England Cadets to Face Ireland at BBL Finals Weekend
In an exciting addition to the line-up at the BBL Finals
Weekend, taking place at the National Indoor Arena on Saturday
3 / Sunday 4 May, the BBL, in partnership with England Basketball
and Birmingham City Council, is pleased to announce that the
England U16 Boys' National Team will face their Irish counterparts
as part of the impressive schedule at the event.
The Finals Weekend is the showpiece event of the British
basketball season and sees the semi-finals and the final of
the BBL Championship Playoffs contested over one action-packed
weekend.
The junior international will take place on the Saturday
at 1.00pm and will be the curtain-raiser for the weekend.
The game will be an integral part of the team's build-up to
the FIBA Europe U16 Boys European Championship B Division,
which sees England travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia, starting on
August 15th. In the group stage of that tournament England
will find themselves up against Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus,
Romania, and Switzerland. Ireland also compete in the European
B Division, and could be potential opponents for the English
team in the later stages of the competition.
England U16 Head Coach, Simon Fisher, made the following
comments,
"The England Cadet Team are continuing to build towards
this year's European 'B' Championships and looking to build
on the excellent 4th place finish last year.
"The opportunity for the players to experience playing
in a big arena will be invaluable in preparation for the venues
at the Europeans.
"As I grew up in Birmingham, represented Birmingham
Schools, and played for the Birmingham Bullets' Junior programmes,
it is an honour to be the Head Coach of an England team for
an international at the NIA.
"I have a family history with basketball in Birmingham,
and for me it will be emotional, but the exciting part is
that I was inspired watching junior international basketball,
and I just hope that the game against Ireland will inspire
others to want to play and achieve in this fantastic sport,
as a player, coach, official or volunteer."
Andy Webb, the BBL's Chief Operations Officer, added,
"The BBL is delighted to be staging this game at what
promises to be a huge event for British basketball.
"As Britain's top professional league, we believe that
the BBL has an integral part to play in basketball development
and the presentation of a pathway for aspiring young players
- in fact, many current BBL players have come through this
system such as Richard Midgley, Olu Babalola, and Michael
Gayle. Showcasing the elite level of junior basketball, and
assisting the England team in their preparations for the Summer,
is an important part of that.
"The Finals Weekend is an event that we all look forward
to each season, and this fixture is an excellent addition
to the exciting mixture of vital games and entertainment that
make this event unmissable for UK sport fans."
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