Young Hawks help South East sides to national glory up in Sheffield

Hundreds of supporters travelled to Sheffield to watch the finest U11 basketball players from across England compete for the national title.

The U11 South East England Girls, featuring Hawks Amy and Charlotte Willcox, won all four of their games, including an incredible come back against the East of England. South East turned around a 19-point deficit to take the lead in the final minute, eventually going on to win by five points.

The final game saw the South East Girls put in a dominant display to beat the West Midlands 42-27 and secure the U11 national title in style.

The reigning National Champion U11 South East England Boys took two teams to the tournament this year. The South East England Development Squad featured four Hawks: Josh Lea-Clayton, Josh Tavolieri, Antonio Lozzi and Miguel Venturini.

The Development Team started the tournament with two very tough match ups against eventual finalists East of England and Pool B winners London. Despite losses in these two very physical games the squad showed tremendous character to bounce back with hard-earned victories over South West England (38-31) and Yorkshire (60-22) to win Pool C.

The Pool A final saw the U11 South East Girls and Development Squad cheering on their team mates from South East England A. A nail bitter against the East of England finished with an incredible 48-47 victory for the South East in overtime as they secured a second straight national title.