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16 October 2026  4 min read

NBL D1 and NBL National Cup Preview (17/18 Oct 2026) - Live Stats, streaming, quotes and more

A local derby, Sheffield Arrows vs Sheffield Sharks II, gets the cup action underway on Friday night before five Pool A games and six Pool B contests fill up Saturday.

The remaining 15 ties in the Cup are reserved for Sunday, including holders Solent Kestrels travelling to D2 Plymouth Raiders.

In the list below, a * is for Pool A games, and a + is for Pool B games.

Saturday 17 October

* 3pm - Liverpool (0-4) vs Sheffield Sharks II (0-3) - LIVE STATS

+ 3pm - CoLA Southwark Pride (1-3) vs Cobham Cobras (0-4) - LIVE STATS

+ 3:15pm - Greenwich Titans (0-2) vs Barnet Bulldogs (3-1) - LIVE STATS

* 3:45pm -  Birmingham City University (2-2) vs Gloucester City Kings (2-1) - LIVE STATS

* 4pm - Cardiff Met Archers (1-1) vs St Helens Saints (4-0) - LIVE STATS

* 5:30pm - Manchester Magic (4-0) vs Sheffield Arrows (1-1) - LIVE STATS

* 5:30pm - Myerscough Basketball Academy (4-0) vs Worcester Wolves (1-3) - LIVE STATS

+ 6pm - Solent Kestrels (3-0) vs Sussex Storm (2-2) - LIVE STATS

+ 6:15pm - London Elite (2-2) vs London Stars (0-3) - LIVE STATS

+ 7pm - Oaklands Wolves (4-0) vs Richmond Knights (2-2) - LIVE STATS

+ 7:15pm - London Lions II (2-2) vs Barking Abbey (3-1) - LIVE STATS

View all the fixtures for this weekend

Pool A

It'll be interesting to see how both of Friday night's cup participants, Sheffield Arrows and Sheffield Sharks II, fair after their derby exploits as they both play on Saturday afternoon.

The Sharks have an away day in Liverpool, their second road game in as many days and a battle of two winless sides, and the Arrows have to head across to the North West as well, taking on 4-0 Manchester Magic.

The pool's two other 4-0 sides, Myerscough and St Helens, are also in action, with 'Sco hosting Worcester and St Helens heading to South Wales to take on Cardiff Met Archers.

That just leaves 2-2 BCU to entertain 2-1 Gloucester City Kings in what should be an entertaining clash between two sides who both average north of 75.0PPG.

Pool B

Two of the league's winless sides, Cobham and London Stars, both have the chance to get off the mark on Saturday but face tricky road games if they're to make that a reality.

The Cobras travel to off-form CoLA Southwark Pride, who have started slowly themselves at 1-3, whereas the Stars head to 2-2 London Elite.

Pool B's only other 0-for side, Greenwich Titans, are at home for a welcome rest after their grueling 3OT clash last time out, they welcome Barnet Bulldogs.

Solent entertain the other side from the slug fest, Sussex Storm, and 4-0 leaders Oaklands Wolves will look to stay perfect against Richmond Knights.

Pool B's only other game is an interesting one in the Capital as Barking Abbey make the short trip to play London Lions II as both sides jostle for a top four spot.

NBL National Cup

Thirty two teams will become 16 by the end of the weekend as another round of NBL National Cup action is set to play out.

Arrows vs Sharks II is the tie to watch out for on Friday night, though there's no shortage of quality match-ups scheduled for Sunday.

Liverpool hosting Manchester Magic is a must-see North West derby, and current Pool B leaders Oaklands are away to D2's Endeavour Ipswich Tomcats.

There are some all-D1 ties elsewhere as Leicester Warriors welcome BCU, Sussex Storm take on Cobham Cobras, and Pool A unbeatens Myerscough and St Helens go toe-to-toe.

West Yorkshire Hawks are 4-0 in D2 Pool A and will be hoping to upset D1's Tees Valley Mohawks, with unbeaten D2 Pool D leaders London United looking to do the same against Barnet Bulldogs.

Check out all this weekend's NBL National Cup fixtures

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Main image credit - Luke Simcock