North East Knights in Lloret De Mar 2023
It’s been a long road to EuroBasket 2023 for the U16 & 18 Knights squads - having had to call off the planned trip in 2020 due to Covid, it had been 4 years since NE Knights last had the opportunity to travel to an international tournament.
But it finally happened again and the hard work which began many months ago paid off with a wonderful week of basketball and shared memories for the 46 strong group of players as well as the support team of coaches and managers.
The initial training sessions began in December 2022 with the final trials taking place in early February. This was followed by a programme of team training sessions, whole group sharpening sessions and team building, all culminating in the trip to the EuroBasket 2023 international basketball tournament on the Costa Brava in Spain.
The 29th EuroBasket tournament, which ran from 2nd - 8th July 2023, was host to almost 1300 players/coaches/managers from 42 different clubs representing 16 countries. Five venues were used, and 387 games were played.
This is just a short account of the NE Knights week.
Day 0: Sunday, 2nd July
On Sunday evening, members of the North East Knights U16 and U18 squads and their coaches and managers met in Dublin Airport to begin their journey to the 6-day Eurobasket 2023 basketball tournament in Lloret de Mar. The group flew from Dublin to Barcelona with Vueling arriving at 1.40am local time.
Following a one and a half hour wait at the baggage carousel the group could finally board the bus to their accommodation in the Hotel Cleopatra, which they finally reached around 4am.
Day 1: Monday, 3rd July
All four of the teams were in action on the courts on the first day, with 5 games in total - the first at 12 noon and the final game at 10.15pm that night – with teams from France, Switzerland, Spain and Turkey providing the opposition. The U16 boys had a particularly busy day with games at 12pm and again at 4. Not much time to enjoy the pool facilities back at the hotel, other than for a few snatched moments here and there.
Day 2: Tuesday, 4th July
Another very busy day, with all teams in action again and wins on court for all 4 teams - the U18 Girls travelled to Blanes to take on Nice, the U16 Girls played Liverpool, the U16 boys played Turkish side, Çengelköy Basketbol, and the U18 boys took on the San Marino national squad.
The opening ceremony on Tuesday night at ‘El ‘Moli’ allowed the Knights to show their national pride. The flag was carried for the Irish group by the U18 boys captain, John Fry
Day 3: Wednesday 5th July
This was another long day, with all teams in action again and the U16 boys having a second day with two games to play. Both U18 teams were in action in the late 10.15pm slot - the U18 girls taking on a high-quality French team – Francheville - in Pompeu Fabra were enthusiastically supported by the U16 girls squad, while across in El Moli the U16 boys cheered on the U18 boys team. During the day players got some limited opportunities to avail of the hotel pool.
Day 4: Thursday, 6th July
Another very busy day for some teams - the U18 boys had two games within a few hours of each other but it was a ‘free’ day for both the U18 Girls and U16 boys. After the U16 girls and U18 boys’ games there was an opportunity for all squads to spend a few hours at the beach before dinner.
Although the food in our hotel was very good some players stopped off for pizza, burgers and fries on their way back to the hotel.
Thursday evening was relaxed as no team had an evening game and players were happy to enjoy the facilities at the hotel, including a music session by the pool.
Day 5: Friday 7th July
This was play off and finals day and saw most teams in action with some silverware being won as follows:
U18 Girls: W05/06 Final: Runners - Up
U16 Girls: W07 3rd Place Play Off: Winners
The U16 boys lost out in their 3rd place playoff to finish 4th overall in the M07/08, but this was the biggest group in the tournament with 11 teams in total, the Knights team having finished runner up in its pool of 6.
Thanks to some sponsorship all teams had the opportunity to celebrate during some free time before the awards/closing ceremony.
Both girls’ teams chose to celebrate with pizza - the U16 girls dining in a restaurant highly recommended by our Italian tournament organisers. The U18 girls chose the same restaurant but opted for take away, as there was still some shopping to be done!
The tournament ended later that evening with the Awards & Closing Ceremony and it is fair to say that the Knights contingent enjoyed every last moment of the celebrations with lots of photographs taken with each other and their new friends.
Day 6: Saturday – Coming home.
And then it was time to leave – an early morning flight meant that nobody felt it worthwhile going to bed before our 3.30am bus trip to the airport, but the time passed quickly with packing to be done!!!
Despite our early arrival at the airport and uncomplicated check in we still found ourselves running for the boarding gate - but happily everyone made it and we arrived back in Dublin ahead of time, landing in the airport at 9.30am, where players were re-united with their families.
Thank You
Of course, the whole trip could not have happened without the help and assistance of a large group of people giving their time, effort and money to make it a success.
Sponsors
The NEBB Knights are indebted to the following sponsors for the financial support of the 2023 trip:
O'Reilly Hoofcare, Virginia
MLS, Mullingar
Coaches and Managers
A huge thanks to those who volunteered their time and expertise to make it possible. As well as coaching/managing the teams in preparation for and during the tournament members of the group looked after designing and sourcing the stylish teamwear and backpacks, booked and sorted the flights itinerary for the whole group and looked after accommodation and other logistical details needed for a project like this – thank you Tony, Brian, Michael, Brendan, Sinead, Jessica, Tom, Orla, Ursula and Clare.
A special word of thanks to Kevin and Geraldine McElhinney for helping with our team building day in the Carrickdale as well as taking the photographs that day.
Players and Parents
To everyone involved with the North East Knights since the trials began last December – players committing to training and parents making sure they got there - all that work has led to what was an amazing week for the u16 and u18 players - It couldn't have been done without all of you.
And finally – a huge thank you to everyone involved in organising and running the tournament for their hard work, friendliness, enthusiasm and all-round helpfulness – Giusseppe, Veronica, Andrea, Anita, Eric and Leo Basket to name but a few! With 55 teams from 16 countries and 42 different clubs to coordinate with fixtures, referees etc it was a mammoth task, but the spirit of camaraderie between the staff and participants helps to make the EuroBasket experience so enjoyable to be part of.
