Myerscough basketballers make two national finals
- Published
- Wednesday 5 Apr 2023
Myerscough Basketball Academy made it to two national finals last week.
The two number 1 seeds went head-to-head in the EABL Final (Elite Academy Basketball League), as Myerscough faced Barking Abbey in Manchester as two of the most successful teams in competition history.
Myerscough, who went into the game as North Conference champions, were edged out on the day, but added another final appearance, they’re sixth in total, which includes being crowned champions twice, in addition to holding a shared title in 2020, when the final couldn’t be played due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
There was individual recognition too for several Myerscough students.
Peter Asante was named in the EABL end of season All Conference 1st team, Denilson Caschili in the All Conference 2nd team, and Stephen Asante Defensive Player of the Year.
Myerscough head coach Troy Culley said: “Making it to the national final is a real testament to our team's growth, synergy and the effort the group have put in.’’
Myerscough captain Euan Birch said: " It's great for the team to reach the final and see all the work we have put in over the season paying off to get us to where we wanted to be.’’
Meanwhile, the Dynamik National School Finals returned to the National Basketball Performance Centre, with Myerscough playing in the Under-17 Boys' Final against City of London Academy.
In an enthralling game, Myerscough looked to be on course to win the title, but were agonisingly beaten by a point with a score in a closing seconds of the encounter.
Recently, Myerscough earned its second regular season title of the season, with the U18 Conference team securing the Northwest Conference league title, finishing the season with a 20-2 record.
The Academy side went into the last game of the season knowing that the win would allow them to be crowned as champions and that the loss would provide the league title to opponents Manchester Giants Blue.
U18 coach Lewis Scott said: “They have built up a strong resilience over the season and become more mature as the season developed, today shows the league title it was well deserved.”
Team Captain Vadim Creanga added: “Winning the league was a big accomplishment for us as we have worked incredibly hard all season to ensure that this day would come.’’
There’s plenty more action on the court in the coming weeks across Myerscough Basketball Academy’s sides, including playing in the finals of the European Youth Basketball League (EYBL).
Myerscough has now finished the 2022-23 EYBL regular season with a 11-4 record which sees them secure third place and book a place in the post-season with a trip to the 2023 EYBL SuperFinal alongside BS Riga/LU, RIG Lulea and Omnia BA.
Myerscough College’s basketballers have a rich history in the competition, after they became champions of Europe after winning the European Youth Basketball League (EYBL) regular season in 2020.
In 2019, Myerscough came within a whisker of becoming overall champions, losing in the Superfinal.