Mike shaft is no stranger to the British Basketball scene and the land of the Giants. The highly reputable broadcaster has revealed the work of his latest radio project that documents the British Basketball game. The documentary reflects on the British Basketball 2012/2013 league, and takes a look at the hottest story of the season, the highly anticipated return of the Manchester Giants. Mike takes time out with the Giants legend Jeff Jones to talk about the rebirth of the Manchester Giants and the journey of Basketball in his adopted hometown of Manchester.  The interview holds an insightful talk with the Giants coach on how he fell in love with the sport of Basketball and his views on the influence of the game.

For those budding BBL fans you can also listen to some of the biggest names in the league, with a look into the trophy winning Leicester Riders side and a tribute to the Basketball professional Damon Hoffman of the Newcastle Eagles.

For a listen to the exclusive documentary please click on the link below.

http://mikeshaft.com/2013/05/15/basketball-beats-documentary-takes-to-the-air/

Stefan Gill http://www.facebook.com/jackhindsphotography

The Giants very own Stefan Gill is undertaking an amazing challenge in order to raise funds for our charity partner The Christie.

He has committed to push his body to the limits and complete 1640 push-ups and 650 sit-up stand-ups throughout the month of May. Starting with 45 press ups and 10 sit up stand ups this eventually builds to 100 of the former and 50 of the later by day 30!!!

Please donate what you can and help to raise funds to support the Christie in their fight against Cancer http://www.justgiving.com/Stefan-Gill

Not only does Stef want as many donations as possible but he wants as many people as possible to take up the challenge and raise their own funds.

To follow Stef’s progress and find out more visit his twitter account @1Kenyaworld or visit his YouTube KenyaworldTV.

We will also bring you regular updates on this site so keep checking back.

We are holding more of our very successful Basketball skills camps on May 28th – 31st for ages 7-16 year olds.

All abilities are welcome and its a great way to keep the kids active and engaged over the holiday. Some of the Giants players will be there to offer guidance and advice and send everyone home exhausted at the end of the day.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Download the brochure for full details and how to book. May Camp Brochure

The Amaechi Basketball Centre is set to host the England Basketball Final Fours Weekend for the 5th year running, on the 27th and 28th April.The culmination of the National League season will see the D1 & D2 Men and D1 Women Playoff titles decided over a weekend.

Schedule

Sat 27 April

12pm – Sheffield Hatters v Loughborough Riders (D1 Women)

2pm – Nottingham Wildcats v Barking Abbey (D1 Women)

4pm – Reading Rockets v Essex Leopards (D1 Men)

6pm – Worthing Thunder v Team Northumbria (D1 Men)

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Giants this season

 It has been a roller coaster of a season which has been full of highs and lows. Despite the result, the game against Leicester Riders was definitely a high, we took the League winners to OT and were only beaten by an exceptional 3 pointer in the dying seconds. It showed how far we had come and just how close we are to having a team competing with the best in the BBL. With one or two additions in the close season we believe next season will see the Giants much higher up the table and challenging for the title.

 Off the court, it has been a successful season with a number of steps being taken to ensure future stability and success. Partnerships with a number of educational and leisure companies have formed the basis of one of the most ambitious community and development programmes seen in this country and is the envy of all the basketball clubs in the country. In addition we were proud  to welcome Christies on board as our charity partner and we will be looking to arrange a number of events over the coming months, so watch out for those.

Sheila Hopkins Community Volunteer of Year Award

Leon Wright

Leon’s role within the Manchester Giants has developed over the last 7 months. Leon’s started off volunteering at just the Manchester Giants home games as an event steward. He then trained up to do online ticketing and supporting volunteers in the entrance area. Leon is a key volunteer in the set up and preparation of all the home matches. He was also based in the office helping with organising duties. Leon has now been trained up to be a volunteer team leader and looks after a group of other volunteers. He also dedicates time in the week to help out at the Manchester Giants office.

By Juma Ngqobongwana

For the second straight home-game the Manchester Giants were thwarted at the buzzer as point guard Rod Brown scored a last-gasp layup with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to send the London Lions into the BBL Playoffs.

The Giants trailed by double-digits for most of the game and found themselves down by as many as 21 points in the first half as the visitors shot the lights out in the early stages. They outscored their hosts by 48 points to 40 in the paint as the Giants struggled to prevent them getting good looks early on and they sprinted out to 20-7 advantage just five minutes into the opening period.

Tayo Ogedengbe poured in eight of his game-high 25 points in the first 10 minutes as the Lions dictated the tempo of the game early on and repeatedly engineered wide open looks close to the basket as the Giants defenders were slow to react to the Lions fast start.

Heartbreak for Manchester Giants as we fell agonisingly short of a play off spot after a spectacular comeback was denied by a late controversial basket from Rod Brown to finish the game 87-85 in the Lions favour.

The Giants looked to have pulled off a tremendous great escape in the fourth, however, they were succumbed to a controversial last second lay up shot from Brown of the London Lions to dash the play off hopes of the Giants in front of a full house at the Wright Robinson College.

The Giants got off to a slow start giving the Lions an early 17 point lead to put us on the back foot at the end of the 1^st quarter, which resulted in us trailing by 33-14.We started to pick up the pace and reduce the deficit in the second quarter with some clinical baskets, to net 30 points. Callum Jones stepped up for the Giants in arguably his best performance yet at the Wright Robinson, to provide the Giants a life line, scoring 6 points in a row to narrow the gap to 20-35. Ogedengbe continued to inspire his team on the attacking front to pile the pressure on the Giants. Devan Bailey and Stefan Gill started to take the game to the Lions to reduce the deficit to 14 , down by 44-58 at half time.

By Juma Ngqobongwana

The fight for the final BBL Playoff spot will go right down to the wire as the Manchester Giants play host to the London Lions this Friday at Wright Robinson Sports College in their final home game of the regular season. The Giants currently occupy the 9^th spot in the league table with the visiting Lions two points ahead of them in that all important 8^th position.

This will be the third meeting between the sides this season with both teams winning on their home floor. The Giants celebrated their return to the BBL with a nail-biting 85-84 victory on opening night and the Lions returned the favour with an 81-64 win in front of a packed Crystal Palace Centre in February.

We are advising all Manchester Giant fans to buy their tickets online for Fridays fixture, due to the importance of the match we are expecting a sell out. Friday’s meeting with the London Lions gives the Giants the oppurtunity to take 8th place and secure a play off spot. If fans are unable to purchase online and are buying on the door we are advising an early arrival to ensure entry.