Dynamik National Schools Finals 2025: Winners, recaps, reaction & gallery

The first instalment of 2025 Dynamik National School Finals was a big success, lighting up Manchester's National Basketball Performance Centre.

Crowning champions in the Premier Under-14 and Under-16 Co-Ed (mixed male and female), Under-17 boys and girls and Under-19 men and women competitions, the day proved to be a hit to cap off the first set of this year's finals.

A second finals event is scheduled for May to wrap up the remainder of this year's age categories.

A recap of each game is below, and live stats can be viewed by clicking the title of each final. There's also a gallery of images at the bottom of the page.

Under-14 Co-ed Premier: St Thomas the Apostle College 63-57 St Columbas College

St Thomas the Apostle College made it back-to-back U14 Co-Ed Premier titles as they beat St Columbas College 63-57.

Both teams held the advantage in a compelling final, with the St Albans programme leading by nine in the second before the Londoners would swing things back their way, moving ahead by a game-high 14 points shortly after the half time break.

St Columbas wouldn't go quietly though, battling away to tie things up at 47-47 with just over five minutes on the clock, but St Thomas would regroup, go again, and see out the win.

MVP honours went to Darrell Akoto (24pts, 7reb, 9stl) for a near triple-double, as captain Franck Bassama (23pts, 4reb) also played well.

St Columbas can be proud of their efforts despite finishing as runners up, making a real contest of the showpiece following a team-high 15 points from Riley Medd.

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Under-16 Co-Ed Premier: The John Fisher School 67-84 Christ's School

Christ's School mounted a spirited fightback to beat The John Fisher School 84-67.

The contest very much appeared to be going John Fisher's way in the early going, using a 21-10 opening quarter to build a useful lead. A 34-13 second quarter turned the game around, however, and once the Richmond outfit had the initiative, they romped to victory.

An 18-11 third did give the Manchester side hope, but that was quickly snuffed out by a 29-14 final frame that widened the margin of victory.

The MVP award went to Arthur Priestley-Ghanime for a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, worthy recognition for a standout performance alongside a game-high output from Kimba N'Gabala (30pts).

Alex Oppong-Agyare (28pts, 10reb, 6ast) was the standout for John Fisher.

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Under-17 Men: City of London Academy 78-81 Charnwood College Riders

Charnwood College Riders captured the U17 title in a thriller, outlasting City of London Academy 81-78.

The Midlands programme led for almost all of the contest, but with their lead rarely moving above five points in a tense final quarter, it was anyone's game down the stretch.

Taking the first frame 30-17 set the Riders on their way, only for CoLA to chip away across the next three quarters to set up a grandstand finish.

MVP Rudy Buckingham made sure his side wouldn't be denied however, and his team-high haul of 20 points on 63% shooting was a valuable contribution.

Tristan Curran (12pts, 11ast) produced a double-double in support, with Toby Gass (20pts) and Adrew Nkwolo (14pts, 13reb) doing everything they could for the Londoners in defeat. 

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Under-17 Women: Trinity CE 82-50 Harris City Academy Crystal Palace

Trinity CE went one better than their defeat in last year's U17 showpiece as they cruised past Harris City Academy Crystal Palace 82-50.

The North West side led from practically tip to buzzer, slowly building a dominant advantage the longer the game progressed. 

GB standout Irene Oboavwoduo showed her ability at this level with a virtuoso performance, closing with 33 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and eight steals, rarely looking troubled in the process.

Sister Jane Oboavwoduo (19pts, 8reb) also played well, as did Chiamaka Eze (7pts, 14reb) off the Trinity bench.

Harris City battled despite their deficit, winning the final quarter 16-8 as a reward for their perseverance. The Londoners were led by 31 points and nine boards from Sharliyah Sutherland.

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3.45pm - Under-19 Men: Myerscough College 82-65 John Madejski Academy

Myerscough College are repeat U19 winners, following up success a year ago with an 82-65 victory against John Madejski Academy.

Winning each of the first three quarters created a lead that passed the 30-point mark early in the fourth, effectively ending the contest despite JMA taking the last 26-14.

It was a complete performance from the North West programme, forcing their opponents into 26 turnovers against their own 14, and shooting 27 more times as a result.

Leon Heidenreich-Roberts (18pts, 9reb, 2ast, 2stl, 2blk) did a bit of everything to grab the MVP nod for 'Sco, doing it all in just 17:48 of action off the bench.

Layjuan Farrell (13pts, 9reb) and Alexander Cisse (14pts, 6reb) also enjoyed a good day at the office for the victors, with Joe MacKinnon (28pts, 7reb) providing the main point of resistance for JMA.

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4pm - Under-19 Women: St Peter's Collegiate Academy 43-63 Trinity CE

Trinity CE defended their U19 titles after a 63-43 win over St Peter's Collegiate Academy.

A vocal following roared on St Peter's as they set about the task of trying dethrone the defending champs, but after an even opening to the game, the North West side began to pull away.

Leading by 10 at the half and 15 after three, Trinity were in no mood to let their advantage slip, completing the job and denying their opponents any chance of a comeback.

The battle between St Peter's Emanuela Otisi (25pts, 3reb, 4stl) and eventual MVP Jane Oboavwoduo (29pts, 11reb, 12 stl) was a good one, but with the support of Sally Robinson (16pts, 5reb, 6ast), Trinity had enough to get themselves over the line as no other player hit double-digit scoring for St Peter's.

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