Last weekend, no fewer than 15 MK Breakers Junior players travelled to the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester to take part in the Aspire All-Star Tournament.
The competition brings together Basketball England’s four Super Regions (North, South, Central and London) with each sending a team to represent them at U13 Boys, U13 Girls, U15 Boys and U15 Girls levels.
The Breakers – with 15 of the South Region’s 48 players – had the largest presence of any club, with Mitchell Timmins (South U13 Boys Head Coach) and Luke Smith (Central U13 Boys Assistant Coach) adding to that total.
Here’s how the action unfolded in Manchester.
U13 Girls
Mia Wilson and Sara Ryan were the Breakers players on the South U13 girls, the team recorded wins over London (51-39), Central (67-50) and North (56-55) to reach the final.
However, they were unable to repeat their victory over London in the final, falling behind early to eventually lose 67-61. Mia Wilson had a strong showing all tournament, leading the South team in scoring, including a 20-point, 9-rebound performance in the final.
U13 Boys
Guided by Coach Mitchell, the boys showed steady improvement throughout the weekend with Breakers players Diaras Bartninkas, Ed Davies, Mylo Gould, Henry Ives and Kash Nesi-Lawani all contributing.
A 30-point loss to London on Friday appeared to spark the South team into a positive reaction, bouncing back with impressive wins over North and Central to earn their spot in the final.
While victory eluded them on Sunday, an impressive performance from Kash (20 points, three rebounds and four assists) saw him named to the tournament’s All-Star Five.
U15 Girls
A strong contingent of Breakers made up this South team as Abi Ajayi, Alessia Dinu, Luna Etienne, Lulu Keates-Swankie, Aleks Liddell Mickovski and Holly Smith-White were included in the 12-person roster.
They had comfortable wins over North and London but surprisingly lost to Central, yet went on to dominate the final. Running out 88-59 winners over North, Breakers’ own Holly Smith White scored 15 and grabbed six boards, while. Luna Etienne recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Holly was named to the All-Star Five as the team celebrated with a well-earned trophy.
U15 Boys
Winning all three games on Friday and Saturday, the U15 Boys should’ve been full of confidence for the final, but found themselves overwhelmed by an impressive performance from London.
Nathan Muleba and Jermain Tuffour still had much to be proud of, but – just like every player taking part – will have learned much from the valuable experience.
