Our National League Under 16 team completed their season on Sunday with an excellent win against City Of Leeds White playing some great offensive team basketball and a standard of defence that makes coaches very happy . At the start of the season the team had never played together and had minimal experience in playing team basketball and it took a while for them to gel and get to know each other , play as a team and move from a team of individuals to how to work hard for each other , make good decisions and understand formations and how to use them to their advanatge.
The team has worked hard , shown maturity and after some inconsistency earlier in the season produced excellent wins in their last two away games against York Eagles and City Of Leeds by playing team basketball of a high quality. This meant the team played 10 games , winning 7 and losing 3 which is an oustanding performance .

As to how the team performed in the league it was hard to determine at various points in the season , as several of the other games in the league didn't appear on the Basketball England Website. As the weekend was the official last day of the seasons, Basketball England have now updated the league with all submitted scorecards and voided any games that were not completed. So we are very pleased to announce that our Under 16 National League Squad are WINNERS of the Basketball England Under 16 Regional League. Well done to all the players.

To put the acheivement in perspective the club has been in existence in various forms for 25 years and it's Junior teams have never won a league or official competition.Also hard not to mention the mid season comeback wins against Spen Valley Vipers and Leeds LDM where the team was significantly behind late in the third quarter and came together as a group and showed the desire and belief to win both games by the final whistle . It's that determination and hard work that makes the squad deserved CHAMPIONS !!!

Players (Appearances) (4 or above)

Andrei Apertrei (Captain) 11
Nathan Hubbold (Vice Captain) 11
Arthur Bailey 10
Reece Wilson 9
Thaine Griffin 9
Omran Safi 9
Owen Whyton 7
Zikomo Zuyeli 6
Musa Mayet 6
Micheal Sotola 5
Oludatobiloba Greensides 5

As coaches, we would also like to send our thanks to the fantastic "unseen" support team of all the parents who have supported their children and the team and put in lots of hours as supporters, transport providers, home pyschologists, home nutritionists and funding their childrens sporting endeavours and their requests for the latest basketball kit . It is always great to see you cheering the team on the sidelines and Calderdale Explorers Juniors would not happen without your ongoing and very welcomed support .