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22 September 2025  3 min read

National Cup starts NBL season with a bang

The action started in the West Midlands on Friday night as D1 Worcester Wolves easily saw off Warwickshire Hawks 102-43.

Racing out to a 31-12 opening quarter lead, that advantage would stretch to 56-26 by the half in front of an impressive crowd at Worcester University, with the hosts putting the game to bed for good after the break.

Sussex Storm are also safely through, with Owen Ono's 17 points powering the hosts to a 70-62 victory against Portsmouth Force, who were led in defeat by 16 from Matt Hughes.

London Lions II struck an early blow with league ramifications as they beat fellow D1 rivals London Elite 64-46 for an early confidence booster, whilst another D1 outfit, Sheffield Sharks II, topped Black Country Steelers 72-65 thanks to 16 points from former EABL standout Declan Kom. 

Image credit - Worcester Wolves

The best viewing across the weekend may have been in South Wales as a pair of D2 - Pool C sides played out a classic, with Gloucester City Kings outlasting hosts Cardiff City 71-70.

The Kings' Kekoapookela McArdle (17pts) and Cardiff's Lewis Tucker (15pts) had a toe-to-toe battle in an attempt to push their respective sides over the line, with Gloucester's Nicholas Albertini (13pts) playing well in support.

D1 side Liverpool had no problems with North West rivals Greater Manchester Titans, coming out on top 106-49, whilst The Sheffield College couldn't find an upset in their South Yorkshire derby against 2004/05 finalists Sheffield Arrows, with a 95-56 final score.

Check out all the weekend's NBL National Cup results

Action elsewhere

The NBL National Cup made up busy opening weekend of fixtures, with other competitions getting underway as well.

The U16 Sure Shot National Cup for both the girls and the boys kicked into life, with plenty of action in the U18 Men's Sure Shot National Cup as well.

U18 Prem sides Ipswich, St Helens, Sheffield Elite and more are all safely through, with Bristol Flyers and Spelthorne (U16 Girls) and Manchester Spartans and City of Birmingham Rockets (U16 Boys) also amongst the teams punching a ticket to the next round.

Sure Shot U16 Boys national cup Fixtures

Sure Shot U16 Girls national cup Fixtures

U18 Men's Sure Shot National Cup Fixtures

The Under 14 Boys - Midlands Conference II, Under 14 Girls - East and South Conferences, Under 16 Boys - Northern and Western Premier, Under 16 Girls - Midlands Conference and the Under 18 Men - Western Premier competitions all got underway in the first league action of the new year.

Check all the fixtures here