The UK Basketball Hub

Friday 1st March (19:30 TO, BBL League Fixture unless stated) Sheffield Sharks v Cheshire Phoenix (BBL Trophy 2nd Leg, English Institute of Sport Sheffield) Worcester Wolves v Leicester Riders (BBL Trophy 1st Leg, University of Worcester Sports Hall) Mersey Tigers v Newcastle Eagles (Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park) Saturday 2nd March (19:30 TO, BBL Trophy Fixtures) Leicester Riders v Worcester Wolves (John Sandford Centre) Sunday 3rd March (17:00 TO unless stated, BBL League Fixtures) Surrey Heat v Cheshire Phoenix (15:00 TO, Surrey Sports Park) London Lions v Sheffield Sharks (Crystal Palace National Sports Centre) Glasgow Rocks v Durham Wildcats (Emirates Arena)

London Lions Centre and former GB U-23 International Adrien Sturt thinks that the future of British Basketball and the London Lions is bright ahead of their move to the Copper Box next season. Sturt is currently in the BBL's team of the week after an impressive display against Manchester Giants last Sunday. He believes that the move will allow the club to expand and take some of the Olympic spirit He said: "The move to the Copper Box will be great as it will give us an opportunity to use the legacy of the Olympics to build on the team." "If you look at the top teams in Europe they all play in top stadiums and hopefully we can start to be a part of that." "I am looking forward to next season and playing in this world class arena." Speaking about his own performances, Sturt credited his team mates for his good form. He added: "Anything I do can be attributed to my team mates, it is a team game, we win together and we lose together....

One of the most exciting things about English football is the fact that teams can gain promotion and teams can be relegated. Whilst most fans of teams struggling to stay in the specific division wish relegation didn't exist, it is only fair that a team which finishes top of a lower division can swop places with the team who finish bottom of the higher division. The BBL currently doesn't have a relegation system in place and with the BBA offering an alternative to the BBL in the coming years, the viewership of the BBL could decline. While teams such as Plymouth Raiders have been promoted to the BBL from the lower divisions (EBL et al), surely teams would rather have played their way into the top tier rather than been voted in by other people. The 2012-13 BBL season has seen the Mersey Tigers lose EVERY SINGLE game in the BBL and yet they will probably be back in the division next season. 0 points from 24 games is simply not good enough if the BBL wants a competitive leagu...

This Week the "Ballin' Song of the Week" it is "Walking on a Dream" by Empire Of The Sun as Beyonce sold out her tour in literally minutes she pretty much is walking on a dream...

Friday 22nd February  Mersey Tigers 58-78 London Lions Plymouth Raiders 104-100 Durham Wildcats Worcester Wolves 99-81 Surrey Heat Manchester Giants 94-78 Cheshire Phoenix Sunday 24th February Surrey Heat 78-90 Newcastle Eagles Durham Wildcats 79-83 Worcester Wolves London Lions 81-64 Manchester Giants Glasgow Rocks 72-76 Leicester Riders

A thrilling weekend of BBL action saw the BBL Trophy resume as Cheshire Phoenix and Sheffield Sharks met in the first leg of the semi-final. The Sharks were in good form picking up a win in Chester with a 74-60 victory to put them in control of the semi-final. The winners of that game will face the Leicester Riders or Worcester Wolves who will meet twice next weekend with the second leg of the Sharks/Pheonix game also next weekend. Meanwhile in the BBL Leicester Riders continue their impressive winning streak with their NINTH straight BBL win against Glasgow Rocks. The Riders remain top of the BBL after Sunday's win despite Newcastle Eagles picking up a 90-78 win at Surrey Heat on earlier on the Sunday afternoon. Kareem Maddox put in an impressive shift scoring 26 points in a comfortable Eagles win at Surrey Sports Park. Surrey Heat had also lost on the Friday night to Worcester Wolves at Worcester University falling 99-81. The Wolves had a strong weekend with anothe...

Friday 22nd February (All 19:30 TO) Manchester Giants v Cheshire Pheonix (Wright Robinson College) Plymouth Raiders v Durham Wildcats (Plymouth Pavillions) Worcester Wolves v Surrey Heat (Worcester Sports Centre Mersey Tigers v London Lions (Knowsley Leisure Centre) Sunday 24th February (17:00 TO unless stated) Durham Wildcats v Worcester Wolves (Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, 16:00 TO) Glasgow Rocks v Leicester Riders (Emirates Arena) London Lions v Manchester Giants (Crystal Palace National Sports Centre) Cheshire Pheonix v Sheffield Sharks (17:30 TO, Northgate Arena)* *BBL Trophy Fixture (First Leg) All stadia in brackets.

Luol Deng, Joel Freeland, Ben Gordon* and Byron Mullens* were in action as the NBA resumed last night following the All Star Break. Deng was the top scorer as Chicago Bulls beat the New Orleans Hornets 96-87 with 20 points. Deng was impressive as the Bulls in fifth in the Eastern Conference. Joel Freeland didn't participate for the Portland Trailblazers who lost 102-98 at the Pheonix Suns - leaving them ninth in the West. Byron Mullens started and Ben Gordon came on for the Charlotte Bobcats who managed a surprise win over Orlando Magic. Mullens scored an impressive 20 points and got 12 rebounds for a double-double while Gordon managed a solid 10 points. The Bobcats remain at the foot of the East. *Gordon and Mullens haven't made their GB debuts but are eligible to play for GB in future tournaments. Deng and Freeland both represented Team GB at London 2012.  

This weeks "Ballin' Song of the Week' is All Eyez on Me by Tupac following the NBA All Star game which everybody was watching!

The BBL continued this weekend with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and there was a shock or two to be had. Newcastle Eagles started the weekend top of the BBL ladder but suffered a shock defeat to Cheshire Phoenix on Friday. The loss makes it two defeats in a row following the BBL Trophy loss to the Worcester Wolves and gave Leicester Riders the chance to move up to the top with a two point lead. Leicester played the Manchester Giants on Saturday and sent a message to their ladder rivals with an impressive 84-59 victory. Both teams also had a Sunday game with Newcastle beating Plymouth Raiders 79-96 but the Riders would also win against Cheshire Phoenix to stay two points ahead. In the other weekend games, the Sheffield Sharks scored a victory over the Manchester Giants and the Mersey Tiger's losing streak continued with a loss to the Worcester Wolves on the Friday evening. The Wolves would defeat London Lions a day later after two periods of overtime to give the...

Orlando where Deng made his All Star debut. Team GB International Basketballer Luol Deng is set for his second appearance as a reserve at the 2013 NBA All Star Game. Deng made on assist from the bench in 2012 and will be looking to get involved more this year after his East side lost 152-149 to the West. The 27-year-old forward has had a good season so far averaging 16.7 points per game for the Chicago Bulls as they lay fifth in the Eastern Conference. Deng leads the Bulls in terms of total rebounds this season and has the best rebound percentage also. The NBA All Star game is available to fans in the UK on Sky Sports 2 from 1am or you can order a special NBA League Pass for the game.

Team GB women's basketballer Jo Leedham has spoken FIBA about female British basketball and believes there is no pressure on the team. Leedham said: 'I believe we have created a culture that people respect and now people don't look forward to playing against us.' 'We have to keep this brand alive and if we keep doing what we are doing we should be able to keep moving forward.' 'Pressure is only on us if we put it there, I don't think there is any need for us to worry about pressure to succeed.'

The 2012 Olympics' Basketball stadium's outer shell is being sold by Barr Construction after they failed to find a use for the temporary building. The arena is one of the biggest ever temporary buildings for any games and the 12,000 seater stadium does not come with the shell. There are rumours that it could be transported to Rio for the 2016 Olympic games and used potentially for different sports. Barclay Chalmers the managing director of Barr Construction said: 'The basketball arena was one of the showpiece structures for the games, but it was clear there would be no legacy use for a permanent basketball venue, hence the use of the temporary building'. He continued: 'It could be used to hold conferences or events, perhaps like The O2 in Greenwich'. Formal bids for the frame are due on the 30th April this year.

NBA star Luol Deng has admitted today that he doesn't think he will be taking part in the Eurobasket tournament this year due to tiredness. The Chicago Bulls man was influential in getting the decision to not fund GB Basketball overturned and this could be a blow to the chances of future funding. The funding is based on the success of the national team and the loss of their best player could be a hammer blow to the chances of progression. Deng told BBC Sport  at the All-Star Game Deng said: 'I haven't made the decision 100% [but] most likely I'm not [playing]'. Since Deng's GB debut in 2007 he has been extremely busy with NBA games, Eurobaskets, friendlies and of course the Olympics so the rest would be well-earned, however it could jeopardise Team GB's hopes.  

This is an EXCLUSIVE short radio package created featuring the Head of Performance for Team GB Warwick Cann and Simeon Esprit and young GB hopeful who has moved to America. Cann speaks about why he thinks Basketball in this country is not as popular as other sports whilst Esprit explains how he first got involved in the sport.

Friday 15th February (7:30pm Tip Off) Sheffield Sharks v Manchester Giants (EIS Sheffield) Newcastle Eagles v Cheshire Pheonix (Sport Central) Worcester Wolves v Mersey Tigers (Worcester University) Saturday 16th February (7:30pm Tip Off Unless Stated) Worcester Wolves v London Lions (7pm, Worcester University) Leicester Riders v Manchester Giants (John Sandford Centre) Plymouth Raiders v Surrey Heat (Plymouth Pavilions) Sunday 17th February (4:00pm Tip Off Unless Stated) Durham Wildcats v Glasgow Rocks (Durham University Sport) Plymouth Raiders v Newcastle Eagles (Plymouth Pavilions) Cheshire Pheonix v Leicester Riders (5:30pm, Northgate Arena) (Stadiums/Locations in brackets)

Plymouth Raiders' Matthew Schneck leads the way for average rebounds with 10.4 per game, he also has the best two-point percentage with 63.2% and the best total two pointers made with 146. Newcastle Eagles' Joe Chapman leads average assists with 6.0 and has made the most three pointers with 61. Andrew Kelster of the Durham Wildcats has the most rebounds with 220. Chavis Holmes of Surrey Heat leads average steals with 3.5 Charles Smith of Newcastle Eagles has the best three-point percentage with 49% Chez Marks of Cheshire Pheonix has the most free throws made with 88 Ralph Bucci of the Durham Wildcats has the most assists with 121.

The Newcastle Eagles and Leicester Riders lead the way in the British Basketball League with 34 points and only four defeats between them. Both teams have played 19 games and Newcastle averaging a better scoring record. Leicester have beaten the Eagles twice this season once in the BBL and once in the Cup final to take the first silverware of the season. Glasgow Rocks represent Scotland in the BBL and they are third in the division four points off of the two leaders. They are closely followed by Surrey Heat and the Plymouth Raiders who both have games in hand on the Rocks. The Final three play-off spots (the top eight teams) are taken currently (15th Feb) by Worcester Wolves, London Lions and Sheffield Sharks. The Sharks are level on points with the Manchester Giants, Cheshire Pheonix and the Durham Wildcats  but have played two games less than them three teams. Mersey Tigers prop-up the BBL with no victories thus far losing 22 of the 22 they have played. You can view ...

This is the newest and therefore freshest blog on British Basketball - something overlooked by many and appreciated by a few. Basketball is now booming in the United Kingdom with it being the second most popular sport for 11-15 year olds in Britain. The sport managed to overturn a ruling on funding for the Olympics following a letter from Chicago Bulls player and All-Star reserve Luol Deng to the PM David Cameron. Deng is the Team GB International - who is the star man in the current crop of British players; for those who don't know. This is basically to welcome all and sundry to the blog and get people backing British Basketball. For more information visit the 'About Me' tab or to ask any questions visit the 'Contact' tab.

The first song on Valentines Day is from the film Love and Basketball (2000). It is the song Complete Beloved by The Black-Eyed Peas and Les Nubians.