Over the weekend of the 24th and 25th August Team NI under 17 men will be in action in a two-game series against their counterparts from Wales. The fixtures will take place at University of Ulster, Jordanstown with tip off’s at 15.15 on Saturday and 13.00 on Sunday. Head Coach Paul McCotter and Assistant Rolandas Bartkus have picked the following players.
| First Name | Surname | Club | Position |
| Eoin | Holman | Belfast Phoenix | Guard |
| Cailean | Lavery | Belfast Star | Centre |
| Lewis | McCotter | Belfast Star | Forward |
| Keelan | McEntee | Newry Flyers | Forward |
| Dan | McGrattan | Belfast Star | Guard |
| James | McKeown | Belfast Star | Centre |
| Mikey | McLoughlin | Letterkenny Blaze | Guard |
| Alex | McVicar | Blackwater Steelers | Guard |
| Paddy | Mulligan | Blackwater Steelers | Guard |
| Daire | O’Gorman | Belfast Phoenix | Forward |
| Cormac | Treanor | UU Tigers | Forward |
| Eric | Zadorozny | BC Wolves | Forward |
7 clubs are featured from the BNI leagues with Star providing 4 players, 2 each from Phoenix and Steelers and 1 each from UU Tigers. BC Wolves, Flyers and Blaze. This represents a great opportunity for the players to test themselves in the international arena.
Head coach McCotter stated, “As we gear up for the two games against Wales, I want to take a moment to appreciate the effort everyone put in over the summer. The lads have all shown great commitment, and it’s exciting to see that hard work come together. Let’s keep it simple, play our game, and enjoy the opportunity to test ourselves in this series. Looking forward to seeing what we can do against Wales.”
Rolandas Bartkus, assistant coach added, ‘’Great to see the Team NI programme making a huge impact on the whole basketball community in Northern Ireland, building pathways to higher levels of basketball for our young players and letting them play not just local, but also international games. I wish to say thank to everyone involved that made this happen, especially to Paul McCotter who putted so much work and effort in this U-17’s boys’ team.”
Andy Gill, Performance Pathway Coordinator is happy to see another Team NI underage team pitting themselves against opposition of a higher level. “The Under 15’s had a great series against Wales, and we look forward to the challenge of the U17 Men’s team from Wales. We are really reaping the benefits of increased funding from Sport NI and giving all the chance to play with minimal financial outlay. If you are good enough you can play for Team NI. Opportunities for all build our player base and drive performance.”
Game Schedule:
Saturday Tip Off – 3:15pm at UUJ.
Sunday Tip Off – 1:00pm at UUJ.
We encourage as many of our basketball community to come out and support the boys at Jordanstown.