Army Basketball searches for talent at Army Units Championships
The 27 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps basketball team have won the Army UK South Major Units title after beating 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment in a thrilling title decider.
The competition comes as Army Basketball look to grow the game across the Army by developing some of their championships, as they hope to see the men's senior team return to the top at Inter Services level.
The sport is currently in a strong position at grass roots level, with up to 300 players attending the Army's UK Regional Inter Unit Basketball Championships.
The 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment took an early lead against 27 Regiment RLC, as Sujaka Pun shot his side into the front of the pack.
27 Regiment RLC responded swiftly as Khagem Limbu missed a three-pointer, but Jessie King was on hand to score his first points of the game.
As the opening quarter of the game passed, the Aldershot-based logisticians had gained a two-point lead at 7-5.
In the second quarter, the Engineers hit the ground running to close the two-point gap, as Abanash Gurung scored to keep them in contention.
As the match approached half time, 27 Regiment RLC stretched their lead to 20-10.
The remainder of the game saw 27 Regiment RLC ease their way to the Southern title with a 43-23 victory, and they now face the Northern and Midlands winners later this year for the overall Army Unit Championships.
The tournament has worked well for identifying potential talent who could go on and play for the Army.
Acting WO2 Matthew Cooper has represented the UK Armed Forces and Army teams with 16 years of experience playing military basketball.
He believes the Inter Unit Competition has a crucial role in searching for talented players to feed up to the Army Senior side.
He said: "Quite a lot of guys use this as a stepping stone and a recruiting tool as well, we come down and see the new talent, scout out the talent and the old generation like myself come back into it as well, to see where we are at at a base level and get ready to play basketball again.
"It's a minor sport and we are growing, this tournament this year has the most units and players I've seen come through, which can only be great leaps and bounds for the future of Army Basketball and hopefully Inter Services as well."
The Army have traditionally dominated the Inter Services scene, but they have seen their form decline over recent seasons.
To address this, the Army Inter Corps Championships will undergo a revamp this year which UK South Army Basketball Secretary, Sergeant Seb John, hopes will "help the Army team move forward".
He said: "This season we've got the introduction of a new Central Venue League, so that's aiming to start in June time, date not confirmed, but it will allow regular gameplay throughout the year rather than a one-off week competition.
"I think everyone involved, but definitely grassroots level and more gameplay, will only help the Army team moving forward."
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