Hey,

Preparing for another weekend in Manchester (looking forward to the day every single finals event is not in Manchester!) for Junior Final Fours - give me a shout if you're there.

This week's 3-pointer:

🏆 NBL Senior Finals in Manchester

I was in Manchester at the weekend for the Senior Finals - feels like I'm living up there at this time of the year - as Hemel defended their Division 1 Men's title, CoLA took the Division 1 Women's crown (with Head Coach Jackson Gibbons announcing he is stepping back next season), Milton Keynes continued their rivalry with Solent to win the Division 2 title and complete the season, Sheffield Hatters II took D2 - with a bunch of legends announcing they are retiring, while Essex Rebels II won their first piece of silverware in NBL D3. It was another disappointing turnout all weekend - Hemel Storm Head Coach Mark Clark made some comments post-game that have been echoed by a few; and are the kind have comments that have prompted the next point...

🏀 Another Playoff Finals push (ad)

Opening week of the playoffs is done, and so the British Basketball League Playoff Finals are just a couple of weeks away - don't miss out on the Finals at the O2 Arena on May 19th - get your tickets now by clicking here!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Basketball England begin region tours

Was in South London last night for the second of ten meet ups (one for each region) the governing body is doing with its members - both in person and online. I came away from it pretty impressed - sounded like there are some serious internal changes underway, with an overhaul of the membership system (a new benefits system was announced yday), a greater focus on regions and growing local league basketball, along with full accountability and an apology for the poor service a lot of its members has received in recent years. Refreshing...now we just need the execution to back up the words.

That wraps up another drop, as always, hit reply with any thoughts, questions or anything else!

With gratitude,

Sam

P.S. You got your tickets for the All-Star Classic yet?! We're approaching 50% capacity for the Palace - get yours now and join us for the 10th anniversary!