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Knights welcome to our new Senior Men's SBC D1 Coach
Former Captain and Coach of the National Team plus all round Scotland and GB Basketball legend Iain 'Bull' Maclean signs up to coach the Knights men.
On his new role Bull said "Great to be back involved and looking forward to the challenge with the Senior Men now that they are back in the top division. Being back on the court is hopefully another step away from all the COVID madness - be assured we will be working hard to put a competitive team on the floor each week."
A man who needs no introduction in the Basketball community, Iain has had an amazing career in the game and is a big asset to the club as we continue to develop our young players - many of whom have now progressed to the Senior ranks and will now be mentored and coached by Bull.
A huge part of the glory days of Scottish and British Basketball. A brief summary of his experience...
Player achievements:
Paisley Basketball Club: x2 Scottish Junior Cup Winners.
Northern Arizona University (Big Sky Conference – NCAA Division 1).
Great Britain Men – 1988 World Student Games.
Great Britain Men – 1988 & 1992 Olympic Teams.
Scotland National Teams (U17 & U19).
Scotland Senior Men (1983 – 2004, captain 1991 onwards).
Commonwealth Basketball Championships 1997 - Silver Medal.
MIM Livingston/Livingston (Midlothian) Bulls – Carlsberg British league, cup and play-off winners, World Club Champions 1991, x9 Scottish National League titles & x10 Scottish Senior Cup winners.
Various player MVP awards - Scottish National League, Edinburgh Rocks, FIBA plus Edinburgh Evening News Sports Personality.
Head Coach achievements:
MIM Livingston – Junior Men Division 1 (1989 – 1991)
Edinburgh Rocks – Budweiser British League (Player/Coach: 2001-2002)
St Mirren Senior Men (2002-2006) – Scottish Cup Winners (Player/Coach)
Scotland University Men (2002 – 2010) – BUSA Home Nations Champions 2007
Scotland Senior Men (2007-2008 & 2013-2015) – x2 Small Nations Bronze Medals
Glasgow Storm Senior Men (2010 – 2017) – various SLBA league titles & cup winners.
HUGE ENERGY BOOST FOR KNIGHTS AS 'ENERGY ASSETS' SIGN ON
Energy Assets are once again pleased to confirm their key sponsorship for one of Scotland’s leading basketball clubs for season 2021-22.
Whilst specifically supporting the U18 / U16 / U14 Men / Senior Men as they compete in their respective Scottish Basketball Championship Division 1 campaigns.
This sponsorship will enable the club to continue their drive to develop the community aspect of the club by delivering basketball for children based throughout the Stirling area.
Colin Lynch, CEO Energy Assets commented
“Stirling Knights over the last 10 years have really engaged with the local community throughout Stirling to promote health and wellbeing through their sport as well as developing a model performance programme for their talented players. More importantly now than ever post Covid lockdowns - more young people are playing basketball across the area than ever before and have a new U12 section currently full at 30 new players. Energy Assets are pleased to be associated with such a community led club who focus on getting young people playing basketball to improve their health and wellbeing. We wish them every success in the forthcoming season.”
Knights Chairman Pete Duncan "Energy Assets and Colin's support is once again very gratefully received and helps massively in covering costs of the season - with 4 National League Teams, a girls section and new U12s group. The costs for facilities and officials - along with kit and everything else required really adds up so it is fantastic to receive sponsorship again from Energy Assets. A big thanks to them and Colin."
For more info visit
https://www.energyassets.co.uk/
WELCOME TO MATT NAYLOR
Knights Senior Men new addition Matt Naylor joins from Ipswich Basketball having played two years in the EABL in England.
The 19 year old, 6ft 5 forward has moved North to Stirling University and was keen to play top division league basketball with the Knights. Matt said "Having played sports my entire childhood, when I picked up a basketball I fell in love with the game. I spent two years at Ipswich Basketball Academy where I developed my skill and knowledge for the game, and now I’m grateful to have the opportunity to develop my game further with the Knights."
Matt is one of several new faces suiting up for the Men this season and we can't wait to watch them in action. #GoKnights
WELCOME CIERAN BARRY
Another new addition to the Senior Men from England _ Cieran 18 and 6'4 has played at a good level with West Herts Warriors for eight years and finished top of Central Prem, South Prem and been in the Final Four twice, whilst also gaining some NBL D1 experience training with players from Hemel Storm, Oakland Wolves, Thames Valley Cavs.
On his arrival Cieran said "I’m really looking forward to playing with the Knights to learn more about the game and develop my own skill, whilst getting to know a great group of players and coaches"
Great to have you on board Cieran!
Good Luck to our boy William Kemp who has kicked off the next phase of his basketball career at Myerscough College Basketball Academy#TrueKnight
Fantastic U12/14 Summer camp over the last few days. Such a positive vibe and great to see so many young ballers putting in the hard graft after the last unmentionable year.
Special mention to all our coaches
Coach Les McGlasson, Coach Jen Sn and Coach Louis Sullivan along with all our young leaders in delivering a flawless set up.
Thanks to Stirling Council and partner school Wallace High School for our venue.
Watch this space for more info on U12s/14s Basketball Training with Stirling Knights Basketball Club
Myerscough alumni Lewis McGlasson announced Wednesday his commitment to the University of Saint Francis (NAIA/Illinois).
McGlasson spent his freshman year at Blinn College (JUCO/Texas) where he played in just three games before going down with an ankle injury and missed the remainder of the shortened 2020-21 season. He was one part of the Myerscough trio that had committed to Blinn last May, alongside teammates Sanmi Fajana and Sam Chigbo.
“The injury took a lot out of me,” said McGlasson, who graduated from Myerscough College at the end of the 2019-20 season. “I didn’t know how long it was going to take to heal at first and I’m still in the process of recovering, but I’m finally getting back to full training now. It’s now about strengthening the ankle and making sure I’m ready for the season ahead.
“I’ve never been injured for this amount of time before so I’ve learned that I can fight through adversity and to deal with tough times and just try and keep a smile on my face as much as possible even though it was hard at times.”
McGlasson enjoyed a successful three-year career with the Academy, winning seven junior and being part of teams that won three senior national championships. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 2018 Under-18 National Championship and ranked in the top 10 nationally as a junior prospect from the Class of 2020.
The 6-foot-4 and 83 kg native of Stirling, Scotland started 11 of 15 games during Myerscough’s run to the 2019-20 European Youth Basketball League regular season championship — the first-ever season-long title by a British basketball team at any level. He was also a key component in helping the Preston-based Academy claim a fourth EABL North Conference regular season championship and a place in the EABL Finals — cancelled by Basketball England due to the COVID-19 outbreak. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting.
McGlasson averaged 13.4 points in 16 games in NBL Division 2 in 2019-20. He reached double figures scoring 13 times, had three 20-point outings and had multiple 3-pointers made in 10 games. Myerscough had a 14-3 league record and 17-4 mark overall in the men’s league, where it made a historic run to the National Cup semifinals.
“Saint Francis stood out about me because everything about the place just fit in so well, especially with the timing,” said McGlasson. “Coming off the injury, I knew I wasn’t going back (to JUCO) and was looking for a new school anyway and Saint Francis is a four-year school and that’s what I’ve ultimately been working towards.
“The other thing about Saint Francis is that they have so many international players — so the coach knows how to deal with European players and I watched a lot of their games and the style they play is so perfect for me as a player, which is what I was looking for in a school.”
Saint Francis had six players on the 2020-21 roster that hailed from outside the United States, including natives of New Zealand, Spain, Australia, Israel and Taiwan, as well as had six seniors and nine underclassmen.
Saint Francis currently plays in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC), where they have competed since 1973.
The Fighting Saints are coached by Ryan Marks, who will be entering his ninth season. Marks guided his team to a 14-10 record during a year in which they lost eight games to postponements or cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a two-time CCAC Coach of the Year (2014-15 and 2015-16) and former winner of CollegeInsider.com’s Jack Bennett Award, which is presented to a non-NCAA Division I head coach who achieves success on the basketball court, while displaying great moral integrity off the court.
McGlasson has been predominately known for his shooting ability from 3-point range during his career and joins a team that hit 38 percent from beyond the arc last season and averaged 7.4 made threes on 19.5 attempts per game. Junior guard Joey Buggemi, meanwhile, led the team with 46 made 3-pointers.
“I’m looking to make an impact straight away in my first year and that’s my main goal,” said McGlasson. “I don’t really care what that is — it could be anything — but coming off an injury, I’m just looking to make that impact and show people what I can do.”
Stirling Knights U16 Men record the PERFECT season after finishing the season UNDEFEATED and in doing so claiming the Scottish Basketball Division 1 Championship, Scottish Cup and Play-Off titles.
With a 79-71 Play-Off final win over West Lothian Wolves on Saturday at the Oriam in Edinburgh the Knights added the final piece of silverware to complete the Domestic Treble.
Along with being presented with the Play-Off trophy #6 William Kemp also picked up a second Molten Golden Ball for Most Valuable Player in the Play-Off final having also been awarded the same award in the Cup final.
An 18-0 league run saw the Knights retain the Scottish Basketball Division 1 Championship they won back in 2018. The Trophy was presented by the Provost of Stirling, Christine Simpson to Stirling Knights #7 Captain Jack Hencher back in February only three weeks after securing their first Scottish Cup title.
Not only have the team successfully completed an undefeated season, this run of wins now dates back as far as September 2017 and now extends to 38-0.
Coach Les added “This group of players and what we have achieved as a club must be taken into consideration. This is more than just looking ahead year after year and attempting to win Medals and Awards. There has been a very clear focus for the club since day 1 in 2010 and the goals for our players and opportunities are getting better year after year but the focus will always remain clear - to strive towards getting the very best from our players and setting them up in the right way to face the next challenge, whatever that might bring. Whilst all the Awards and Medals continue to gather dust, the rewards of seeing these players learn and take these experiences onto the next level, with the proper mindset, continue to gather momentum”
As a club still in its infancy, Knights have not only enjoyed major success in every youth competition in Scotland, but have gone on to produce over 60 Scotland Internationalists in 8 years, three GB nominated athletes, seen 1 player receive a Scholarship to play in Spain at the age of 15 and had 6 players (still playing) in Basketball Academies and clubs overseas. Lewis McGlasson, Louis Sullivan, Lucas Hamill and Ruari Doherty all started with Stirling Knights less than 8 years ago and are now all pushing their game onto the next level at Myerscough Basketball Academy whilst continuing their studies.
Les added, “The planning is also key to the recent successes. The 12 Man squad has a great balance of experienced and inexperienced players. With only 4 players moving up from this squad at the end of the season, this would suggest this team will be a strong force again next season and, therefore, as club we are always looking for other opportunities for our players to push them harder. A first for the team this year was competing in the English National Cup. The level of this competition is much higher and playing against English and GB Players was always going to be tough. To reach the last 8 and to beat three Basketball Academies along the way is testimony to the strength of Stirling Knights principles.”
Now the season has finished the planning will immediately start on Monday for season 2019/20. The club has recently just started new U12 Boys and Girls squads with over 40 new participants from the local area whilst existing players will move into their new respective age categories.
5 of the existing squad of players will also now focus their full attention on cementing their place in the U16 Men Scotland Basketball Team, competing in the European Championships in Albania in July.
The Knights U16M Team (pictured) for season 2018/19:
Back L-R (coach) Les McGlasson, Jacob Dempsey, Max Flett, Callum McGlasson, Owen Broadley, (captain) Jack Hencher, Andrew Read, (M.V.P) William Kemp
Front L-R Neil Cavin, Louis Dalziel, Ben Read, Aaron Connolly
Missing from photo: Piper McGowan and Miquel Santonja Cabot.
Stirling Knights U16 Men confirmed as UNDEFEATED SCOTTISH CHAMPIONS after their last League game of the season saw them run out 86 - 53 winners versus a struggling Boroughmuir Blaze side. The win crowns an 18-0 league run for the Knights but more so an undefeated run for this team in Scotland which runs back as far as September 2017 and now 35-0.
Coach Les McGlasson and the Team retain the trophy they won last year having lost only once as they continue to set the Standards for youth Basketball in Scotland and have done so with an impressive set of statistics this season too. On average the young knights have finished the season with a 43pt average winning margin, 48 Rebounds, 15 Assists, 23 Steals and 43% Field Goals. Captain Jack Hencher capped off a tremendous season as arguably the Most Valuable Player in the Scottish league with a stat line versus Blaze of 21pts, 20 Rebounds, 19 Steals and 10 Assists for a Massive Quadruple Double.
Today the trophy was presented by the Provost of Stirling, Christine Simpson to Stirling Knights Captain Jack Hencher. This is now the second year Jack has lifted this trophy as captain of a very formidable group of players.
Having also just lifted the Scottish Cup Trophy 3 weeks ago, Stirling Knights will now battle harder than ever to attempt to win the Treble by winning the forthcoming Play-Offs before many of the players focus their full attention on cementing their place in the U16 Men Scotland Basketball Team, competing in the European Championships in Albania in July.
The Knights team (pictured) for season 2018/19:
Back L-R (captain) Jack Hencher, William Kemp, Owen Broadley, Aaron Broadley, Callum McGlasson, Jacob Dempsey, (Coach) Les McGlasson
Front L-R Neil Cavin, Max Flett, Ben Read, Andrew Read, Piper McGowan, Louis Dalziel
Having just secured Back to Back Division 1 League Championships the U16M looked to try and secure their first Scottish Cup versus a strong Inverness City Lions side at the Oriam on 2nd Feb 2019.
Stirling Knights would enter this game as favourites since remaining unbeaten in 32 games spanning back to Sept ’17. The Knights however do not take any opponents for granted and on this occasion were eventually too strong for a battling Inverness side.
An entertaining first quarter saw the two teams locked in a 1pt game 16-17 to Knights which was reminiscent of their earlier league game back in Sept ’18. Into the 2nd Quarter and the Knights carved a 12pt lead into the half-time break. Some good link up play by the 12 guard Knights team would be crucial in making the difference into the break.
Inverness came our stronger after Half-time reducing the deficit to 1pt and yet the Knights did not panic. Coach Les McGlasson knew his team had a lot more to give and just had to shift a gear or two to see game out.
The 4th Quarter was as free flowing as Knights could have hoped for and with some heavy scoring from Kemp, McGlasson and Hencher the Quarter scored ended 11-30 in Knights favour and an overall 50-71 scoreline.
William Kemp with 17pts, 11Reb, 4 Assists and 6 Steals claimed the Molten MVP prize with Captain Callum McGlasson with a game high 23pts.
Huge credit to the Inverness City Lions for providing worthy Cup finalists on this occasion and have the potential for causing an upset or two in the forthcoming play-offs for sure.
You can watch the entire game below;
https://www.facebook.com/basketballscotland/videos/585206898570978/
or
hear what Coach Les McGlasson had to say following the historic win.
https://www.facebook.com/437833815382/posts/10161364187450383/
The "Not so good"! Stirling Knights U16M Triumph again to win Back 2 Back Scottish League Division 1 titles. Having secured the clubs first ever Division 1 title last season with an "inconsistent", one loss league season, the Knights have gone one better and conducted a flawless unbeaten League campaign 15-0 to claim the Crown for the second year in succession with 3 games remaining after they defeated Dunfermline Reign 111 - 35 at St Columbas.
They now can also claim to become the first team in season 2018/19 to become National League Division 1 CHAMPIONS!
Coach Les McGlasson who has coached these boys since they started the Sport could not be more pleased with what they have achieved and the success they have brought to the young club, still to reach its 10th Birthday. He added “giving the boys the opportunity to compete in the English National Cup and reaching the Quarter Finals has really allowed the lads to keep focussed and remain at a high level of play throughout the season, not only did they compete at a high level they showed they were Technically everybit as strong only really failing against the physicality and size of a much older team in the Quarter Finals in previous 3 times winners Manchester Magic”
The U16M since losing back in Sept ’17 have carried out a 32 League game winning streak to win both League and Play-Off titles. The Knights now attempt to see out the season unbeaten and secure a first U16M Scottish Cup title in next weekends showdown versus Inverness City at the Oriam.
A mention also to the U18M whom remain on track for a second place finish in Division 1. Having won the U18M Play-Offs last season after finishing 3rd in the league, a second place finish would be our highest placed finish to-date added Coach Les McGlasson and a chance to repeat the play-off success of last season. The future remains very good for this squad too given we only lose one player next season and the majority of players are still U16.
“Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character” - John Wooden
Stirling Knights Basketball Club continue to make great strides after our U16M continued their journey into the Quarter Finals of the National Cup with a resounding 88-51 win over Liverpool Basketball Club today. A competition which started with 90 of the Best Basketball Teams in Britain now sees Knights face the mighty Manchester Magic, a team who rank favourites after winning the event 3 times in the last 5 years. In a bold move by U16M Coach Les McGlasson to enter this competition as the sole Scottish entry he added “our U16 lads are at level unchallenged in Scotland and in order to improve we saw this competition as a natural progression. Having already beaten two Premier Teams earlier in the competition in Newcastle Eagles and Leeds Basketball Academy we respect but fear no-one and have exceeded all expectations. Manchester Magic are huge favourites but we have nothing to lose and will have the whole Scottish nation behind us I’m sure”
Our game today against a strong and physical Liverpool team shows we have the Basketball ability to overcome the strength and height of the English Teams. The Knights roared out to a quick start and got into their scoring stride quickly with some great offence with Callum McGlasson, Louis Dalziel, Rob Gilmour and William Kemp William conjoining for the first 17pts. The unselfish defensive work by Jack Hencher continued to allow the Offence the freedom to attack and the Knights raced out to a 31-18 lead after the first quarter. A few changes to the lineup and the Knights continued to push forward extending their lead to 56-30 by the half and never looked back.
Scottish Internationist and Team Captain Rob Gilmour added 22pts, 12 Rebounds and 9 Steals in today’s history win and after commented “our offence today was good but all season we have been scoring the ball well, the starters contributing 72 points with Callum McGlasson and Jack Hencher adding 17 and 16pts respectively along with William Kemp (11) and Louis Dalziel (6), the biggest difference and most satisfying aspect was our defence in keeping Liverpool relatively quiet and protecting our own basket”
As a team the Knights added a season high 33 steals and remain unbeaten in both Scottish and English Competitions.
Last month, The Peak was host to the only Under 11 basketball tournament in Scotland, the Bruce Basketball Challenge. This is the second year of the tournament which is organised and ran completely by Knights staff and young leaders.
Twelve teams from across the country took part on the day each playing six games. After the morning round of action, Knights, Falkirk Fury, West Lothian Wolves and Grampian Flyers qualified for the Gold section. Wolves Girls, Boroughmuir Blaze, Ayr Storm and Inverness Lions made up the Silver. Beacon, Granite City Flames, North Lanarkshire Chiefs and Glasgow City qualifying in the Bronze group.
A fantastic afternoon of games which really showed the talent at this young age group culminated in a Knights V Fury finish which saw the young Stirling boys claim a thirteen point victory to remain unbeaten and retain the title as Bruce challenge winners.
On hand to present the medals were Glasgow Rocks professional players and Team Scotland stars Ali Fraser and Jonny Bunyan who also gave a talk to the young players about the progress they have made in the sport.
Tournament organiser and Knights Head Coach Pete Duncan said "The U11s have played very well and the squad - including my own two sons - is really very talented. We hope they can continue to progress and emulate the success we have had this season with the older age groups. This tournament was fantastic and there is some real talent on show from every club which is great to see. A big thank you and well done to all who helped to run the day and to all who took part. We hope to see you again next year."
The winning squad: Joe Thorburn, Michael Carey, Lucas Duncan, Luke Rodden, Scott MacMillan, Ross McNeish, Lennon Kemp, Finn Hencher, Josh Duncan, Corey McMonagle. Coaches: Pete Duncan and Martin McMonagle.
Pic - L-R (Back) Coach Andy Flett, Jacob Dempsey, AJ McLeish, Callum McGlasson, Dylan Nichol, Neil Cavin and Assist Coach Matthew Dempsey (Front) Archie Flett, Capt Piper McGowan, Ben Bremner annd Miquel Santonja Cabot | Pic - Callum McGlasson with his MVP Trophy |
Only a few days after winning the SLBA Basketball League 6-0 the Stirling Knights U14 Boys went on to complete the perfect season in the SLBA by also sweping up the SLBA Cup. Ayr Storm provided todays opponents and worthy finalists and even though were beaten in the league by Knights proved difficult to break down in the early part of the game. A 6 point lead extended to 16 by the end of the half but it was only into the Second half of the game that the young Knights got to grips of their opponents and with a 3rd Qtr 28-2 saw the Knights cruise to the finish with a final scoreline 80-32.
In doing so Callum McGlasson picked up The Most Valuable Player Award with 27pts, 19 Rebounds, 8 Assists and 5 Steals. Not to be outdone Capt Piper McGowan entered the court with 2mins remaining having sustained a broken finger on his right dominant hand at training earlier in the week, after one failed attempt and unable to catch the ball with two hands, the perfect pick n Roll with Callum allowed a threaded pass to Piper who gathered and finshed the lay-up with his left #norighthand
The young knights now add the SLBA League and Cup to their earlier National Challenge victories this season and hope to finish the Season strong at Monsterball in Inverness.
Coach Andy on the victory said "today was all about continuing in the team manner we have adopted all year, with many of these lads making the step up next year we now focus our attention on the new crop of Knights and moulding the new Team , the future is looking very bright"
U16 Scottish Playoff Final Knights 75- 73 Edinburgh Kings
U14 Scottish Cup Final Knights 47-49 Grampian Flyers
U18 Scottish Playoff Final Knights 73- 68 Falkirk Fury
Stirling Knights Basketball Club are once again celebrating as the basketball season came to a dramatic conclusion last weekend with both Knights U16 Men and U18 Men winning the National Playoff titles at The Oriam in Edinburgh.
In the opening game of the weekend, the league champions Knights U16s were up against the cup champions Edinburgh Kings. In an extremely close game which was tied 13 times with 8 lead changes it was all square at 60-60 at the end of regulation time. In the overtime period, the game continued to be very close with the Stirling boys going two points down with 30 seconds to go. However, two fantastic defensive plays from Miguel Cabot Santoja allowed Louis Sullivan to grab two quick baskets which saw Knights squeeze out the victory by a single basket 75-73. Rob Gilmour grabbed 15 rebounds whilst Louis Sullivan dominated the game and was named Most Valuable Player with 48 points, in his last appearance for the U16s as he heads down to Myerscough Academy in England in September. Head Coach Les McGlasson " This was a fantastic final and we kept the pressure on until the very end. I thought a lack of execution around the basket and with free throws had cost us but two big plays at the end saw us through. We are absolutely delighted to add the Playoff title to our National League trophy"
The Under 14 boys, who had last week been crowned National tournament champions, were up next in action in the Scottish Cup Final against a huge Grampian Flyers team. With star man Callum McGlasson carrying an injury and up against the 6 ft 5 Ross Grant from Grampian this was always going to be a tough cup final for the Stirling youngsters. Knights opened the game well racing out to a 13-2 lead with terrific defense and fast break action. At halftime Stirling kept the advantage 25-21 and in a frantic second half, which saw Miguel Cabot Santoja in foul trouble, kept the pressure on throughout. With Callum McGlasson and Piper McGowan finding their scoring touch, Knights were ahead by 1 with less than 20 seconds to play. On the next possession, Grampian scored a big three point play which put them two in front with the clock ticking down. Knights tried for the laup to tie but it rimmed out and the rebound was missed which meant the young Knights suffered their first defeat in the Cup for two seasons 49-47. McGlasson top scored with 22 points and 9 rebounds, no mean feat given his injury. Coach Andy Flett "We were always in the game and leading, we just couldn't get to grips with the height of Grampian and we did miss some easy chances. The boys are down but they have done incredibly well this season and I'm proud of our achievements."
In the U18 Final, Knights were up against local rivals Falkirk Fury who had already secured the League and Cup double this season and were heavy favourites to complete the treble. Stirling were without Shaun Craig, who had not played an U18 game for the last 5 games due to work commitments and their Head Coach Cory McCabe who was serving the last of a three game ban but still had top Great Britain prospects Ruari Doherty and Lucas Hamill, along with star U16 players Rob Gilmour and Louis Sullivan. Coach Les McGlasson stepped up to lead the U18s as he had done in the previous two games.
The Knights got off to a flying start with some excellent defense, rebounding and fast break basketball - led by the terrific Doherty - to go in at Half Time with an incredible 44-26 lead. Fury had not got going at all and when their run came it was fantastic, clawing back a 20 point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter at 66-66 with less than 2 minutes to play. The Fury crowd were going crazy and they could smell blood. The Stirling boys kept at it however, and some great baskets by Sullivan and Gilmour with Hamill and Johnstone controlling the rebounds saw them take the lead 73-68 into the final buzzer and be crowned National Playoffs champions for 2018. Ruari Doherty led with 19 points and 7 assists but the Most Valuable Player award went to the tireless Dylan Johnstone who had an outstanding game with 12 points and 20 rebounds. U16 duo Sullivan and Gilmour combined for 30 points and 21 rebounds. Head Coach Cory McCabe "I had to watch this game from the sidelines but the game plan worked very well and credit to Les for stepping up and coaching the game so well. Our U16s really made an impactm in this final and we knew Fury would come back into it but for them to come back from 20 down was incredible but our guys showed real grit and skill to hold on and seal this momentous National title." Lucas Hamill and Ruari Doherty are now also headed to English Academy Basketball as they too join Louis Sullivan down at Myerscough Academy this September.
In summation of another fantastic season for the club, Chair Pete Duncan said "What an amazing weekend, with highs and lows, and three fantastic games. We are all very proud of the players who have represented the Knights so well in these finals and credit to the parents and volunteers who help out so much. The coaching team have been simply outstanding this season and this shows just how hard they we have all worked. We are either Champions or Runner's Up in all youth male age groups in Scottish Basketball, I'm not sure that has been done before or ever will again. It is a great achievement and an excellent way to end another season."
Stirling Knights Basketball U14 Boys showed the magic touch last weekend at the National Challenge U14 tournament in Inverness, winning the Gold Medal in nail-biting fashion.
Coach Andy Flett was missing star duo Callum McGlasson (injured) and Piper McGowan (unavailable), however the Knights managed group stage wins over Fraserburgh Storm and Ayr Storm which meant progress into the Gold group along with other group winners St Mirren and Dundee Madsons. A great win over St Mirren 27-22 set up a final game showdown against Madsons - as had happened a week earlier with the U12 boys.
Once again, Madsons edged the game and came out winners over the Stirling boys 25-21. This meant that Knights had to wait for the final group game between St Mirren and Madsons to decide their placing. In a true March Madness moment, St Mirren managed to beat Madsons by 4 points which meant after going with points difference that the Stirling boys were crowned champions of National Tournament, this time by a single point!
Spaniard Miquel Santoja Cabot was outstanding for Knights and was rightly voted into the All Star 5 team. Miquel is currently attending Wallace High School and stays with Coach Les McGlasson and his family.
The U14 Boys look ahead to this Saturday when they defend their Scottish Cup Title at The Oriam against a big Grampian Flyers team in the Scottish Cup Final.
PLAYOFFS
The Knights U16 and U18 Men will also play for another National Title this weekend at The Oriam as both have made it through the Final Four in their respective competitions. Both teams with comfortable wins over opponents West Lothian Wolves and Glasgow Rens. First up on Saturday the League Champions U16s will play Edinburgh Kings as they go for the double, followed by the U14 Cup Final. Then on Sunday, the Knights U18s will play league winners Falkirk Fury in the Playoff Final for U18 Men.
This terrific achievement means that Stirling Knights will either be Champions or Runner's Up in all four boys age groups in Scotland, once again underlining the hard work of the coaches, players, parents and volunteers within the club.
Coach Les McGlasson said "Our boys programme really is second to none in the country when you look from U12 up to Senior, which is remarkable when you look at the small group of volunteers leading the club. We now have players heading down south to Academy programmes and GB Trials, so the goals we set ourselves are within reach. This weekend should be another fun packed weekend where we can hopefully claim more National Titles."
U12 Team pic (back row L-R) Martin McMonagle (Coach), Owen Broadley, Lucas Duncan, Peter Daniels, Theo Bennett, Dylan Clark, Patrick McGowan, Pete Duncan (Coach), (front row) Adam Tweedie, Michael Carey, Josh Duncan, Luke Rodden, Corey McMonagle.
Stirling Knights U12 Boys came close to winning the U12 National Tournament last weekend, losing in the final to Dundee Madsons.
Wins over Glasgow Rocks, Grampian Flyers and then in the 'Gold Section' over Falkirk Fury meant that Knights and Madsons went into the final game for the gold medal.
With six of the eleven players all eligible for U12 again next season the future looks bright for the young Knights.
Knights chief and U12 coach Pete Duncan said
"it was a great day and our young team did very well, beating Grampian, Glasgow Rocks and then in the Gold group beating Fury. Madsons in the final were great and we couldn't stop their best player. Credit to them. Thanks to Basketball Scotland for a great set up at Perth College and to all the parents and supporters for their help."
In the season ending National League Playoffs, Knights had five Games over the course at the weekend in the SBC Play Offs with mixed fortunes for our Men and Women.
Some high class Basketball saw our U16M cruise past Boroughmuir Blaze on Saturday 85-67 to set up a Semi-Final v West Lothian today. Our U16M League Champions wasted no time in dominating a lack lustre Wolves team who offered no resistance in a very one sided fixture that ended 102-64 and puts the U16M in the Play Off final on March 24th versus City of Edinburgh Kings, the same day as the U14Boys will face Grampian Flyers in the Scottish Cup final.
Our U18M also playing West Lothian in the Qtr Final also found the way fairly easy for the majority of the game, setting up a Semi Final v Glasgow Rens next weekend. Final Score 89-84 to Stirling after a late run reduced the deficit from 15pts.
The U16 Girls had a very tough ask versus Lady Rocks, a second seed team that we lost to only a few weeks back by 53pts, the word underdog doesn’t do this justice and yet a monumental effort by the players and our young committed coach Alex Smith Taylor saw the U16s Knights fight hard coming back from 23pts down to set up a nailbiting finish, 2 points down into the last minute and the scene was set for a huge upset. However, wasn’t to be and the girls just fell short, Final Score 69-64.
Finally our combined U18W Knights Fury Central faced a good St Mirren team with a long history of success at this level. KFC never really got going and surrendered victory with a 71-43 scoreline.
Back L-R: Louis Sullivan, Callum McGlasson, Ewan McCormick, (Kieron Achara), William Kemp, Rob Gilmour, Rory Silcock, Ben Ritch, Jack Hencher (Capt) Front L-R: Coach - Les McGlasson, Piper McGowan, Miquel Santonja Cabot, Max Flett
Stirling Knights U16M with the big win 86-73 over Tayside Musketeers on Saturday saw this talented group of Basketball players lift the clubs first Division 1 National League Title. Stirling’s own GB Captain Kieron Achara was on hand to present the trophy to Captain Jack Hencher and the Team who won the Scottish Basketball Championships with three games remaining.
Coach Les McGlasson knows just how talented his group of players are after having now collected
6 National Titles in 5 years. He added the National League trophy is a hard fought affair and the team have prepared and fought hard to lift this trophy so early having only been beaten once. Many of the players know how to win and have proven this at every level so far.”
We now go into the Play-Offs seeded number 1 and must be prepared to fight even harder to add the Play-Off title and make 2018 and even more historic year for the club.
Last weekend saw the Knights U16M take one firm grasp on their first ever National League title and did so in a manner that had their fans on cloud nine. Having only been beaten once this season the young Knights faced two difficult away games v Blaze and Tayside that would shape their destiny. On Saturday they faced a boyant Blaze side lying third in the league and Sunday a Tayside team lying 4th and looking forward to a forthcoming cup final. In what was arguably two of the best performances of the season the Knights swept both teams aside with 20+pt wins. In doing so the Knights now sit top of the table with 3 games to spare and 4 games remaining. Knights now look to seal the title next weekend away to Wolves. With many of the U16M playing U18M too, Coach - Les McGlasson praised the Clubs Performance Academy Strength and Conditioning partners Renegade Fitness and Performance for setting our players up in peak condition to withstand the rigours of many games over one weekend and an entire season. None more so than recently turned 16, GB hopeful Louis Sullivan who competed in four top tier games, u16/u18 and Senior Men, over the weekend louis pictured....
The Senior Men put up a spirited display on Friday night only succumbing to league leaders Blaze in the last quarter. With key players missing, Cory McCabe relied on his young quartet of Lucas Hamill, Ruari Doherty, Shaun Craig and Louis Sullivan to see the Knights side fight back three times from double digit deficits. McCabe; "We saw this game as very much an opportunity to prepare for our next three games which we are deeming must wins in order to make this season a success. I can't fault the players in their efforts, this was a big learning opportunity for us."
The U18M side produced a fantastic result against Blaze on Saturday to keep the Knights pushing for second place in the league, relentless on the fastbreak and played some well executed offense. We have lofty expectations for the remaining games this season and the guys are embracing the challenge."
Elsewhere the Knights/Fury U18W collaboration picked up a vital win away to Blaze that could kick start their season ahead of the play-off and with boys and girls teams at U12 and U14 also in action across various venues on Sunday wrapping up a busy weekend for all involved.
National League Results:
Senior Men - Blaze 89 v 60 Knights
U18M - Blaze 66 v 87 Knights
U16M - Blaze 65 v 92 Knights
U16M - Tayside 55 v 73 Knights
U18W - Blaze 74 v 80 Knights/Fury Central
The Stirling Knights coaching team were full of praise this weekend as they recorded a clean sweep over one of Scotland's most successful clubs Basketball Paisley. Last week saw the U14 boys win 52-40 on the road in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final to see them take a step closer to the Scottish Cup in what Coach Andy Flett described as a ‘complete team performance’.
Friday night saw the Senior Men take to the floor in front of a packed and noisy crowd at the Peak to face off against league leaders St Mirren. Twice coming from double digit deficits, the Stirling side incredibly rallied in the 4th quarter to top the Paisley side 97-86 for their first ever win against St Mirren. Coach Cory McCabe singled out the trio of Shaun Craig, Ruari Doherty and Louis Sullivan for their energy; ‘The older guys put this all down to those three boys for their grit and determination just before half time. It was a stunning win, we were always capable of a performance like this.’ 16 year old Doherty hit 16 points showing why he is one of Scotland's top young players. Veterans Daniel Chok and Matt Dick combined for 49 points with Captain Chok leading at both ends of the floor adding 7 assists to his 7 steals.
Saturday saw the Knights move to a different ‘home venue’ as Grangemouth took centre stage for another triple header vs. St Mirren. First up was Les McGlasson’s u16’s who put in a galvanised performance behind Rory Silcock’s selfless play. Coach McGlasson; ‘Rory was everywhere today, he allowed the team to kick on and push offensively. We got into some unnecessary foul trouble, but the entire team stepped up and contributed.’ Final score 72-67. This win along with other results in the league mean that Knights are now three games clear at the top of the Under 16 National League.
The u16 Girls left it late having controlled the majority of the play to win in the last minute over Saints. Penelope Kidd was singled out for her tireless energy by Coach Alex Smith-Taylor. Alex on the win; ‘Sometimes it is about just grinding out the result, these girls did that today. Fantastic result, couldn’t be happier for them.
Finally Cory McCabe’s u18 Men rounded off the sweep as his side ran out 93-77 victors. In what was described as the ‘complete team performance’, Cory had this to say on the win; ‘We carried on with a lot of momentum from Friday night in the Senior Men’s game. Some of the team play today is some of the best I’ve ever seen in all my years coaching.’
Head of Knights Basketball Pete Duncan summed up the weekend; ‘This is testament to the hard work of our dedicated coaching team. The players have been pushed and tested all year and when you see this weekends results, you know that all their hard work and effort in training is paying off. We also had our 5 youth teams playing in U14 and U12 competitions with all performing very well. Well done to all!’
Next up for Knights is a trip back to Grangemouth to face local rivals Falkirk Fury.Over the last 6 Years since Stirling Knights was formed much has been said and written about the growth of the game in a Stirling, the coaches and the players. None more so than these two young players who's dedication and hard work toward the game they love which has opened up opportunities they never knew existed.
Lewis McGlasson and Ruth Allison both started playing Basketball with Knights U12s back in 2011, aged 10 & 11 respectively both players took Basketball to their hearts and quite literally have never stopped bouncing a Basketball ever since. Early signs were visibly clear that this pair had potential. Their training commitment and dedication to Basketball Club life has never gone unnoticed and Stirling Knights are proud to support the future of both players and to take credit themselves with the introduction of such a life changing opportunity that is BASKETBALL into their young lives.
Ruth (16) having now left Wallace High School with flying colours academically has made the move from Stirling Knights to Zaragoza, Spain to take part in DF Deporte's Bilingual Programme, where they are playing for Mann Filter Zaragoza's U18Wteam, Stadium Casablanca in the Campeonato Aragon Junior Feminino League or U18W Regional League to you and me. The programme combines more than 20hrs a week training with studying Spanish, helping children at local schools with English classes and coaching younger age groups. Ruth is also coaching an u13 team who won their first game of the season this week. So far her days are long, full and tiring, but she is loving every bit of it and getting used to life in Spain
Stadium Casablanca Season started this week with a comfortable away win against Calasanz 86-23. Ruth pitching in with 7pts, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
Lewis (15) making the jump last year to Santa Cruz, Tenerife to study in a Spanish School and play Basketball with Real Club Nautico de Tenerife, another former Wallace HS pupil, at first Lewis struggled with the schooling being taught everything in a foreign language but faced up to the challenge with the same determination as he does Basketball and is now fluent in Spanish.
Returning home in the summer after a successful year in Tenerife, Spain where his club R.C.N.T went to the Canaries Championship finishing 5th and Lewis representing the Tenerife, Regional Team at u15. Lewis went on to the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria with the U16 Scotland National Team during August.
Fully planning to return to Scotland this season Lewis settled back into club life at Stirling Knights and was looking forward to bolstering their National League Squads, however, after being spotted during his time in Tenerife during the Regional Championships was offered a full 3 year scholarship with club Terralfas Del Pi, Alicante, Spain.
Another challenge and another language to learn (Valencian)! Lewis has settled into his new surroundings, living as a full time student athlete with his team and continuing his studies in Spanish and Valencian. Hopes are high for Lewis and his Cadete team this season who have secured their opening two wins over top competition, last season their u18M finished 5th in last seasons U18M Spanish Championships.
Lewis who only moved to Alicante two months ago has already been impressing in both Cadete and Junior teams and has been selected into Valencian Regional Team who will compete in the Spanish Championship in early January.
Lewis and Ruth we wish you all the best in the future, you are trail blazers for Basketball in Scotland. Making your parents, friends and Stirling Knights very proud to have helped in setting you on your way whatever the future brings.
Stirling Knights basketball Club have secured a 4 years Direct Club Investment from sportscotland in partnership with Active Stirling and basketballscotland to set up ‘Knights Performance Academy’. This programme will involve working with a number of young talented athletes within the club structure with additional on-court coaching, strength and conditioning through their key partner Renegade fitness and performance and sports psychology amongst other off-court support. This is a huge development in the Knights’ aspiration to produce athletes at National and GB Level In line with their vision #BAW
"We are delighted to have secured this partnership which will go along way to ensure we can produce performance players to contribute to the National cause. We share the vision with Basketball Scotland and our other key partners in working towards our performance targets and are working hard to develop the right culture and environment to nurture talent." - Pete Duncan, Head of Basketball for Stirling Knights
KNIGHTS CENTRAL FURY
Knights do battle for Team Scotland
Stirling Knights Basketball Club once again celebrated having a large amount of international call ups when 25 young players from across the club's teams were selected for Scotland Squads to participate in tournaments all over Europe.
The call ups capped another terrific season for the local club who won numerous titles and have now been developing basketball in the area for five years.
With the new Scottish Basketball Championship season tipping off in September the Knights will be back in full pre season training mode this week with the first games at The Peak on the 10th September.
Club Chairman Pete Duncan "to have 25 players in Scotland teams was again fantastic . The coaches and parents in the club have been terrific in truly supporting our new performance strategy and we will definitely see this bear even more fruit in the years to come"
Young Basketball Girls 'Knighted' National Champions
Last weekend saw The Peak hosting the Under 10 National Basketball tournament with both boys and girls teams from all over Scotland competing.
The Stirling Knights boys - who were reigning champions - got off to a great start by scoring wins over Boroughmuir Blaze and West Lothian Wolves. A loss to Tayside in their final group game meant that they lost out on a chance for the Gold section on basket difference. A further win over Grampian rounded the day off for the 12 boys who had only been training together for six weeks.
The next day, the Stirling girls were in action and easily won their group with wins over Ayr and Grampian. In the gold section, further wins over West Lothian and Highland saw the talented girls squad crowned as National U10 Champions with Lucy Jack and Ella Dempsey being named to the 'All Star Five' after their outstanding play.
Knights Chairman Pete Duncan said "This was another fantastic tournament funded by cashback for communities and basketball scotland. The standard of teams was the highest ever at this age group and it was very pleasing to see both our players and others competing so well. The boys have a young team and will be back in this age group again next season. The girls have done extremely well and have two of the top young players in Scotland. So our future looks very good indeed."
The Knights are also celebrating the news that Coach Les McGlasson was a double award winner from Basketball Scotland as he picked up Volunteer of the Year and Regional Leagues Coach of the Year. A very well deserved award for Les, who coaches some 30 hours per week and has helped grow the game in Stirling and beyond. Knights Chairman Pete Duncan has also been recognised with a 20 years Service Award from Basketball Scotland.
The unbeaten this season Stirling Knights Under 12 Boys claimed their fifth title in as many years last weekend when they beat West Lothian in the final of the Basketball Scotland East and Central Regional League.
In a tight game Knights came through in the final period to win 33-26 having been trailing by as many as four points. Top scorers for Stirling were Scotland duo Piper McGowan on 16 and Callum McGlasson on 9. The game marked Coach Les McGlasson's 100th game in charge and was win number 21 for the year. The boys will now look ahead to retaining their National Title in May.
The Knights U12 Girls, in their first full season, were also in action in the Girls final, also against West Lothian. A slow second quarter saw them chasing the game which they eventually lost 44-26. Massive improvements have been made on the female side of the club and the future looks very bright.
This weekend sees the Under 14 Boys in the Scottish Cup Final at Edinburgh University where they will play unbeaten capital side the Kings. The Under 16 Girls are also through to their playoff final having beaten Boroughmuir 60-50 in the Semi Finals last week. Top scorers for Knights were Ruth Allison on 21 with Bryony Ferguson and Helen Walker on 16 a piece. The talented girls team will be looking to add to their Scottish Cup win when they face up against St Mirren on Sunday, who are the only team to have beaten them this season.
U12s Pic is L-R
Joe Thomson, Alistair Smith, Aaron Duffin, Neil Cavin, Piper McGowan, Callum McGlasson, Keir Esson, Callum Luti, Dillon Hencher, Jacob Dempsey, Dylan Nichol, Henry Daniels
Stirling Knights are celebrating another title win this week, having defeated Granite City 65-53 in the league decider and will now return to the National League Division one next season.
Having finished bottom of Division one last season, the Knights men were relegated and have spent this season rebuilding in Division two. With a squad of only six senior age players with the rest made up from Under 18's the current men's team has an average age of just 20.
The Division two title was on the line last weekend with a winner takes all game against Granite City Grizzlies at The Peak. The men from Aberdeen and the Knights had each claimed one win against each other this season so whoever won this clash had the head to head and the title. More importantly, the division winners would win automatic promotion.
The visitors started brightly and led by as many as seven in the opening spell. However, the Knights Men led by former Scotland caps Daniel Chok and Matt Dick started to influence and control the game and took the second quarter 23-10. With Granite City now chasing the game the Knights maintained their lead behind some big scores from Connor Rankin who finished with 16 points and Gergo Jenei with 14. James McNeil, who was promoted from the U18s squad this season, also had a terrific game giving maximum effort to the cause. Matt Dick (pictured) was outstanding at both ends recording 12 points and 16 rebounds. With coach Cory McCabe running the bench in the final quarter on the way to a 65-53 win and a big sigh of relief as Knights return to the top league.
McCabe said "This was a good win and our Senior players really stepped up. We will keep the core of this team together and with our younger players improving all the time we can look forward to a good season of developing after the Summer. The club is in a really good place and the young Senior team is an exciting project".
The club's other teams were also in action, with routine wins for the U16 and U18 Men over Tayside and West Lothian and also for the U16 Girls away to Ayr. All three teams are in playoff action next weekend, with the U18 Men looking stay unbeaten for the season and also win promotion to Division one.
The Knights U12 boys and girls are both through to the regional finals after having a very successful season in the development league.
Olympian and Great Britain basketball captain, Kieron Achara was on hand to help Stirling Knights Basketball Club officially launch their new Performance Academy. The Stirling native talked about goal setting and mindsets in his inspirational talk to the young academy players.
The new initiative is a result of a three year Direct Club Investment funding from Sport Scotland which allows clubs to apply for grants to improve their Sport. Other key partners in the initiative are Basketball Scotland, Active Stirling, Renegade Fitness and Performance along with Wallace High, Stirling High, Bannockburn High and Dunblane High Schools. The programme is also supported by external professionals such as Yoga, Sports Science, Nutrition and Physio Therapy.
Lead Performance Coach Cory McCabe gave an overview which sees 38 young Knights players sign up to live the life of a student athlete with extra on court, gym and classroom sessions. CEO of Basketball Scotland Kevin Pringle was also in attendance and spoke about the Knights impressive rise over the past five years.
Knights Chairman Pete Duncan welcomed and thanked the players, parents and special guests in his speech about positive culture and success. He said "We are delighted to have secured this partnership which will ensure we can produce performance players to contribute to the National cause. We share the vision with Basketball Scotland and our other key partners in working towards our performance targets and are working hard to develop the right culture and environment to nurture talent. The main positive is our players get a chance to experience life as a student athlete which will help them to develop key skills for use on and off the court."
Knights girls put Blaze to the sword to lift the Scottish Cup
Stirling Knights Basketball Club are celebrating their first ever Scottish Cup win after a thrilling Under 16 Girls final against Edinburgh based side Boroughmuir Blaze which the Stirling girls won in the end 75-63.
A packed finals weekend at The Lagoon is Paisley saw the Knights girls up first on the Sunday in the 11am game. Having defeated Blaze twice in the league this season by a narrow margin this game was always going to be close.
Sami Brown got Blaze off to a good start as she hit two threes to put Blaze up 9-4. A tight exchange with some good fast break play from Knights and U15 player Katrina Kirsop saw Blaze end the first period up 19-17.
In the second quarter, the game remained close with neither team able to make a strong run. Knights Captain Ruth Allison was anchoring the Knights defence well and finished the day with 6 blocks. Marta Weyer had some nice finishes in this stanza but some sloppy team play and passing let Blaze back in with Knights holding a slender 31-30 advantage at halftime.
The second half started with end to end basketball, Blaze retaking their lead 38-37 behind another three pointer. Stirling's Briony Ferguson and Evie Gallagher sprung into action and were able to combine for some big scores but still Blaze would not go down quietly and Knights took a 49-47 lead as the third quarter closed out.
A ferocious start by Knights as they took a 57-49 lead led to a Blaze time out. Ruth Allison could not be stopped in this spell as she hit a turnaround fade-away two to extend the lead 63-53. The tireless Helen Walker provided the energy Knights needed to bring the cup home and when Briony Ferguson collected her fourth steal and twentieth point,Knights opened up a double digit lead 69-59 with less than two minutes to play. The final two minutes were exciting for the large travelling support who cheered their team on to victory 75-63. Briony Ferguson was named as Most valuable Player of the final with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Ruth Allison chipped in with 8 points and massive 18 rebounds. Helen Walker had 12 points and 10 rebounds in a tremendous effort, with youngsters Katrina Kirsop and Nina Willis combining for 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Knights Girls coach Ross Paterson said "It was a terrific game, very close but we were better in the second half and deserved it. I'm delighted with the full team's efforts and it feels great to bring the first ever Scottish Cup win for Knights back to Stirling".
Full squad and coaching team:
Coaches: Ross Paterson, Charis Maclean and Katie Young.
Players: Ruth Allison, Briony Ferguson, Helen Walker, Katrina Kirsop, Nina Willis, Marta Weyer, Molly Waddell, Chloe Dunsire, Freya Walker, Leah Trevis, Helen Harrower, Evie Gallagher and Olivia Blennie.
Knights ladies in double away win
With a place in this month's Scottish Cup Final already secured, the Stirling Knights U16 girls were back to league business last weekend when they faced Falkirk Fury and Edinburgh Kats in back to back away games in the Scottish Basketball Championship Division 1.
First up was the short trip to Falkirk, with the Stirling girls starting well leading 20-7 after the first quarter. With Coach Ross Paterson rotating his bench and all girls contributing the Knights went in at half time leading 27-15. In the second half, Knights upped the gears and eventually ran out 63-28 winners over their local rivals. Briony Ferguson led the way for Stirling with 26 points.
The following day, the girls were on the road to Portobello to face top Capital side Edinburgh Kats. Knights again started the brighter and were up 22-13 heading into the second quarter, where the Kats clawed back the deficit to lead 36-32 at halftime. However, the Stirling girls once again upped the anti in the second half and ran out clear winners in the end 73-56 to complete another successful weekend. Top scorers in this game were Briony Ferguson again with 20 points and Captain Ruth Allison with 17. Evie Gallagher and Helen Walker chipped in for 9 points each.
On the male side, the Knights Under 16 boys lost to Fury 62-46 in a sub par performance having gone so close the previous week.
Overall, the basketball club continues to flourish and a change in priorities and focus is clear. The recent addition of the Knights performance Academy is already adding value to the much lauded youth development set up. Knights Chairman Pete Duncan explains "When we started the Knights, the focus was on the Senior team and really getting a buzz about the game of basketball back in the Stirling area to inspire a future generation of players. Five years later, we are really focused on the youth development side and with great success with teams from Under 10 age up to U18. We are working closely with the National Governing Body Basketball Scotland to produce the very best players and athletes Scottish Basketball has to offer. It's not so much about the winning and losing, its about the process and the journey and making sure our young players are the best people they can be."The Stirling Knights male National League teams were back on court last weekend after the festive break. The men, who sit top of the National Division 2 rankings, hosted West Lothian Wolves. Despite taking the first quarter 20-16 the table topping Knights could not ignite any sort of tempo in their first game back after Christmas. West Lothian stifled the Knights at every turn and capitalised with their bigger inside presence. This result now leaves the Senior Men with everything to play for with only 4 games remaining in their season.
Coach McCabe on the loss; "There is very little to be said about our performance tonight. We just could not find the same rhythm we have had for the majority of the season. The players know exactly what we gave up tonight. I could be over critical of it all, but realistically we need to get back into training and say 'bring on the next one'."
The Under 16 boys, who are in third place in the top league behind St Mirren and Falkirk, made the short journey to Falkirk to play Fury. The two sides previous cup game had been a thriller and went down to the final minute and this game was to prove no different. A fantastic start by the away side saw Scotland candidates Shaun Craig, Mitchell Earley and Lucas Hamill all deliver early blows to the Falkirk side.
The second quarter saw Fury make their run, similar to the Scottish Cup tie just prior to Christmas, as their Scotland players Mitchell Stirling, Jordan Ferguson and Ben McGinlay all help deliver a half time lead of 7.
The tempo and aggression did not let up through the first three quarters by either team, and the exact same could be said of the fourth. Fury continually ahead at this point, could not quite put Stirling away and allowed the Knights several chances to tie them up but ultimately the boys fell short when it came to getting their noses back in front.
Coach McGlasson on both teams; "If this is the standard basketballscotland want in their National Squads then these two clubs are delivering. We are bitterly disappointed to have lost out, but our players and ourselves as coaches want this standard of game every week."
Coach McCabe on the loss; "I'm a competitor and, the boys are competitors, so losing is always hard to take. But see when you have, parents and coaches from opposing teams congratulating everyone involved, what can you really say? Well done to Fury for their closing out of the game. But I'm immensely proud that in our first year in Division 1, we can say we are well worthy of our current 3rd place in the league."
Top scorers for Fury were Mitchell Stirling 22, Jordan Ferguson 19 and guard Ben McGinlay 25. For Knights, Lucas Hamill 12, Shaun Craig 27 and the impressive Mitchell Earley 34.
The Under 18 Knights Men, who are unbeaten for the season in Division 2, hosted Grampian Flyers who were no match for the hosts who ran away with a 91-40 win with the visitors held to just 13 points in the second half whilst the Knights racked up 47 with a free flowing offence.
Leading scorers for the Knights were Shaun Craig 19 and Iain Shilliday 16. Coach Lynch said "We are happy with the progress we have made this season, particularly on offence. The boys have worked hard and are well worthy of a place in the top league next season."
The Knights Under 16 girls are back in action this weekend when they hope to keep up their push for the title and face a double header away trip to Falkirk and Edinburgh.Stirling Knights Girls foiled by Saints
The Under 16 Girls from Stirling Knights suffered their first league loss of the season at the hands of rivals St Mirren 49-43 last weekend at The Peak. In a sub par performance the Knights girls struggled in the third quarter before coming back to make a game of it in the last five minutes. The girls did strike the first blow however by putting Saints out the Scottish Cup and their cup run continued when they dispatched of Falkirk Fury last weekend 78-41 and now face a trip to Lady Rocks in the Semi - Final.
Six of the club's teams were in Scottish Cup action last weekend. The Under 16 Men lost a thriller to Falkirk Fury 68-63, having led most of the game Knights just couldn't take their chances to finish the game off and the Falkirk boys hit some big plays to progress. The Under 18 Men hosted top team Edinburgh Kings and were off the pace as they went down 122-57 to the capital side who boast a variety of Scotland U18 players. The Senior Men gave top team Edinburgh University a tough game, in the ng for Knights with 20 points.
This weekend sees a full card of Under 12 and Under 14 RDL games alongside the U16 Girls hosting Ayrshire on Saturday evening 6.15pm tip off, with the Men hosting Boroughmuir on Sunday at 12.20pm. For more info on Stirling Knights follow their facebook page and website.
Knights' Teams continue the battle on all fronts
Stirling Knights basketball club are enjoying the busiest season to date in their five year history, with no fewer than EIGHT teams in action recently and this week the club face a mammoth six game Scottish Cup weekend.
In the Senior Men's competitions, Knights stay top of the Scottish division two championship with a recent win over Edinburgh Kings which was followed by a huge road victory over Granite City Grizzlies in Aberdeen. Top scorers in what was an aggressive game were Matthew Dick on 26 points with Daniel Chok adding 23. The team have also progressed in the Scottish Cup after a recent 101-100 win over Police Scotland Grampian and now face a Quarter Final against Division one high flyers Edinburgh University this Saturday 14th at The Peak with a 2.20pm tip off.
The Under 18 Men remain undefeated in all competitions after two recent straight forward victories over Dunfermline Reign and promotion rivals Highland Bears. Iain Shilliday top scored on 14 points with Cameron Taylor on 12. The team are currently top of the division two standings and also face a tricky cup tie against top team Edinburgh Kings this Saturday 12.20pm at The Peak.
Knights Under 16 boys are sitting in third place in their debut season in the Scottish Championship Division one. Following a loss last week away to Edinburgh Kings, the team scored two victories over Perth and Tayside. Big man Lucas Hamill hit 22 points for the Stirling side with Craig Agnew providing much needed energy from the bench. Captain Shaun Craig combined for 45 points over the two games highlighting his role as key player for Knights. The boys are also through in the cup after a great away win in Glasgow which saw Mitch Earley pour in 35 points on the way to victory. The team are in cup Quarter Final action this weekend in the big 'Friday Knight' game when they face local rivals Falkirk Fury at The Peak, 7.45pm tip off. This game should be a cracker and spectators are urged to get along early for what will be a capacity crowd at The Peak.
The Under 16 Girls team also remain unbeaten in all competitions in their debut season and are top of SBC Division one after a recent big win over Glasgow Rocks, whilst also progressing in the Cup over St Mirren. Joint top scorers for Knights were Marta Weyer and Evie Gallagher on 12 each, with youngster Nina Wills on 11. Some fixture confusion has meant that the girls have had a significant rest period before facing Falkirk Fury away in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final this Saturday.
The Under 14 and Under 12 boys and girls got their season going again in the Basketball Scotland Regional Development League. The Under 12 Girls scored two wins over Polonia and Edinburgh and one loss to West Lothian. The Under 14 Girls split their two games, winning over West Lothian and losing by one basket to Polonia. The Under 14 boys also split their games, winning over Blaze but losing out to Kings. The Under 12 boys remain undefeated with big wins over Fury and West Lothian.
The boys and girls Under 14 teams are also in Scottish Cup action this weekend, with the boys hosting Glasgow Rens at 4.15pm at The Peak whilst the Girls tip the day off at 11am when they host Tayside.
In their top division debut seasons, Knights U15 Scotland stars and Stirling High pair Evie Gallagher and Shaun Craig led their Under 16 Knights teams to two impressive victories recently in the Scottish Cup and the Scottish National League scoring 22 points and 31 points respectively in what were two fantastic team efforts.
Evie's U16 Knights team had so far gone unbeaten in the league when the open Scottish Cup draw threw the two best teams together in the opening round, with Knights hosting rivals St Mirren. In an incredibly tight game, Knights edged the first quarter 15-14 through some great defensive work from Ruth Allison which enabled Evie to grab 8 personal points in the opening spell. In the second quarter, a three pointer from Briony Ferguson kept Knights in front and with the impressive Evie pouring in another 10 points meant that the Knights girls took a 39-31 lead at the half.
The third quarter was equally as intense with St Mirren's Maisie Huey leading their efforts the visitors started to come back only to be foiled by a big thee pointer from Helen Walker and some fine inside play from Katrina Kirsop, which meant Stirling still held a slender 51-46 going into the final stanza.
In a tight last quarter, which went down the the final seconds, Marta Weyer made the last score for Stirling which was enough to see a 57-55 win to progress to the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. With both teams still to play each other in the league, it looks almost certain that they will battle it out for the title this year. Next up for the girls, is another difficult home game when Lady Rocks visit this Friday with a 7.45pm tip off at The Peak.
In the boys Under 16 game, Boroughmuir Blaze were the visitors to The Peak to face a Knights team which had been soundly beaten by St Mirren the week before. Blaze, who have been extremly successful in youth basketball over the past four years, looked favourites for this match up but the Knights had other plans.A tight 12-12 first quarter, with both teams showing a lack of execution round the basket set the tone for what would be a game of runs with both teams taking leads. The Knights managed a 12 point lead going into the final quarter. Returning from injury, Shaun Craig led his team in excellent fashion pouring in 31 points to win a very close game with Knights winning 71-65 in the end. Mitch Earley, who has been in great form added 18. The boys have their Scottish Cup game away to Glasgow next on the horizon, where a win would set up a big quarter final against Falkirk Fury.
In the Senior Men Scottish Cup, the Knights were drawn away to Police Scotland Aberdeen in the opening round. An incredible game, where almost 60 fouls were called ended in a 101-100 victory for the Stirling side with player coach Cory McCabe tying and winning the game on a pair of free throws. Top scorers were Connor Rankin on 27, Dan Chok 22 and Matt Dick 21. The men now face top team Edinburgh University in the quarter final which will be played on the 14th November at The Peak.
With the Scottish Basketball Championships now well underway local club Stirling Knights got back to winning ways with big victories for their Senior Men, U16 girls and U18 Men.
First up last weekend were the Men who were hosting West Lothian Wolves in a top of the table clash and were missing new signing and ex pro Roni Gordon. A slow start from Knights saw them down 14-10 after the first quarter however in the second stanza things improved greatly with Knights going on a big scoring run led by captain Daniel Chok.
Terrific play in the second half continued as Wolves were no match for the Knights with U17 player Calum Doherty and Iain Shilliday also having success with Knights in the end winning 72-50. Top scorers for Knights were Daniel Chok on 17, Matt Dick 16, Connor Rankin 12 and Gergo Jenei 11.
The U16 girls maintained their unbeaten start to the season winning over Tayside Musketeers 70-30. The U18 Men had a terrific win over Boroughmuir Blaze 114-37. The U16 boys lost to an excellent St Mirren team 101-30, although missing two key players the Knights were just not at the races.
This weekend sees the U16 boys in action on Friday night at The Peak 8pm tip off against Boroughmuir Blaze and the U16 girls are in action on Saturday evening as they face St Mirren in the Scottish Cup. All spectators welcome.
A busy weekend of action for Stirling Knights resulted in three big Scottish Basketball Championship wins for the club further underlining the excellent youth development programme in the club.
In the Under 16 boys Championship, Glasgow City were the visitors to The Peak to face the Knights who had narrowly lost the week before. Although Knights were missing key players Shaun Craig and Olly Yarrow they came out of the traps quickly and the gulf between the teams was apparent with Stirling winning the second quarter 32-1. The final score of 126-29 reflecting the Knights dominance throughout. After the second win by around 100 of the season, Club officials have again questioned the quality of basketball in the top league with games like this doing no team any real favours in terms of progress. Impressive again for Knights was Mitchell Earley with 38 points and Lucas Hamill with 32. Ruari Doherty chipped in 18 in a fine performance for Stirling who also fielded 11 year old star of the future Callum McGlasson. (pictured)
Knights Coach Cory McCabe "This is our second high scoring output of the season, but we see it as a false result. We want to be in the mix with the top tier of this Division and while we are progressing each week, the guys know they have to push themselves harder. There were opportunities for some of our younger guys on the fringes to stake a claim for more court time but they seemed to not want to get out of second gear. We are operating with a squad of 17 and we were without Shaun and Olly, so minutes for some will be hard to come by, they have to grab their opportunities with two hands".
The Knights under 16 girls also underlined their potential as title challengers when local rivals Falkirk Fury made the sort journey to The Peak. The Stirling girls started well going up 14-0 and with the coaching team giving valuable playing time to the more inexperienced players, the Knights still managed to pull out to a 88-41 win. Under 14 age girls Molly Waddell and Freya Walker looked composed at both ends with Evie Gallagher and Nina Wills scoring well. Knights Coach Dave Evans "We gave the younger girls a good run today and it was a good performance, we have to keep working though and focus on the games against the top teams who will be tough".
The Under 18 boys were on the road to face Grampian Flyers in Aberdeen in the SBC Division 2. In what is always a close game the Knights boys recovered from a ten point deficit to pull through and win 88-71 over their promotion rivals. Top Scorers for Knights were Calum Doherty on 34 and Iain Shilliday on 23. Coach Colin Lynch "In the end it was a good result and we really focused on our defence in the second half and managed to pull away. It is a long season but we are concentrating on improving all the time with a view to gaining promotion to division one, where a club of our calibre need to be. The players are easily good enough".
The Under 14 boys had their first games of the season and easily swept aside Fury B 56-7 and Blaze B 70-21 with Louis Sullivan and Fraser Adams (Wallace High) top scoring. Once again, the Knights boys will be looking for tougher games and challenges as the season progresses.
This Friday night sees a top of the table SBC Men Division 2 clash as the Knights look to remain undefeated when they take on West Lothian Wolves in an 8 pm tip off at The Peak. All spectators welcome for what Club Chairman Pete Duncan says "should be a cracking game".
Stirling Knights Under 16 girls made a fantastic start to their Scottish Basketball Championships Division 1 campaign last week, when they managed to pull through to beat Boroughmuir Blaze 61-57.
The Capital visitors were predicted as one of the preseason favourites for the U16 title. The Knights girls started well with some effective team play. The Stirling girls managing to pull out to a comfortable 38-27 lead at halftime. However, the Blaze girl scam back strongly and a nervy finish resulted in a 61-57 win for Knights. Girls Coach Dave Evans said "That was some what unexpected but awesome to get the win. Credit to the whole team who have been working hard".
The U18 Men got their season off to a flyer thumping Edinburgh Kings B team in league two 74-38. With promising U16 Shaun Craig ,missing through injury the team was unaffected with Iain Shilliday scoring 16 points with U16 big man Lucas Hamill on 13. The boys Coach Colin Lynch " After a slow start we got going really well. We need to keep working as a team and good things will happen".
The U16 Boys lost away to Glasgow Rens 60-49 and were unlucky to lose Lucas Hamill and Shaun Craig to injury. Criag finished with 12 points with Hamill on 9 alongside fellow Stirling high pupil Mitchell Earley on 9. Coach Cory McCabe "We did enough to win but some poor execution let us down today. We will move on to next week and keep building with this promising group of players".
The Senior Men rounded off the weekend's action with a 69-59 against Edinburgh Kings B in league two. The Knights size caused some problems for Edinburgh, who were fielding five of their division one team including former Knights stalwart Cammy O'Donnell who is now attending Edinburgh University. Knights Captain Daniel Chok hit 15 points with big men duo Roni Gordon and Matt Dick combining for 28 points. Cory McCabe; "This is a game a fair few people will be talking about. Two teams digging in and playing hard from first to last. Can't fault the way all our guys helped in producing another rugged performance. We really are beginning to see progress with a great mix of youth and experience. Team chemistry off court is one thing, good luck to the other teams when we get that team chemistry completely sussed on the court".
The new Scottish Basketball Championships season got off to a flyer for the Stirling Knights teams last weekend, with the senior men comfortably dispatching of Boroughmuir Blaze 71-65 in Division 2 whilst the Under 16 boys raced to an incredible 118-16 victory over Ayrshire Tornadoes. The Under 18 boys were due to play South Lanarkshire Colliers, who cancelled the game on Friday morning citing a lack of players for the forfeit.
In the Friday night game, the Men had a brilliant start and led 19-6 after the first quarter. The presence of 6ft11 former pro player Roni Gordon at both ends of the court proving to be a major ace in the Knights' hand. The visitors from the Capital did come back into the game but player/coach Cory McCabe was able to give the Under 18s some valuable court time as the win never looked in doubt. Top scorers for Knights were Connor Rankin (pictured) on 19 with Gergo Jenei on 12. Youngster Iain Shilliday from St Modan's High School impressed in his spell off the bench.
On Saturday, the Under 16 boys - champions of Division 2 last season - were 'stepping up' to play their first ever Division 1 game. However, with visitors Ayrshire having only 6 players in their travelling squad the Knights quickly raced to an astonishing 38-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Stirling then rotated all 12 players for the rest of the game but the intensity never dropped and the eventual one hundred and two point win 118-16 was testament to the strength in depth of the Knights squad. Although a great win and performance, Knights will be looking for a much tougher challenge this week when they travel to Glasgow to play the Rens on Saturday. Top Scorers for Knights were the impressive Mitchell Early on 29, with Scotland Under 15 players Shaun Craig on 25 and Lucas Hamill on 27. Youngster Dylan Johnstone also chipped in 12 to show his potential.
Coach McCabe said "This season is all about sustaining the massive strides our U16 programme has been making in the past couple of seasons. The guys really showed their professional and disciplined style today. It's easy to take your foot off the gas against a much weaker opponent. But we have some eager boys desperate to stake a claim for minutes, and we are now beginning to see glimpses of what assistant coach Les McGlasson and myself see as a solid Division 1 team"
The Knights U16 Division 3 team, made up of mainly U14 players, were also in action losing narrowly to Tayside but getting their first win over Blaze at Bathgate Academy. This league is a development opportunity for the Knights youngsters to get more game action.
This weekend sees the Knights Under 16 girls make their Division 1 debut on Friday night at The Peak (8pm) when they face the girls from Blaze. The Under 18 and Senior Men play Edinburgh Kings back to back at Holyrood High School on Sunday.
The youngest teams from Stirling Knights Basketball Club are celebrating after a very successful weekend at the Basketball Scotland Under 10 National Challenge Tournament last weekend, a competition involving teams from all over Scotland.
Saturday saw the boys up first, looking to defend the title they won exactly one year ago. Drawn in a group with West Lothian, Grampian and Glasgow the boys quickly dispatched of West Lothian 43-5 and then Grampian 36-7. In a similar fashion Stirling took care of Glasgow 24-8 to finish as group winners and went on to face fellow group winners Falkirk, Inverness and East Lothian.
The mini Knights finished the day undefeated to take the Gold Medal with wins over Inverness 26-9, East Lothian 28-12 and in a great final against Falkirk 24-11, to repeat as Scottish Under 10 Boys Champions.
On Sunday, the young and relatively inexperienced Girls team put on some great performances and developed in confidence during their first ever tournament to finish in fifth place. Wins over Blaze and West Lothian were the icing on the cake for the girls who showed great enthusiasm and passion throughout the day.
A special mention goes to Knights Young Leaders Connor Sharp, Alex Smith-Taylor and Charis Maclean who coached and mentored the teams all weekend.
Head of Knights Pete Duncan commented "Weekends like this are why we set the club up. It is such a pleasure to see the youngest Knights do so well and it is testament to the volunteer coaches and parents who contribute so much to the continuing success of the Knights. I couldn't be happier with the compliments we have received in what has been a very successful season in terms of titles won and development."
The teams were picked from eligible players in the Cluster teams across Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
Boys Team: Aaron Duffin, Ben Jackson, Henry Daniels, Peter Daniels, Harry Adams, Lucas Duncan, Dev Darley, Douglas Fleming, Alexander Curley, Patrick McGowan, Archie Flett and Josh Duncan.
Girls Team: Jessica Foster, Beccie Speed, Ella Dempsey, Anya Easton, Eilidh Jack, Keira Malcolmson, Edie McBain, Ella Ritch, Rachel Sinclair and Leah Trevitt-Stark.
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Stirling Knights Basketball Club are celebrating their record haul of 20 club players called up for Scotland National Team duty this Summer. The impressive total once again highlights the first class development programme which the Stirling club have implemented in their four year history and with five of the club's coaches appointed to National Team coaching positions the Knights are strongly represented. Jack Burgess and Maria Vasilaki will head up the Scots Under 14 teams, with Dave Evans in charge of the Under 15 girls. Pete Duncan travels as part of the Scotland Senior Men coaching team along with Colin Lynch who is the Team Manager.
The Scotland call ups are the icing on the cake from another very successful season for the Knights. With National League titles for the Under 16 boys and girls, the Under 12 boys and Under 14 boys and girls followed this up and were crowned East and Central Scottish Champions in the RDL finals last month with victories over Falkirk and West Lothian. The talented under 14 squads were then also in action in the National Challenge against teams from all over Scotland where they finished with the silver medals with both teams losing out to the long established Basketball Paisley in the boys and girls finals.
Full list of Scotland Call Ups:
U11 - Basketball England Tournament, Surrey
Cyan Van Schalkwyk, Emily Melrose, Piper McGowan, Callum McGlasson
U12 - TIM Pirineus, Andorra
Callum McGlasson, Piper McGowan, Ben Yarrow
U13 - TIM Pirineus, Andorra
Louis Sullivan, Javier Becerra Perez
U14 - Basketball Scotland FIBA Summer Slam, Peak, Stirling
Ruari Doherty, Lewis McGlasson, Oliver Yarrow, Katrina Kirsop, Nina Wills
U15
Lewis McGlasson, Shaun Craig, Lucas Hammil, Evie Gallagher, Helen Walker
U16 - Euro B Tournament
Ruth Allison, Katie Young
U18 - Euro B Tournament
Cameron O'Donnell, Ruth Allison, Emily Gray
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Stirling Knights Boys repeated the performances of 2013 to secure the League and National Double! Having already secured the East and Central Regional Development League trophy back in April with a hard fought win over West Lothian Wolves they headed into the Basketball Scotland National Challenge at the Lagoon, Paisley to face all the top teams in other Development leagues across Scotland. The top two teams in each RDL made up the 12 teams contesting the Trophy in an event where all games must be won to take home the top prize.
Each of the 12 teams were divided into 4 groups of 3 based on league positions. Stirling Knights were given a very hard group consisting Clyde Cavaliers and Inverness City. Inverness City whom consist of 2 current u12 Scotland Players and have been unbeaten over 8 games so far this season. The young Knights got into their rhythm early on in the Clyde Cavs game and at half time were 20-0 in front. The Knights were in buoyant mood ahead of the crucial match versus Inverness and didn’t let up, eventually winning the game 49-8. Following this game Inverness easily won against Clyde Cavaliers setting a game which would decide final placing potential. The winners would progress to the Gold Group to contest placings 1-4 and the losers into the Silver Groups to contest 5-8.
The Game started at a frenetic pace with the speed of the Knights proving too hot to handle for the far travelled Inverness team. The Stirling team raced into a 15-0 lead and the Inverness team looked shell shocked. Great team play and defence skills prevented the Inverness team making any headway in the game and the Knights kept up the pressure to seal the victory by 36-9.
After a short break the young Knights headed into the Gold Group stage in buoyant mood to face other group stage winners in: West Lothian Wolves, East Lothian Dragons and St Mirren. Wolves and Dragons were well known to the Stirling team having competed against these two teams several times during the season and they knew that the competition would be tough having both won and lost to both these teams earlier in the season. The St Mirren team were the unknown quantity.
First up, the Knights faced East Lothian Dragons in very closely contested game which saw the Knights trail at the end of the first quarter. The boys fought hard and dug deep to pressure the East Lothian team and force mistakes and eventually sealed the win by 4pts. In the next game against Wolves it followed the same pattern and the Knights knew this would be their toughest test having shared many tussles with the West Lothian team this season. The Knights gave everything they had and were rewarded with the win by 5 pts.
Clearly shattered after the previous 4 games the Knights went into their final game knowing one more win would win the Tournament. In what was a very tense affair with the Knight boys running on empty, they contained the St Mirren side and then gave one more push in the final quarter to see it home by 6pts
The team consisting of: L-R Joe Thomson, Piper McGowan, Jacob Dempsey, Dylan Nichol, Huw Adams, Ben Yarrow, Cameron Lynn, Callum McGlasson, Alistair Smith, Max Flett, Daniel Hughes and Keir Esson along with Coach Les McGlasson and Assistant Coaches Ronan Iffla and Callum Doherty were then presented with the trophy they also won two years ago. Capt Callum McGlasson who also played in the 2013 trophy winning team at the age of 9 years old collected the trophy on behalf their team. Ben Yarrow was then presented with an award for “All Star 5” presented to the five most talented players in the tournament over the course of the day.
On collecting the Trophy for the second time in two years, Les McGlasson U12 Boys Coach commented. “Its pleasing to win these trophies and the Boys have worked really hard over the course of the year and fully deserve their Win, however what’s more pleasing as a coach is the Development of the these players and the future of our club and the game itself. The age of capable players is lowering and the talent is improving. We won in 2013 with one under 11 and one under 9 player and today we have won again with 7 players all under the age of 11 years old. These seven players are all eligible to compete again next season and this experience is invaluable.”
The Clubs next tournament goal is to defend the U10 National Challenge trophy that they won last year at the Peak on June 6th Boys and 7th Girls.
.................................................................................................................................................................Stirling Knights Basketball Club are celebrating this week due to two outstanding Scottish Cup wins for the club’s joint team with West Lothian, SWL.
First up in the Finals, held at The Lagoon in Paisley, were the Under 18s who faced league leaders Tayside Musketeers with Stirling Knights Girls; Ruth Allison, Lucia Becerra Perez, Emily Gray (all Wallace HS) and Katie Young (Balforn HS) all in action.
Led by the formidable Lauren Forde from Edinburgh, the SWL girls staged a comeback from as many as ten points down to win in the end 79-76. Forde top scored on 23 points but the Stirling girls played a huge role in the win with Katie Young scoring 4 points and pulling down 7 rebounds, 14 year old Ruth Allison adding 8 points and 6 rebounds with Emily Gray adding 3 points in limited action. However, it was the Knights Spanish exchange student Lucia Becerra Perez who stole the show with 17 points and 5 rebounds and although missing eleven foul shots was outstanding throughout. Lucia, and her brother Javier, both attend Wallace High School as exchange students and are living with the Knights Head of Youth Development Les McGlasson and his family.
The next day was the turn of the very talented SWL U16 girls to play Edinburgh’s Polonia Phoenix in the Cup Final. With Stirling High School’s Evie Gallagher coming in along with Perez, Young and Allison from the 18s team the Knights were once again well represented and would play a massive part in an outstanding cup win. SWL led from the start and made it clear there would only be one winner eventually taking the cup 108 – 65. West Lothian’s Leah Stewart led the team with 33 points in a fine display with Ruth Allison notching a ‘double double’ of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Katie Young and Evie Gallagher both also were getting on the scoresheet combining for 7 points in the match. Once again, just one day after her previous triumph, Lucia Becerra Perez was outstanding scoring 32 points, passing 8 assists and adding 8 rebounds and her parents who travelled from Tenerife for the occasion were not left disappointed.
A special mention must go to Wallace High’s Helen Walker, who despite a school skiing trip will still get her deserved medal as a vital player in the SWL project.
Knights Girls’ Head Coach Dave Evans said “ We could not be more proud of what the girls have achieved. In only two seasons we have managed to win four trophies now and the experience has certainly been of great benefit to the girls and to Stirling Knights. We hope to finish the season strongly now and then look to the future of female basketball in Stirling”
With the Under 18 and Under 16 boys still very much in the promotion playoff race in National League Division 2 and the Under 14 boys and girls through to the Quarter Finals of their Scottish Cups’ things are certainly looking strong for the Stirling club as they continue to progress in what is only their fourth season in youth basketball. Knights Club Chief Pete Duncan said “The girls have performed really well and we are very proud of their progress. Although they are part of the joint team we hope this will serve them well for the future in Stirling. Our youth set up, School of Basketball at Wallace High and the Primary League continue to bear fruit and along with the hard work of coaches and parents we are certainly aiming to add a few more success stories to this season”.
U14 Boys – Aberdeen Sports Village
The format for the Tournament was straight forward. Winners of each group face each other in the final.
After making the long, early morning journey to Aberdeen the Knights started their first well just after 10:00am versus a buoyant Glasgow Rocks team. The Knights withheld against some early pressure and got into any early first quarter lead which was maintained throughout the match. The knight eventually running out comfortable 41-32 winners. Game 2 v Alford was a tighter affair and some goof offensive play from both teams had the game evenly matched throughout. Slack defence in the 3rd Qtr allowed Alford to pull into a lead of 5 points which had the large Knights crowd that had made the journey slightly worried. Good play by Scotland u13 Lewis McGlasson along with a big 3 pt shot got the Knights back in front at the key time in the 4th and the Knights eventually saw the game our 38–34 winners. The final game in the group phase was a less stressful affair with a relatively straight forward win of 46-22 over Perth Phoenix. The three wins put the Knights in the Gold/Medal game however their opponents were still to be decided.
Earlier games in Group A saw St Mirren beat Fury by 5pts, Fury beat Bears by 16pts and with all three of these teams beating Menziehill would mean that St Mirren would need to beat Highland Bears to progress to the final. Failure to do so would place Falkirk in the Final game, a repeat of the East and Central RDL Final. In a very tense game the St Mirren team just came up short losing by 6pts and put the top two teams in the Central Region face to face again for the fifth time this season. The head to Head over 2014 between the two clubs was 2/2 so we all knew this would be close match up.
The early stages of the game were typically tense of a final between the two clubs with some early chances squandered. It looked clear that the tougher Group games earlier in the day had maybe sparked more intensity into the Fury boys than Knights. That said the Knight boys were playing good Basketball and after being down by 10 after Qtr1 the Knights rallied a little getting it back to 8 at HT. The fight back was sadly all too much in the end for the Knights’ and a heavy loss in the 3rd Qtr saw the Fury Team move on to claim their third title of the season.
The young Knights boys were upbeat however disappointed at losing to their local rivals for the third time this season but more importantly in Finals but can still claim the accolade of second best u14 Boys Basketball Team in Scotland.
On Sunday, it was the turn of the Stirling girls’ team playing for SWL the club’s joint venture with West Lothian. The girls cruised through their group games making the final against a strong Paisley squad. With SWL being U14 Scottish Cup and Regional League Champions the game was closely fought with Paisley running out eventual winners. Great play and team spirit again from the Knights girls Ruth Allison, Helen Walker, Nina Wills, Chloe Dunshire, Marta Weyer Evie Gallagher and Mollie Wiliams who make up the majority of the very successful SWL U14 team who are Scottish Cup Champions, Scottish RDL Champions and now National Tournament runners up.
New Club President as Knights fly the flag for Team Scotland
Kieron Achara, the Stirling native who is the Great Briatin Basketball Olympian and Captian, has joined the Stirling Knights Club Committee as Honorary Club President. Kieron will continue to advise on strategic planning and other club structures. Stirling's favourite sporting son said "Everytime I come back to Stirling I am blown away by the Knights development as a club and with the individual player progress that I can clearly see. I am delighted that my home town is now producing some really good basketball talent along with hundreds of primary kids all buzzing and playing basketball."
The Knights are also once again pleased to announce that the development of their young players is growing stronger each year with another TWELVE players and four coaches selected to represent Scotland. The Players range from u11 to Senior Men with no less than 10 of the 12 players being u15. With the club coming to the end of only its third year of youth development, these selections show the great work being done by all at the club.
The players selected are as follows:
U11 Girls – Emma Dunsire – U11 DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
U11 Boys – Max Flett - U11 DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Both the above players were selected to take part in three Scotland training sessions for 20 boys and girls to further develop their game.
U12 Girls – Freya Walker – TIM PIRINEUS ’14, ANDORRA
U12 Boys – Rory Bell – TIM PIRINEUS ’14, ANDORRA
U12 Boys – Callum McGlasson – TIM PIRINEUS ’14, ANDORRA
The u12 Boys and Girls travelled to compete in the TIM Pirineus Basketball Tournament in Andorra for the second year in succession. Having finished second last year the Boys went one step further and won the tournament earlier in May. Callum on the back of his achievements has since been selected to represent Basketball Scotland in their forthcoming Club Skills Guide launch campaign.
U13 Boys – Lewis McGlasson – GOTEBORG BASKETBALL FESTIVAL, SWEDEN
Lewis will travel to Gothenburg in late May to compete in the Goteborg Basketball Festival, 29th May – 1st June, 2014. Gothenborg, Sweden.. This is the largest Youth Basketball Tournament of its kind in the world with over 7000 participants from around the world.
U14 Boys – Shaun Craig & Mitchell Earley – FIBA SUMMER SLAM, STIRLING SCOTLAND
U14 Boys – Head Coach Jack Burgess
U14 Girls – Ruth Allison – FIBA SUMMER SLAM, STIRLING SCOTLAND
U14 Girls – Head Coach Dave Evans
Both the boys will compete for the u14 Scotland Scotland team at Summer Slam in June. The event takes place in Stirling at the Peak Sports Village. Shaun commented “I’m so proud to represent my country and it makes even it more special that the tournament takes place in my hometown”. With U14 Boys Coach Jack Burgess also the Scotland u14 Boys National Head Coach, both boys should feel right at home.
Ruth has been no stranger to success this season. Having already picked up the Schools Scottish Cup Championship with Wallace High S2’s, the U14 Girls Scottish Cup Championship as well as MVP and also the U16 Play off Championship with her Club Stirling Knights in conjunction with West Lothian Basketball Club, Ruth has also been selected to represent the u14 Girls at The Summer Slam Tournament in Stirling as well as the u16 Girls National Team whom travel to Malta at the end of June to compete in the European Championships.
U15 Girls – Katie Young – GOTEBORG BASKETBALL FESTIVAL, SWEDEN
Katie was selected as part of the 18 Girls squad to compete in the Goteborg Basketball Festival, 29th May – 1st June, 2014. Gothenborg, Sweden.
U16 Girls – Ruth Allison U16 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN DIV. C
U16 Girls Assistant Coach – Dave Evans
Senior Men National Squad – Matthew Dick & Jack Burgess - FIBA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP of Small countries, GIBRALTAR
Scotland SENIOR Men - Assitant Coach Pete Duncan, Team Manager Colin Lynch
Matthew and Jack were part of the 20 man Squad training ahead of the Men’s FIBA European Championships in Gibraltar in July. Pete and Colin have been part of the Senior Men’s Coaching Team since last Summer and will look to gain valuable International coaching experience to bring back to the Knights.Only a few weeks after winning the Regional Development League with an impressive 17 game unbeaten season, the Stirling Knights Under 12 Boys Basketball Team were very upbeat going into the Basketball Scotland U12 National Tournament last weekend in Paisley.
With a strong team which boasts five young Scotland squad members, the young Knights faced their biggest challenge of the season having been placed in a group with fellow youth development specialists Paisley along with West Lothian, who the Stirling boys had comfortably beaten in the league this season already. In a pulsating match, Paisley took the initiative and performed well to lead the game by five points with only one quarter remaining. In the final period, the Knights knuckled down and
An easy win against Highland 32-9 followed by a nervy victory 21-20 over Grampian saw the Knights face local rivals Falkirk Fury in their last game. With three easy wins over Falkirk already this season, the Knights were not going to let the occasion get to them and finished the Tournament with a strong performance winning 36-19 against a much improved Falkirk side, to claim the Gold and the title of U12 National Champions. Scotland and Stirling Captain Lewis McGlasson was named to the all star five and lifted the trophy inside a packed Lagoon Leisure Centre and the Knights contingent applauded their boys who finished their season with an impeccable 22 game unbeaten run.
The U12 Lady Knights followed the next day and performed very well for such a young and inexperienced side.Stirling Knights Basketball Club are celebrating the call up of twelve of their players to the various Scotland National Teams for this Summer’s International program, a tremendous achievement for the club who are approaching the end of their third season, the second in youth development. The players will represent Scotland at tournaments in Luxembourg, Andorra, Sweden, Spain and England.
Also pictured are the club’s National Team Coaches; Dave Evans, Jack Burgess and Pete Duncan.
The successful players (pictured) are: Matthew Dick, Daniel Donnelly (Senior Men), Michael Walker (U15), Ruth Allison (U14), Shaun Craig (U13), Chloe Dunshire, Katrina Kirsop, Lewis McGlasson, Ruari Doherty, Alex Jamieson, Nathan Cuthbert (U12) and Callum McGlasson (U11).
In on court action, 20 points from retiring Captain Mark Duncan wasn’t enough for the senior men to keep a low deficit against an Edinburgh Kings side determined to add the Playoff crown to their Scottish Cup success. Big man Matthew Dick added 10 points and 12 rebounds but too many turnovers and poor execution resulted in the Kings taking a 87-53 lead into the second game this weekend.
The Knights Under 16 Men scored huge wins in the National League Division 2 defeating the St Mirren and Tayside ‘B’ Teams 92-38 and 110-42. The Knights head into the final weekend of action tied for second spot and the chance for a playoff to Division 1.