Tag: #elitebasketball #londonbasketball #eybl #progress #mindset #grind #coachD #Elite

London Elite Welcomes Support of Leading Global Tech Company Datasite

London Elite, a basketball club focused on developing London’s young sporting talent, is delighted to announce its sponsorship by global technology company, Datasite, a leading SaaS provider for the M&A industry.

Datasite regularly supports initiatives that help bring about greater diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in its own business and industry. The company is a visionary sponsor of Exponent Women, an industry organization that is dedicated to giving women dealmakers access to meaningful interactions and educational content. Datasite helps educate and inspire the next generation by enabling its leaders to speak with students at institutions like NYIT in Manhattan and the AFAS in Minneapolis, about technology careers.

Merlin Piscitelli, Chief Revenue Officer for Datasite in Europe, the Middle East and Africa said:

“We at Datasite are passionate about supporting the communities where we live and work and London Elite is an excellent example of a programme that is making a difference in the lives of young adults. Sports equip young people with key skills, like leadership, collaboration, dedication, and camaraderie, that will be crucial to their future success and can open up new avenues of opportunity that might not have been previously available.”

Our Director, Daniel Szatkowski said: “We thank Datasite for its generous support, which will give our kids opportunities both on and off the court, including a chance to compete, gain confidence and skills they can use the rest of their lives. Basketball has the power to change lives and Datasite’s contributions will help our kids understand the importance of hard work and achieving goals. Sports is a great unifier, motivator, and leveler.”

to learn more about Datasite, please visit: www.datasite.com

We will regularly update you on project we run together. There will be real impact on our local community. Exciting times ahead!

WE ARE BACK.

Sixteen full months. Sixteen months of waiting. Probably longest and most difficult time for our club. However the wait is over. We are excited to confirm that in season 2021/22 we will be participating in 3 different age groups of European Youth Basketball League. Our club has entered boys teams into U16, U17 and U20 age groups. EYBL CE has been expanding internationally, providing a good level of competition and great experiences across 21 countries, 100+ teams, with 26 stages annually.

EYBL CE Director Balazs Radics said:” We are happy to welcome London Elite in the European Youth Basketball League again, after working together with Daniel Szatkowski for many years we are looking forward to have his Club competing for EYBL in 2021/22 season.”

Our teams will play in minimum of 2 stages with possibility of 3rd stage of play offs for top 5 teams. In previous years boys came close to play offs stage. This time our squads head into competition after solid period of preparation which allows us believe we will be very competitive on this level. First stage is set to take place in period September 21′- December 21′ with 2nd stage taking place January 22′-February 22′.

Our General Manager Daniel Szatkowski said:” We have missed this competition so much. We play in lots of great leagues however EYBL is a prime competition where boys are able to gain unreplaceable experience playing overseas. Those tournaments are helping our teams mature and develop their pro mindset. News of us returning to this competition is something we have been waiting for. Indeed, we have been longing for..”

Each squad will start preparation in early August to make sure teams are ready for upcoming European campaign. we can confirm that coach Mauro DiNunzio will be in charge of U16, Coach Kieran Matthews will run U17 while Coach Daniel will take our oldest group, U20’s. We will confirm details as soon as hey become available.

Should you be interested in trying out for any of these teams, please contact [email protected] or sent a message to 07453314867.

U20’s EYBL journey in books!

Our U20 squad left UK on 26th of February onroute to Valmiera, Latvia. As a part of European Youth Basketball League our squad completed 3 different tournament, playing overall 15 games against top competitions from 8 different countries.

As our team was formed in late summer, we had little time to prepare, however team made program proud by coming 12 position out of 18 despite injuries problem throughout campaign. Head Coach D.Szatkowski said: “When you look where we were in summer, and were we are now we can clearly see it was a journey to remember. Many players emerged from nowhere and made a statement at highest European level. My vision is to build to for players and help them grow. I am happy that we achieved it despite some results not going our way”

We are proud to see some of our players receiving recognition and being awarded individual awards. Joshua Alimi picked the best player of the team award after completing stage with 13 points per game This is what he had to say: “It was an experience of growth throughout the tournament my teammates put there trust in me, which allowed me to express myself and execute my scoring ability when my team needed me to”

As our top scorer Matthew Disu enjoyed another successful tournament, he has been selected All Star 5 award by the league which is a phenomenal achievement, Matthew said:” Competing in eybl from stage 1 all the way to stage 3 has really changed the way I approach basketball. It showed me that you can’t get anywhere without genuine hard work, preparation and discipline. Playing in EYBL I learnt so much, the things I learnt here has made me a much better player. It helped me understand to play smarter not harder. I appreciate my coach for widening my basketball knowledge and experience by giving me the opportunity to compete against top players in Europe

As this campaign has come to the end, we are already planning season 20/21. Big thanks to Ivan Grotsev for an outstanding work with media. His work was just unbelievable! Stay tuned for upcoming info regarding this fascinating project!

EYBL U20 stage II in books!

Our U20 men’s team flew to Riga, Latvia to take part in second stage of most prestigious youth basketball project, EYBL. As currently this league provides most competitive games available in Europe, we knew we will be facing big challenges.

As boys touched down on thursday morning in cold Latvia, they truly enjoyed day of rest preparing to play on friday first game. In first match of the tournament, boys faced possibly best Latvian team in tournament BC Jugla. However led by K.Kolesnikovas and M.Disu jumped into 8 point lead at HT controlling the game. As Latvian team did not look to give up they made couple of 3’s to claim 1 point lead on 20 seconds to go. However Kevin Kolesnikovas made long range to to put Elite team up and took a charge to claim ball back from opposition.

However in controversial circumstances referees award ball to latvian team at 1.6 second to go. You Jugla team players executed perfect players leading to game winning buzzer beating lay up to claim win against our team. Heart breaking experience for our boys that game was.

In Evening game we faced Ventspils who are currently top 3 teams in EYBL. Our boys failed to execute same defence and let opposition with solid win. Coach Daniel said” i think we were still mentally in first game which hurt us a lot. Its tough start of tournament but i believe boys can do well in next days”

On day 2 of EYBL stage, our boys faced Sandvika team, young swedish team. Our boys hit their lows after dropping first games. It was Swedish side that used our boys struggle and converted in easy comfortable win.

Coach Daniel said:”we had lots of expectation and really after the game hit us hard. I knew i have to pick up boys off the floor and help them to realise how good team we can be. Tough job to do but these boys truly deserve it.

In Second game of the day boys came out of changing rooms as completely different team. Played aggressive defence forcing Liepaja players into turnovers leading to easy lay ups. Led by 22 points from Matthew Disu our team claimed first win of the stage!

In last day of the tournament our side faced currently 2nd sead, leader of EABL, and top division 2 Men’s NBL, Myerscrough. Our boys went out of blocks claiming first half 29-24 behind hot shooting from K.Kolesnikovas and great defensive effort from R.Murray and T.Agbede. However slow 3rd period saw Myscro jumping into 7 point lead before final period. While Opponents were looking to close the game pour boys showed “character never quits” and brough game into 3 point difference with 40 seconds to go behind hot outside shooting from M.Disu. Great team defence forced myscro players into shot clock violation however our boys missed 3 opportunities to level the game and academy from North England escaped with small win.

Rio Murray received team MVP as recognition of his great performances through out a stage. 3rd stage is organised in Valmiera, Latvia at end of February. Please check London Elite TV on instagram for all games highlights!