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23 September 2025  4 min read

Manchester Magic back at NBL's top table and ready for more

Only two teams can claim to have more D1M titles than the North West side, who grabbed their fourth and most recent crown back in 2016/17.

An NBL reshuffle following the creation of the BCB has pushed Manchester back into the league's top flight and head coach Joshua Perkins is excited about his side being back at the summit, though their sights aren't on an immediate title challenge.

"It's exciting for our group to be back in D1 and for everyone around the club," said Perkins.

"I don't think we really think like that [about challenging for a title] in terms of our chances, we tried to sort of be present and in the moment.

"The directive, from Pete [Paraskeva, the club's Director of Basketball] is to do the best you can with with the group you've got. So yeah, we're just looking forward to being competitive and doing the best we can."

Key to Manchester's chances this season are young duo Jack Walton and Demi Babalola (feature image), two recent graduates from the club's highly-successful youth set up.

Despite 2024/25 representing their debut season of senior basketball, both stepped up to play vital roles in a successful 15-7 campaign. Point guard Walton (12.1PPG, 5.3APG, 3.8RPG, 30.7MPG) and forward Babalola (14.9PPG, 7.7RPG, 29.5MPG) both shone, and finished the year as the team's top two for average minutes played per outing. 

"I'm super excited to see how both Demi and Jack develop this year," added Perkins.

"I think last year there were a lot of unknowns for them. How were they going to adapt to the level of D2 senior basketball? Would they be able to cope with the physicality? Would they be able to really get big roles within our group? How are they going to deal with going away to the likes of Worcester and Teesside, with 400 or 500 people in the crowd?

"Those guys have done really well, been really great for us, and they're great characters off the floor as well.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing their development this season, and I'm sure they're going to be big parts of our group again this year."

Manchester's Jack Walton in action (Manchester Magic)

While any talk of a title challenge, or even a playoff push, can be parked until a considerable time into 2026, Perkins' immediate attention turns to this weekend and the opening game of the D1 season.

It's an occasion the 33-year-old is looking forward to, despite having some unknowns to contend with.

"We're definitely looking forward to this weekend," admitted Perkins

"We had a good build up this pre-season, getting together in early August, and I've been trying to build things up as the pre-season has gone on.

"We don't really know too much about them [Oxford Hoops], but it's always great to be friends and welcome a new team to the Manchester Basketball Centre.

"We're looking forward to hosting them, and we'll try to be competitive and do the best we can."

Check out all this weekend's NBL fixtures

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