basketballscotland’s Wheelchair National Academy claimed victory at the recent Leuven Bears International Youth Tournament, held in Blankenberge, Belgium from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th October.
The tournament saw a squad of 10 players from across Scotland compete against other youth players from Belgium and Germany, looking to build on the success achieved at this summer’s National Junior Championships held in Worcester. The tournament was seen as a great opportunity for the young Scots, basketballscotland’s Tina Gordon highlighting ‘the tournament will not only greatly enhance players on court basketball skills by playing against players from Belgium and Germany, but also personal development and teamwork’.
The competition was aimed at players under 17 and included youngsters from Lothian Phoenix, Dundee Dragons, Glasgow Rollin Rocks and Grampian Flyers.
Scotland moved through the first day of competition unscathed claiming victories against Belgium’s BC Ostende (70 – 18) and Leuven Bears (58 – 21) with some impressive individual performances including an incredible 28 points for Lothian Phoenix player Logan Kidd (versus BC Ostende). The victory over Leuven Bears was a tremendous result considering the young Belgians had won their own National Cup back in May.
Day saw two matches against German opposition in the form of BG Baskets Hamburg, with both head to heads proving very close indeed. The first game saw the Scottish Wheelchair National Academy edge a close encounter 34 v 30 with Captain Ben Leitch recording a game high 19 points. Later that day saw the top two teams from the group stage face off – the young Scots to take on the young Germans for a second time. However, the outcome was to remain the same as the Scottish side claimed a 48 v 44 victory to finish the competition as winners.
Competition Results
Final
Scottish Wheelchair National Academy 48 v 44 BG Baskets Hamburg (Germany)
Pool Matches
Scottish Wheelchair National Academy 34 v BG Baskets Hamburg (Germany)
Scottish Wheelchair National Academy 70 v 18 BC Ostende (Belgium)
Scottish Wheelchair National Academy 58 v 21 Leuven Bears (Belgium) – tournament hosts and winners of a recent
Squad List
| Name | Club | Classification |
| Ben Leitch | Glasgow Rollin Rocks | 4.5 |
| Cameron Watson | Lothian Phoenix | 4.5 |
| Logan Kidd | Lothian Phoenix | 4.0 |
| Ronnie Cassels | Glasgow Rollin Rocks | 3.0 |
| Blair Marshall | Dundee Dragons | 3.0 |
| Jack Caird | Grampian Flyers | 3.0 |
| Jason Gillies | Lothian Phoenix | 2.5 |
| Daniel McLaughlin | Lothian Phoenix | 2.5 |
| David McLaughlin | Lothian Phoenix | 1.0 |
| Rhys Colliar | Dundee Dragons | 1.0 |
| Jen Scally | Head Coach | |