With Isle of Man Basketball Association’s regular league season on its Christmas break, it is the perfect opportunity to look back at an eventful year for the sport locally.

The 2025 campaign tipped off with the association’s first 3x3 January Cup, with league regulars joined by a host of newcomers to form five-player squads for a three-week rapid-fire tournament.

Played on a half-court, the rules of FIBA 3x3 Basketball reward aggressive defence and encourage quick shots.

Despite the faster format, it was experience that trumped youth as two teams of league stalwarts, Fives Guys and Cavs Z, progressed to the double elimination final where Five Guys were crowned the island’s first 3x3 champions.

The regular league resumed after the January Cup, with momentum picking up in what proved to be one of the closest and most thrilling seasons of recent years.

Ravens, Cavaliers and Cannons had matched records in the mid-table throughout the second half of the season, with a resurgent Ravens powered by the pace of Matt Jones and Seb Smith.

It was Cavaliers’ inside presence that saw them pull ahead of Cannons and Ravens in the final round robin match ups.

Meanwhile, Jets were on course take the top of the table until an upset 65-77 loss saw Wolves snatch the shield in the final game of the regular season.

April and May saw the conclusion of the 2024/25 season with the Championship Tournament, a do-or-die competition that saw Jets and Wolves meet in the final for the third time in as many years.

Jets were in the lead for most of the game, but Wolves fought back in the fourth quarter and forced the game to overtime with a buzzer beating three-pointer from Viktor Capkanovski – setting up a repeat of their first title victory two years previous.

It was Jets who managed to keep the momentum though, as point guard Tom Dalton-Brown lifted the Championship trophy on an 87-84 victory in one of the most exciting finals in years.

It’s also proved to be a successful year for the island national teams, with the men’s levelling up their training with sessions run by former Manchester Giants player and current Mysercough College coach Mark Rangeley.

Formal development paths were also put in place for under-18s players, with rising stars Seb Smith, Gave Thatcher, Evan Walsh, Jack Wilkinson and Oliver Hamilton all joining men’s training (the latter pair featuring in the victory over Preston in March).

Island Games legends Paul Kilic and Chris Wolfendale returned to the roster for the summer’s tournament in Anglesey, while new blood came in the form of rookies Oscar Lace, Camerson Scott and Oliver Hamilton.

A strong performance from the team saw victory over Guernsey for the first time in almost 20 years, while they narrowly missed out on bronze in a thrilling game against Jersey.

A decade long development program for the island women’s team paid dividends this year as they stormed the Swish Basketball Inter-Island Tournament in Anglesey.

Becky Dunne, Danielle Murphy, Gemma and Zoe Kirkham, Oksana Fedorovych and Daniela Kravela all returned for another games campaign, and were joined by Rhi Evans and Mairi Harrison.

Instinctive ball movement and active full-court defence continued to define the team and led to a series of dominant performances against North Wales and Faroe Islands.

A close match up against Ynys Mon in the tournament final saw the Isle of Man complete an unbeaten run to win the first gold medal in the association’s history.

The women’s team topped off their summer a charity drive, as the Kirkham sisters organised the ‘Big Pink Game’ which raised more than £500 for the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group.

Support from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company’s community travel fund saw 23 youth players and two coaches set sail to attend an international basketball camp in Malvern, Worcestershire at the end of the summer.

Players from across the UK and Europe attended the NBC Camp, with a focus on core skills development as well as off-the-court life skills training.

The cohort of young players represented the island well, with Rowan Coulter and Oliver Hamilton being selected for the camp’s all-star teams while Seb Smith played a key role in the top league’s championship winning team.

A short break at the end of the summer allowed some much-needed downtime for players and coaches before the start of the 2025/26 Senior League in October.

This season saw a number of changes to the league with the loss of the Ravens but the resurgence of the South through the new 12-man Southern Phoenix squad.

Player rosters have remained fairly consistent this season, although some notable veterans have returned with Wig Bregazzi joining Cavaliers and Luke Geneza added to Wolves.

Coaching rosters have seen some significant change since last season, Paul Kilic again taking up the mantle of coach for DGU Jets, Paul Ellison formally taking charge of Pirates and Ben Campbell being appointed head coach of Wolves, while Martin Dunne stays on as team manager.

Technology has also played a key role in the new season with the launch of an online registration portal for all players, coaches and officials, as well as a revamp to games on the association’s website with the inclusion of detailed statistics.

The final executive committee meeting of 2025 also saw the approval of a plan to deploy fully digitised scoresheets on a trial basis in 2026.

The new system will allow the collection of complete stats for every game as well as play-by-play summaries, team performance charts and player profiles.

The system promises to bring a level of in-depth analysis and content that is normally reserved for professional leagues to the local Manx scene, well ahead of future international tournaments.

From a competitive local league, impressive international performance and investment in the future, 2025 has been a great year for island basketball.

Thanks to the efforts of countless volunteers, 2026 is set to be another great year for basketball and a perfect springboard to the 2029 Island Games in the Isle of Man and beyond.

MARTIN DUNNE