The UK Basketball Hub

Worcester Wolves have signed Great Britain star Robert Gilchrist on a temporary contract. The 6ft 9in power forward made his debut in yesterday's fixture against Plymouth Raiders, as the Wolves climbed above their opponents in the BBL standings. Gilchrist scored 14 points, with 8 rebounds on his first outing. Paul James, Wolves Head Coach, said: “We are delighted to have secured the services of such a high quality player as Robert Gilchrist. Even though this is a short term solution, we have a very hectic December schedule and this will bolster our squad while we look for a permanent fixture.” Gilchrist joins the Wolves after playing at Spanish side Araberri last season in the Liga Española de Baloncesto Oro, the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league, where he averaged 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He played for his country at under 18 and under 20 level and made his senior debut against New Zealand during 2015, scoring 12 point...

The Newcastle Eagles started the weekend strongly with a win against basement club Mersey Tigers who continue their season-long losing streak. The Eagles winning 100-57 on Merseyside to close the gap to the Leicester Riders who were on BBL Trophy duty. Meanwhile on Sunday the Glasgow Rocks picked up a win at home to the Durham Wildcats to move into third place with player-coach Sterling Davis aiming for the top four . Glasgow winning 88-66, The Wildcats can still make the play-offs in a tight battle for 8th. The London Lions made it three wins on the bounce and saw the debut of Rod Brown as they beat BBL Trophy finalists Sheffield Sharks. Lions picked up the 86-78 victory in Crystal Palace to give them a good shot of making the play-offs with the team currently in 7th. Surrey Heat went level with the Worcester Wolves with a 87-78 win against Cheshire Phoenix. Phoenix remain level on points with the Manchester Giants and Sheffield Sharks with the Sharks having multiple games in h...

Sheffield Sharks will meet Leicester Riders in the BBL Trophy final following respective wins against Cheshire Phoenix and Worcester Wolves. The Sharks managed a double victory of Phoenix with an away 74-60 victory followed up with a 102-74 thrashing at the EIS, giving them a 176-134 aggregate score. Leicester meanwhile managed to win away in Worcester with an 82-73 victory to seemingly give them a massive chance of progression to the final. However the Wolves would comeout fighting at the John Sandford but come just short of an amazing comeback, winning 68-66 on the night but losing by seven overall (148-141), allowing Leicester to compete for their second trophy of the season . The two sides met in the cup semi-final with Leicester Riders winning both the away leg (90-70) and the home leg (75-45). Leicester Riders also beat the Sharks 71-55 in Sheffield on the first day of the BBL season and have only lost two BBL games this season. The two teams will meet just FOUR ...

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...

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.