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27 August 2026  6 min read

From the playground to Great Britain: Jubrile Belo’s journey comes full circle

He could barely jump. He had no idea where the game might take him. In fact, he was once more focused on planning his academic future than imagining a career in basketball.

"I remember going to a Hertfordshire University Open Day when I was in school, picking out my next courses to do and planning my life, but I wasn’t academic at all," he says.

Everything changed when he arrived at Barking Abbey.

Belo had started playing with Newham All Stars Sports Academy (NASSA), but his involvement was limited before an invitation from coach Rikki Broadmore gave him an opportunity to try out for Barking and Dagenham.

"It was horrible, I was so bad and so tired, I had never played at that pace," Belo recalls. "But I got picked and played on their Division IV team, practising occasionally with the first team, working my way up."

The improvement that followed was rapid.

By the end of his first year at Barking, Belo was spending countless hours in the gym, developing physically and technically and beginning to understand just how far basketball could take him.

That same summer, he represented Great Britain at the U20 European Championships, sharing the court with players including Carl Wheatle, Akwasi Yeboah and Amin Adamu.

"I’d been watching all these guys on YouTube the year before and now I was there playing with them, it was such a great experience."

Among those teammates was a player whose journey would become intertwined with Belo’s in ways neither could have imagined.

Adamu had been part of Belo’s basketball story even before they properly knew one another. Belo remembers playing against his team as a youngster at NASSA, barely seeing the court and joking with Adamu years later about whether he remembered him.

He didn’t, but from those early encounters their paths would repeatedly cross.

Time to rebuild after a leg break

After Barking, Belo moved to the United States to attend junior college, where his journey immediately encountered another challenge. Six games into his first season, he broke his leg.

"I was athletic, but I was skinny and had to adjust physically which I was just starting to do and then broke my leg after six games," he says.

Rather than allowing the setback to derail his progress, Belo used the time to rebuild his body and prepare for the following season.

"I managed to redshirt the year and spend that time getting bigger and stronger for next season."

He returned stronger, enjoyed an excellent second season and earned a scholarship to Montana State.

And there, waiting for him, was Adamu.

"It was crazy because we’d won together at high school and then here we were at college and building a winning culture there as well," Belo says.

The pair would spend four years together, sharing a room and helping establish a winning culture that Belo believes continues to influence the programme today.

"My journey with Amin is crazy to think about. That’s my brother. We’ve won things at every level we’ve played together, we were roommates in college, our relationship is naturally very strong because we’ve spent so much time together."

Their story is unusual enough already. But what makes it particularly special to Belo is the sheer longevity of it.

"We were teenagers when we first met and now we’re in our late 20s still playing the sport that we love and doing it with as much love as we had as kids," he says.

"It’s an unbelievable journey when you look at the bigger picture. I could never have imagined back then I’d be where I am today, let alone having shared every step of it with him. I can’t imagine my journey without him."

Their shared success has continued into the professional game, with Belo winning a title in his first season in France before experiencing Pro A, European competition in Hungary and Greece, and now preparing for his fourth professional season in France.

'Chopping it up and discussing life'

But another opportunity has brought the pair back together in a different setting: the Great Britain Senior National Team.

For Belo, the current group has quickly developed a similar sense of togetherness.

"I love being with the guys, hearing their stories and everything they’re getting up to in their own lives," he says. "When we have dinner, we’ll all still be in the restaurant two hours after we’re all done eating just chopping it up and discussing our lives."

That chemistry, he believes, could become one of the team’s greatest strengths.

"Everybody here is a winner, we’re all competitors, and we all love representing our country so when you bring all that together and you get a group of people driven to do great things, only great things can come of it."

For Belo, there is also an important sense of responsibility that comes with stepping into the programme.

The retirement of Gabe Olaseni has opened another chapter for the GB frontcourt, and Belo had the opportunity to learn directly from a player whose commitment to the national team made a lasting impression on him.

"Gabe was especially important for me. All I’ve ever wanted to do on this camp was follow in his footsteps with everything he does on and off the court."

That does not mean Belo intends to stop learning. If anything, he sees the national team environment as an opportunity to absorb lessons from everyone around him.

"I’m a sponge, I take something from everybody, and I took so much from him but I’m also learning so much from the younger guys too like Amari for example… he’s a big with incredible vision and passing ability that most in our role don’t have, and he’s super smart, so I’m enjoying learning from that."

Belo not taking anything for granted

It is a mindset that perhaps explains how Belo has travelled so far from the kid who once struggled simply to keep up at his first try-out.

From the playground, to Barking Abbey, to junior college, Montana State, professional basketball across Europe and now the senior Great Britain team, his journey has been built one step at a time.

And the boy who once wondered whether he could touch the rim now has a much bigger target in sight.

"I don’t take this position for granted, I know the importance of representing my country and trying to inspire the next generation, and I cherish every moment."

Watch GB Men in action versus Switzerland tonight (27 August) on FIBA's YouTube channel. Tip off at 18:00.

GB vs Switzerland

Get yourself tickets for the follow up game on Sunday as GB host Slovakia at the Newcastle Eagles Arena. 

Watch GB vs Slovakia Live