St Ninian’s High School’s senior basketball squad travelled to Anglesey last Friday for a weekend of high-level competition and a memorable tour.

With a squad of 14 players and 10 hours of travel on Friday, the Saints faced an LLS basketball team led by international coach Sion Parry on their first evening in Anglesey.

The Saints started strongly, showcasing excellent ball movement from Oliver Hamilton, Jack Wilkinson, Raf Turla, Brandon Bellew and Rowan Coulter. They quickly built a 19-8 lead, forcing an early timeout from the opposition as the hosts regrouped and tightened their defence.

Despite the increased pressure, the Saints continued to play with confidence. Strong attacking drives from Gabe Thatcher and Evan O’Dea kept the scoreboard moving and the game remained close heading into the second half.

But the long day of travel began to show as shots struggled to fall and transitions between offence and defence slowed. The opposition capitalised with excellent outside shooting, making the second half an uphill challenge for the visitors.

Samson Shimmin kept the Saints within touching distance with two well-taken three-pointers heading into the final quarter, but the LLS side’s cohesion ultimately proved decisive as they secured the win.

Despite the result, the game provided a valuable learning experience for the Saints who were determined to respond the following day.

Saturday morning saw the team compete in a four-team tournament featuring some of North Wales’ strongest under-18 talent. After a good night’s rest, the Saints returned to the court ready to make their mark.

The Saints started the tournament strongly, with Thatcher and Darwin Gilmore helping the team build an early lead in the opening match.

Two Year 10 players, Hrydithya Manojkumar and Illiam Thomas, made impressive senior debuts, bringing energy and defensive intensity as the Saints secured their first win.

They carried this momentum into the second game where strong attacking play from John Long, Kyle Furlong and Dylan Evans helped St Ninian’s secure another victory to move to 2-0.

Their final opponents had won all of their previous games, but by this stage the Saints had found their rhythm.

Three-point shooting from Coulter, Hamilton and Wilkinson helped build a commanding lead, while standout performer Thatcher, supported by Manojkumar and Thomas, steadied the team when pressure increased.

Strong defence from Turla created fast-break opportunities for Hamilton and Bellew, while Coulter continued his excellent shooting as the Saints sealed an impressive third win to finish the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record.

Following a successful morning of basketball, the team spent the afternoon exploring Anglesey with Sion Parry, a professional basketball coach who lives in the area and who organised both the opening fixture and the tournament.

Parry, who runs the Swish Basketball programme, guided the group around some of the local highlights, including the dramatic South Stack Lighthouse where the players tackled the famous 400 steps, before continuing on to Trearddur Bay to enjoy the scenery and some well-earned ice cream.

The squad would like to thank Sion for organising both the opening fixture and the tournament, as well as referee and second-in-charge Omo for his valuable contribution to the weekend and his connection with St Ninian’s, having previously been a student at the school in 2004.

Thanks also go to Dom Winrow for his long hours behind the wheel driving the team from Heysham to Anglesey, Danielle Murphy for her coaching throughout the weekend and Pete Boussougou for his assistance in organising the trip.

The successful weekend has laid the foundations for what the school hopes will become an annual North Wales tour for its senior basketballers.