The Welsh U17 basketball team have completed a number of international friendly games against the Welsh U18 and Ireland U17 squads as preparation for their forthcoming trip to Ireland.

 

Wales will play the Irish U15s in a three-game series before staying on to take part in a five-day basketball camp at Gormanston College just outside Dublin.

 

In their first game on Saturday they played against a more experienced Irish team and although they battled hard they lost the game, 70-98.

 

For their second game of the weekend the U17s played the Welsh U18s, who had themselves lost to Ireland both the previous day and again on Sunday morning.

 

It was certainly an entertaining game for the U17s with the U18s going into an early lead. The younger, less experienced team battled hard throughout and eventually played themselves back into the game, taking a narrow lead with just three minutes left on the clock.

 

However, the more experienced 18’s dug deep and increased the pressure on the younger side, eventually coming out winners, 71-62.

 

Coach Tom Stansfield, who has previously played and coached in France and is the current assistant U18 coach at Manchester Magic, said that although the game was a tough loss, he was extremely proud of his players and the development they have shown over the weekend.

 

The U17s travel to Surrey in two weeks’ time for what will be their final warm-up games before they travel to Ireland the following week. They are likely to face very strong teams from both Surrey and Kent, but it is hoped that all the preparation will pay dividends when they travel to Ireland.