Newham All Star Sports Academy (NASSA) landed a national double as both their under-16 boys and D3 National League men’s teams were crowned champions at the weekend.
Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and Joe Muvezolo scored 51 points between them to help the under-16s on their way to the top honour, while Jeff Danchie (23) and William Ashby (16) were top scorers for the D3 team.
Great day
On the double success, NASSA director Natasha Hart said: “This is a great day for NASSA and the success is a testament to the hard work from our coaches and our players.
“All of the teams have worked really hard and we are very proud of the results.
“It shows NASSA is still at the top of our game and that we have a lot more to offer in the future.”
The under-16s went up against Birmingham A’s in their final at the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester for the Sureshot Basketball Shield final in what proved a close encounter.
The game continued to be tight during the second quarter but NASSA turned up the heat scoring two well-placed three pointers courtesy of Myles Laurent-Smart and Lautier-Ogunleye.
Further baskets from Muvezolo and Michael Ebose helped them stay ahead and NASSA went on to clinch the title with a 73-61 win, after further scoring from Kavell Bigby-Williams, Muvezolo, Lautier-Ogunleye and Laurent-Smart in the third and fourth quarters.
NASSA Neptune’s D3 National League Men continued the run of success for the Newham boys as they won the Sureshot Men’s National Shield against Loughborough Students Riders.
The men fought a close point-for-point game against the Riders, despite a slow start, as Tigan Mohammed, Anthony Okereafor and Danchie managed to get them on the scoreboard early on.
They ended the first quarter trailing but by the end of the second quarter they had pulled back, thanks to solid baskets from Ashby, Perry Lawson and Ladi Brown.
And NASSA demonstrated they were up to the challenge by scoring a number of three throws, closing the gap even more.
The third and fourth quarter saw NASSA determined to maintain their lead despite a strong challenge from the Riders.
Good baskets from Bruno Klavins, Ashby, Chuckwuemaka Obanye and Danchie eventually gave them a well- deserved 73-69 win.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here