London Greenhouse Pioneers Claim Title – U14 Junior Final Fours Recap

By Sam Neter on May 2, 2016

Mansoor Ahmed/Ahmedphotos

London Greenhouse Pioneers won the Under-14 National Championship with a 77-57 win over London Lewisham Thunder on Sunday at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester.

Daijaun Antonio impressed with 27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks on 11/16 shooting on his way to MVP honours, as Greenhouse got hold of the contest three minutes in and led the rest of the way.

Luca Allick-Smith had 9 points and 12 rebounds for Greenhouse, who saw every player get at least 8 minutes.

“It has been a very good season for all the kids, we faced challenges and we worked together to find solutions,” Pioneers Head Coach Lucio Semedo said.

“I was blessed to have a group of talented, hardworking and committed young men. Credit definitely has to be given to supportive parents, Greenhouse Sports, the Pioneers basketball club and both my assistant coaches David Cavaca & Davide Caschili. They were all key to the success of our season.

“The boys fully committed and believed in the Pioneers style of play, consistently demonstrating this throughout the season. It feels great to have won it all, the boys have earned every win, through practicing and preparation.

“It has been a joy to see a bunch of individuals become a team, sharing the common goal with focus on process, listening, sharing and learning. I’m so proud and happy for the team and looking forward to a new journey!”

Malachi Boakye Yiadom led Thunder with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Saul Iwowo added 14 points.

Box score.

Semi Final 1
London Lewisham Thunder vs Mansfield Giants
London Lewisham Thunder got past Mansfield Giants with a tight 61-60 win.

The game was back and forth throughout which did nothing but amp up the passionate supporters that filled the Amaechi Centre. In the end it was the London side that won out, leaving the Giants to wonder what might have been.

Semi Final 2
London Greenhouse Pioneers vs Manchester Giants
London Greenhouse Pioneers made it an all London final on Sunday with a dominant 94-50 win over Manchester Giants.

The Giants were already up against it as one of their players went down with a serious knee injury during warm ups that delayed proceedings at the Amaechi Centre, and once the ball was thrown up Greenhouse proved too strong.

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix