Watch Dan Hemingway finish a monster dunk as his EABL side Itchen College came back from the 21st edition of the Holland Nordic Basketball Tournament (HNBT) with the title under the belt, having beaten European powerhouse Sabonis Academy of Lithuania 52-66 in the final.
Itchen, an EABL Final Four team, went undefeated over the three day Easter tournament, opening the tournament with a 44-68 win over Donar, then getting a 46-30 win over Sabonis Academy in an early preview of the final, before following it up with a 56-48 win over KK Jance Ljubljana, and then 49-58 win over OKK Sloboda Tuzla leading to the final match-up with Sabonis.
“We wanted to reward our senior players with a post season international tournament,as most of them have been with us since U13’s,” Itchen Head Coach Matt Guymon said.
“When this opportunity through Basketball England came open we were very quick to accept the place. I had heard a lot of great things over the years about this prestigious tournament and knew that it was going to be a level and style of play that would push us to our limits.
“We grew stronger each game and put together fantastic performances in the semi-final & final. It was a fantastic trip that allowed our team/players to grow on & off the court also helping with our D2 Playoff preparations.”
Itchen left a lasting impression on the tournament, as the official write-up concluded (via Google Translate):
“Itchen Basketball Academy surprised all and sundry by truly acting as a team. Both offensively and defensively the English stood their ground. No egos, no strange behaviour, only extremely good game. How their zone defense was led deserves a mention (Best Defensive Player), but the fit was very well looked after. The undoubtedly deserved winner of the tournament.”
Harry Cox was named the Best Defensive Player of the Tournament.
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