After months spent searching for the right candidate to lead our U-16 Girls’ team, our patience has finally paid off with the appointment of Melita, a well-respected figure within GB Basketball. 

Melita’s vast experience on the international stage includes playing professionally in Spain and Belgium, representing GB at EuroBasket, and winning silver medal at the Commonwealth Games!

Melita also played for 4 years at NCAA Div. 1 team University of Illinois’ Chicago Flames, where she averaged nearly 10 points per game.

London based Melita recently launched her coaching pathway, fulfilling a long-held ambition to share her knowledge and experience with a new generation of players.

 Melita said: “I’m super excited to start my new basketball journey with London Elite. When I became a pro’ I made a promise to myself to support, educate, and inspire the younger generation, especially in the West and North-West London area, where there is a lack of programmes for girls. These girls have what it takes to be champions, and I hope to carry them to their first chip!”

Melita will take over the Head Coach role with our talented U16 team for the upcoming season, a fantastic addition to our coaching board!

GM Daniel Szatkowski said: “Having seen a rapid rise in numbers and quality of girls’ basketball at Elite, we were waiting for the right person to guide, inspire and lead our project. In Melita, I am certain that we’ve found the very best – she is a role model for all London basketball players, and I can’t wait to see fruits of her work. London Elite is truly blessed to have Melita onboard!”

We are delighted to announce that London Elite Basketball club have entered into a partnership with UCFB and its Global Institute of Sport (GIS), based at the iconic Wembley Stadium. UCFB IS a world-first in higher education, with pioneering degrees in sports industry.

From coaching to marketing, and finance to esports, they offer a range of specifically tailored programmes to kick off your career in the multi-billion pound sector. GIS, the Master’s arm of UCFB, utilises a global network of industry leaders to provide unparalleled postgraduate programmes in sport. James McKeown, GIS’ Chief Operating Officer, commented: “We’re so excited to announce the UCFB Wembley and London Elite Basketball academy today. It’s a momentous occasion for UCFB to partner up with such an elite basketball programme from here in Brent, creating a pathway for future professional basketballers to come and study their degree with us here at UCFB and Wembley, and train like a pro at the same time.

“This marks our next step in the growth of our elite sports strategy. We’re excited to add to our existing football academies for men and women at UCFB, and hope to see many of our graduates playing sport as well as working in sport in the years to come.” McKeown continues

The partnership will incorporate the launch of UCFB’s very own Basketball Academy, designed for aspiring professionals to continue training and competing at an elite level, alongside gaining a degree in sport, with a particular focus on industry experience and employability. As one of the most dynamically growing basketball clubs in London, we will be providing expertise in coaching for all those involved with the academy. Students at UCFB will be apriority within our teams and will have access to a range of support from our club. Having a partnership in the educational pathway will help us to continue to grow and expand our club.

Our General Manager, Daniel Szatkowski, said: “To have a partner of this quality is the best possible news for our club; GIS is one of the leading sports academic institutions in the world. We are committed to building the highest standard basketball programme in the UK and I am more than confident we will achieve this. Provision of U12 EYBL, Div. 2 and 3, BUCS is definitely what serious players need. I can’t wait to see students benefit from this great partnership. The future is truly bright.”

Should you have an interest in this exciting project, please fill in form HERE or contact coach Daniel on 07453314867 or email [email protected]

2020 compared with 2021

2020 was not an easy year at all. Therefore we had a lot of doubt what 2021 would bring ahead. National league had been cancelled, with the view there were not a lot of basketball tournament & leagues options for our players left future was a little gloomy. Indoor sessions cancelled, small group sessions only allowed and list went on … Those were the times we were not much used to ,both the players and the couches. We tried different approach as our vision is that London Elite is to push for opportunities in difficult times , to keep encouraging, build teams with respect to current regulations. We have created a short summary of 2021 below, which proves this point . The achievements our teams and players accomplished regardless the obstacles, difficulties and general overall surrounding pessimistic approach gave us an anchor thought that if you really want you can achieve so much more!

U18 Sweep Squad

With cancellation of 20/21 season, we were fortunate to have 2 summer leagues at highest level of junior basketball in UK. Revolution Basketball league and Community Basketball League provided so much experience and exposure, our boys quickly forgot on what was lost due to lockdown. With both leagues being formed by some top junior programs in UK we always knew it will be a tough task to claim both titles. However things are always easier when squad is formed from really talented players and coaches.

In RBL league our boys faced Baltic Stars in final, which proved a really tough test for our team. Despite being down 14 in 4th quarter, our squad led by A.Wildish and A.Atakpu ( final MVP) sealed amazing come back to claim final game 84-77 becoming first RBL champion in U18 age group.

Shortly after claiming first title our boys booked their Final of CBL with hard fought win over Southwark Legends in semi final. It was a challenging task in final as our squad went against one of most titled clubs in London, Brixton Topcats. Having won a RBL title already, there was no stopping for our boys. They left no chance for team from south London and claimed 2nd Summer league final. Having won biggest community league was a cheery on ice for our boys!

Not long since securing Summer Leagues titles, our club focus was directed at next event of high calibre. We proudly organised a first ever Summer Showcase for u12 boys age group. 3 days event was taking place at our home Capital City Academy and we could enjoy packed schedule which saw teams of like Manchester Magic, Chiswick Gators or Brentwood Fire compete to define first champion. After thrilling final our young squad led by K.Birsen won in final by only 1 point against talented and athletic Chiswick Gators team.

American dream.

Successful campaign of our U18 could not go unnoticed. Multiple of our players have received their full sports scholarships and decided to head across the pond to continue their career there. This was just another testimony of quality of campaign we had pleasure to witness

• O.Beckford landed scholarship from Keystone Academy Kings
• S.Ovia went Phelps School
• A.Atakpu continues his journey at Elevation Prep
• A.Pyne is at Panthers Hoops
• A.Wildish went to world famous Prolific Prep.

With only week rest , the team started for first ever National League campaign. We have entered multiple teams from youngest U12’s to Men’s division 3. Senior Elite team signed for legendary coach Sam Stiller , which showed what plans club have for their men’s section. First half of the season saw our team going 5-0 and reach last 16 of National Cup.

With senior team doing so well, our junior section did not have any other plans then follow their footsteps. We currently sit on top of the table for U18, U16 and u14 teams while our U12 are joining two other teams with same record in their league. Great performances across the board are not surprise. Hard work players and coaches are putting into our club.

EYBL is back!

European Youth Basketball League was something we deeply missed in last two years. we could not be happier to welcome news of its return for coming season 21/22. Our two squads compete in Central Region of this prestigious league. Our U16 started their campaign with 2-2 record during first stage in Debrecen, Hungary while U17 had slow start 1-3 at their stage in Sopron, Hungary. It is amazing to be back at travelling across Europe to face tough European competition.

With such a successful 2021 we are more then confident that 2022 will be even better! Lots of exciting news on the way!

1st trip in book. Memories made.

While there is still lots of uncertainty around in terms of international travel, we have succeeded in safely travelling to EYBL U16 tournament in Debrecen, Hungary. Not only we travelled but we competed and proved that UK teams can be a threat top European competition. Our brave squad split record with 2 wins and 2 losses, however most important was a progression over period of this tournament. Our team showed not only we are athletic unit, but we can adapt to different styles of basketball.

Our boys started tournament with clash against Romanian Sibiu Basketball club. Our team established 15 point lead half way through 3rd quarter, however fatigue from travel across continent took its tall and Romanians were able to cut our lead to only 2 points with 1 mins left. Strong resilience from our boys helped them hold their nerves and secured first international win 64-62 in their European campaign.

On day 2 we faced Macedonian team Vodno Suns Skopje . Balkan team provided our team much of difficult test. Combination of different defensive system, good shooting performance. There was lots to reply for our boys. But led by Connor James (31 points, 10 rebound), Reale Basquine (23 points, 16 rebounds) and Noa Istrefi (20 points, 8 rebounds) our U16 team prevailed and secured 2nd win of tournament!

3rd day saw our teams facing Hungarians teams of Atemeromu Paks and hosting Debreceni Academy. Our boys left all they had however cam short on both occasions. We finished our first tournament with 2 wins and 2 losses.

Head Coach Mauro DiNunzio said: “EYBL trip was a great experience for our team. Boys competed with their heart each game they play. Improvement throughout tournament was just unreal. This trip helped us create amazing bond between player and helped us realised how good we can play. This was really win win situation for our squad “

We cannot miss fact of outstanding performances by Connor James and Reale Basquine. Connor was most efficient player among all teams competing in Hungary (eff 25.50) while Real was crowned best rebounder of tournament (14.50 rebound per game)

Our team made everyone proud at our club and we are very confident that this is just a beginning for our young side. Amazing progress made under coach Mauro was visible for anyone following progress of our team at EYBL stage. Boys now head back to National League and CBL competitions and will prepare for stage 2 which takes place in Trsteniki, Serbia 20-23 January 2022.

Long wait is over. This could not get any better.

We are happy to announce that our U16’s squad under coach Mauro DiNunzio is flying out to Debrecen, Hungary to take part in EYBL U16 Central Europe. News like this is a massive relieve for our club knowing what difficult times we are going through.

Our boys and coaches have negatively tested for Covid and are on the way to one of most prestigious tournaments in European basketball.

Our U16 team has started season with undefeated record 4-0 in National league and boys are now have their eyes on EYBL which takes place between 4th-7th November.

Head Coach Mauro said:” This trip is a great stepping stone for the team and club. It gives us a chance to compete against best teams in Europe. It can be a challenging however, this experience can definitely boost team and players confidence and help boys develop their game. Myself and players are very excited for this opportunity!

Our boys will start tournament with clash against CBU SIBIU coming from Romania on Thursday night. Following day our club will square up against Macedonian Vodno Skopje.

Saturday will see our team playing twice. 1pm vs Atomeromu Paks followed by 7pm tip against Debrecen Academy.

This is an outstanding opportunity for our squad to gain unreplaceable experience at that high level.

All games will be livestreamed on YouTube and we will keep you posted with links on our social media. Look out this space!

We are thrilled to announce that we have secured service of most experience and title coaches in history of UK basketball. Coach Sam Stiller will be in charge of our men’s team competing in division 3.

Coach Stiller had a pro career that spanned over two decades both domestically and in Israel, whilst also representing England and Great Britain internationally. During his playing career in UK with Cadburys Boost Kingston he had a chance to compete against powerhouses like Barcelona, Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow or Maccabi Tel-Aviv. He is known as one of greatest shooters that UK ever produced.

After retiring from playing eventually got into coaching, where he helped take NASSA from Division 4 to Division 1 from 2010-2013, whilst picking up three consecutive Coach of the Year Awards, and then picking up another one in 2016-17 with London Westside. Coach Stiller has since moved to Israel where he worked at HAPOEL Nesher.

Summer 2021 saw Sam return to UK and we are truly fortunate to secure services of such an experience coach to help us build our Men’s side of program. Coach Daniel is stepping down from Head coach ta men’s to help our community side which has been growing in numbers. This is what GM Daniel Szatkowski had to say:” Our club has grown to really big numbers with over 200 players registered. There is big number of new projects we are working on and therefore i have less and less time to coach. When i heard about an opportunity to employ Sam it was no brainer to me. His vision, passion and experience is what our club needs right now. I am really happy to welcome Sam to our London Elite family”

Our Men’s team is currently 4-0 across competitions and have progress to last 16 in National Cup with confident win against Division 2 London Westside 84-56.

Coach Stiller said:” I know despite being young club it has already a great structure, support and philosophy. From developing great youngster all the way up to have a great potential with men’s team. I can see great opportunity for me to help club grow to another level. Our short goal is to make promotion to division 2 and in few years time make it to BBL.”

“We have currently very talented and experience team and it is time for Elite to shine!”

You can see Coach Sam in action at next Men’s game which will take place Saturday 30th October vs Surrey Rams. 6pm tip at Capital City Academy. exciting times ahead!