boys -NW Win

Sunday

10:00am South West vs North West Boys Semi Final – South West Win

10:00am North East vs North West Girls – NW Win

12:00noon South vs North West Girls – South Win

1:00-1:30pm Shooting Test Finals (Boys and Girls)

1:30pm 3rd/4th Place South vs North West Boys – NW Win

2:30pm South East vs North West Girls – NW Win

North West Boys finished 3rd, Girls 5th.

North West U13 2019
Summer Commuity Camp 2019

Magic and Mystics announce first wave of Summer Camps for 2019

The Manchester Magic and Mystics have announced their first wave of summer camps for 2019.

They will cost £15 each day and will run at the Manchester Basketball Centre, from 10am to 3pm, Years 1-9.

Contact Phil at phil.gordos@manchestermagicandmystics.co.uk to book or for more info.

Camp dates:

Thursday 25th July

Friday 26th July

Monday 29th July

Tuesday 30th July

Tuesday 6th August

Thursday 8th August

Friday 9th August

Maggie Forber Tournament 2019

Maggie Forber Invitational Basketball Tournament 2019 – Tournament Results

Maggie Forber Invitational Basketball Tournament 2019

Tournament Schedule

Tournament rules: Normal FIBA rules, 4 x 8 minute quarters, 5 minutes half time, 2 minutes between quarters.

Pools

Pool APool B
Sevenoaks SunsTeam Solent Kestrels
West Lothian WolvesSheffield Hatters
Great Britain U16 BlueNottingham Wildcats
Manchester MysticsGreat Britain U16 White

Tournament Schedule

Saturday 29th June
10:00   
C1 (G1)Sevenoaks58-54West Lothian
C3 (G2)Manchester36-42GB U16 Blue
11:45   
C1 (G3)Solent48-31Sheffield
C3 (G4)Nottingham37-57GB U16 White
13:30   
C1 (G5)Sevenoaks38-79GB U16 Blue
C3 (G6)Manchester49-34West Lothian
15:15   
C1 (G7)Solent39-48Nottingham
C3 (G8)Sheffield45-65GB U16 White
17:00   
C1 (G9)Manchester65-36Sevenoaks
C3 (G10)West Lothian39-75GB U16 Blue
18:45   
C1 (G11)Solent37-68GB U16 White
C2 (G12)Sheffield34-54Nottingham
Sunday 30th June
9:30   
C1 5th-8th (G13)Sevenoaks40-46Sheffield
C3 5th-8th (G14)West Lothian52-66Solent
11:00   
C1 Semi-Final (G15)GB U16 Blue43-55Nottingham
C3 Semi-Final (G16)Manchester44-52GB U16 White
12:30   
C1 5th-6th (G17)Sheffield67-42Solent
C3 7th-8th (G18)SevenoaksAbandoned*West Lothian
14:00   
C1 Final (G19)Nottingham47-54GB U16 White
C3 3rd-4th (G20)GB U16 Blue38-22Manchester
15:15Presentations

 *Played injured during first quarter of game, both teams finish 7th.

Jade Mbam GB U16 2018

Mystics’ Mbam selected in Great Britain U18 final 12 for Europeans

Congratulations to Manchester Mystics’ Jade Mbam, who has been selected in the Great Britain U18 Women’s final 12 for the FIBA European Division B Championships in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Full Squad here

Schedule

Great Britain U18 Women 5-14 July Skopje, North Macedonia – Division B, Group D

5 July GB U18 Women vs Netherland at 5:45pm

6 July Sweden vs GB U18 Women at 3:30pm

7 July Ukraine vs GB U18 Women at 5:45pm

9 July GB U18 Women vs Albania at 1:15pm

10 July Luxembourg vs GB U18 Women at 8:00pm

12 July Quarter-Finals / 9-23 Classification Games

13 July Semi-Finals / 5-23 Classification Games

14 July Final / 3-23 Classification Games

North West U11 Girls 2019

North West U11 girls dominate to claim regional title

The North West U11 girls put on a dominate performance in the regional tournament on Sunday (23rd June) to be crowned National champions.

There was a heavy Mystics presence in the North West team they were Maisie Keyes, Ruvimbo Chinamasa, Irene Oboavwoduo, Maxima Kalombo, Sonia Matei, Paige Jagger and Tallulah Connolly and coaches Joe Andrew and Marc Jagger.

Results:

North West 55-16 South

North West 52-14 South East

North West 52-28 East

Semi Final North West 58-23 Yorkshire

Final North West 43-16 East Midlands

Basketball England

Magic and Mystics selected in England U14 and U15 squads for Copenhagen Tournament – Results updated

Congratulations to Manchester Magic’s Toby Akinlade (U14) and Mystics’ Olivia Forster, Eleni Vourliotis and Josephine Vourliotis (U14) and Charli Wroe (U15) who have all been selected to represent England at the Copenhagen Invitational Basketball Tournament in Denmark on the 21st-23rd June.

The tournament comes after two intense training camps at the National Basketball Performance Centre where all the players selected for the England teams battled against each other for a spot in the final squads that are traveling to Copenhagen.

England will be taking 4 teams to the tournament, all playing in the U15 category, with the Under 15s playing as England 1 and Under 14s as England 2, where they will be playing against teams from all over the world.

Tournament Schedule:

England 2 (Boys U14 – Toby Akinlade) – Group C

21 June 11:00 Kenya 85-44 England 2

21 June 17:00 England 2 49-77 Team Skåne (Sweden)

22 June 11:00 Denmark White 48-33 England 2

22 June 17:00 9-12 Place Iceland White 59-44 England 2

23 June 9:30 11-12 Place England 2 67-50 Norway

England 2 finish 11th.

England 1 (Girls U15 – Charli Wroe) – Group F

21 June 13:00 England 1 55-42 Denmark White

21 June 19:30 Iceland Blue 56-49 England 1

22 June 13:00 Berlin BBV (Germany) 44-55 England 1

22 June 19:00 Semi-Finals Topsportschool VBL (Belgium) 64-60 England 1

23 June 13:30 3rd/4th Place Denmark White 64-66 England 1

England 1 finish 3rd and claim the Bronze medal.

Charli Wroe scored 31 points during the tournament.

England 2 (Girls U14 – Olivia Forster, Eleni Vourliotis and Josephine Vourliotis) – Group E

21 June 13:00 Norway 48-26 England 2

21 June 19:00 England 2 46-94 Sweden All Stars

22 June 13:00 Wales U16 55-45 England 2

22 June 19:30 9-12 Place Scotland U16 56-25 England 2

23 June 9:30 11-12 Place England 2 57-83 Iceland Blue

England 2 finish 12th.

Olivia Forster scored 49 points during the tournament.

England 1 (Boys U15) – Group A

21 June 9:00 England 1 63-53 Denmark Black

21 June 15:00 Iceland Blue 50-64 England 1

22 June 9:30 Norway 40-51 England 1

22 June 17:00 Semi-Finals Csata DSE (Hungary) 61-43 England 1 

23 June 15:45 3rd/4th Place Scotland U16 96-89 England 1

England 1 finish 4th.