Last weekend, 15 MK Breakers Junior players and 2 coaches embarked on the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester to represent the South of England in the Aspire All-Star National Tournament.
The All-Star Tournament brings together Basketball England’s four Super Regions, North, South, Central and London, featuring U13 Boys, U13 Girls, U15 Boys and U15 Girls competitions.
The Breakers had great representation, with coaches Bjorn Westman (U13 Girls South) and Mitchell Timmins (U15 Boys South) selected as assistant coaches. The 15 MK Breakers Junior players made up almost a third of the 48 players selected for the South Region across the 4 teams.
The South Region enjoyed a hugely successful weekend, winning the U13 Boys, U13 Girls and U15 Girls competitions, with Breakers juniors Larry Homawoo and Aleks Liddell-Mickovski selected as MVP’s for the U13 Boys & Girls competitions respectively. It is the second consecutive year where Breakers juniors have been selected as MVP for both the U13 Boys & Girls competition, with Emmanuel Onwuneme and Luna Etienne claiming the honours on 2023.
U13 Girls
Breakers players Aleks Liddell-Mickovski, Holly Smith-White, Kelly Munyaviri, Lois Levenston and Lulu Keates-Swankie were in action for the U13 Girls who dominated the competition, winning all 3 of their group games before defeating the North 74-43 in the final.
Aleks Liddell-Mickovski led the scoring for the South in the final, contributing 14 points on her way to being named tournament MVP. Kelly Munyaviri who captained the team added 12 points in the final and was named to the Tournament All-Star 5. Holly Smith-White was the third Breakers player to reach double figures with 11 points.
U13 Boys
Caiden Dyer, Crispy Harmon, Kash Nesi-Lawani & Larry Homawoo were selected for the South U13 Boys team. Similarly to the U13 Girls, the South U13 Boys won all 3 of their group games before fighting back from 17 points down in the final to defeat London 72-67.
Breakers Larry Homawoo, who was also selected as team captain, led the fight back for the south with 20 points and 10 rebounds, earning tournament MVP honours. Caiden Dyer added 14 points in the final.
U15 Girls
Breakers players Alessia Dinu, Chantelle Okoli, Lili Liddell-Mickovski and Luna Etienne were in action for the U15 Girls who were also crowned champions, defeating the North 61-60 in the most exciting game of the weekend.
Chantelle Okoli was names to the All-Star 5 after several impressive scoring displays.
U15 Boys
Emmanuel Onwuneme and and Samuel Muleba were in action for the South U15 Boys. The team struggled in the group stages, losing all 3 games before bouncing back to defeat Central 82-75 on the final day to finish third.
Samuel Muleba was names to the All-Star 5.
Photo Credit: Basketball England
