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22 January 2026  4 min read

Elite Academy Leagues recap (21 Jan 2026)

The day's big talking point was MK5D toppling last year's finalists Manchester Mystics, on the road no less, to deal the North West side's hopes of top spot in the WEABL North a critical blow.

The other three group leaders all won, taking them a step closer to locking up their top spots, whilst Itchen and Oaklands split their important clashes on the South coast.

Week Ten Results

EABL

North

BMET City of Birmingham Rockets (1-7) 63-105 Myerscough College (7-1) - LIVE STATS

Derby Trailblazers (2-6) 68-75 Manchester Magic (7-1) - LIVE STATS

SGS College (2-6) 55-75 Charnwood College Riders (5-3) - LIVE STATS

South

Barking Abbey (3-2) 77-27 Copleston High School (0-7) - LIVE STATS

City of London Academy - Southwark (6-0) 75-54 HHS Reading Rockets (1-5) - LIVE STATS

Itchen College (5-2) 95-61 Oaklands Wolves (4-3) - LIVE STATS

WEABL

North

BMet City of Birmingham Rockets (0-7) 42-99 Nottingham Academy Wildcats (6-0) - LIVE STATS

Manchester Mystics (4-2) 58-64 Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy (3-4) - LIVE STATS

South

Barking Abbey (2-3) 49-64 Copleston High School (6-1) - LIVE STATS

City of London Academy - Southwark (6-0) 70-44 HHS Reading Rockets (0-6) - LIVE STATS

Itchen College (2-5) 52-89 Oaklands Wolves (3-4) - LIVE STATS

 

 

 

 

 

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Standout performances

Rolling with a six-player rotation, MK5D went to Manchester and blew up the WEABL North title race, claiming a hard-fought 64-58 win.

Leading by as many as 13 in a one-sided first quarter, the Mystics couldn't convert that start into success as MK fought back to claim a famous victory.

Nottingham had no such problems, all but sealing top spot as they beat BMet 99-42.

In the WEABL South, Copleston defeated Barking 64-49 and CoLA eased past HHS 70-44, keeping the duo locked in their tight battle at the top.

Oaklands did their bit to move into the running for third, knocking off Itchen 89-52, but their EABL side wouldn't be as fortunate as they lost their crunch tie against Itchen 95-61.

The win gives the Southampton programme a shot at challenging Barking, who beat Copleston 77-27, for second spot, with CoLA continuing their unbeaten run at the top with a 75-54 W over HHS.

In the North, Manchester moved a step closer to the title with a 75-68 success on the road in Derby, but Myerscough are pushing their title rivals all the way after their 105-63 win away to BMet.

That just left Charnwood to strengthen their grip on third spot, knocking off SGS 75-55 to move to 5-3 on the year.

What does it mean for the standings? 

With the Competitions Panel decision this week to award the contested EABL North clash between Derby Charnwood to the Riders, that moves Charnwood firmly into third behind title-battling Manchester and Myerscough.

The EABL South still belongs to CoLA after they remained unbeaten for another week, with an interesting battle between Barking and Itchen shaping up behind.

Nottingham have all but sewn up the WEABL North after Manchester's slip against MK5D, though the Bletchley programme improved their playoff hopes massively with the win.

CoLA and Copleston remain on a collision course in the WEABL South, with both sides picking up wins in the latest round of matches.

View the EABL Standings

View the WEABL Standings

W/EABL Playoff Structures

Player-of-the-week candidates 

Thirty one points from Myerscough's Harry Sheehan is likely to get him in the mix for EABL honours, with Manchester's Jack Walton (17pts, 6reb, 5ast, 4stl) and Charnwood's Tom Pearson (13pts, 7reb, 3ast, 3stl) also in the hunt.

Joshua Mendes (13pts, 8reb) was the driving force in Barking's win over Copleston, Andrew Nwokolo's 15 points and seven-rebounds pushed CoLA past HHS, and Itchen's Jakub Ofman (21pts, 6reb) and Dawid Cimochowski (15pts, 9reb) combined to down Oaklands.

In the WEABL, Nottingham's Ophelia Larder-Lee (23pts, 7reb, 5ast, 6stl), Lucy Upton (24pts, 6reb, 6ast, 4stl) and Tiarna Chambers-Desmond (17pts, 6reb) all shone against BMet, and Jovy Chan (15pts, 10reb, 6ast) was the heroine for MK5D in Manchester.

Maisie Keyes (21pts, 7reb, 4ast, 4stl, 5/12 3PTs), Angel Whyte (15pts, 9reb, 5ast) and Holly Ensoll (10pts, 16reb, 5blk) all stood out for Copleston, and Oaklands' Holly Welch (26pts, 10reb, 7ast) went big against Itchen alongside a double-double from Darcey Woodman (17pts, 16reb, 5ast).

Watch out for the winner on our social channels, with the announcement going live on Friday at 12pm for the EABL, and 2pm for the WEABL.

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Main image credit - Kareem Lee