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12 March 2026  5 min read

Elite Academy Leagues recap (11 Mar 2026): Finalists confirmed

There were a couple of thrilling contests in the Final Fours, with a pair of #1 seeds both having their season ended in two-point losses. In the EABL Myerscough went on the road and beat CoLA 70-68, whilst Copleston produced a gutsy WEABL comeback to stun Nottingham 61-59.

Manchester Magic in the EABL and CoLA in the WEABL make up the other sides to go through, with both enjoying considerably more straightforward semi-finals.

All four programmes now advance to the Playoff Finals on 26 March, with tickets for the University of Essex' showdown available using the button below.

Tickets are free to all, but must be ordered in advance for capacity reasons.

Pick up your tickets here

Wednesday 11 March

EABL

• #1 Manchester Magic 88-69 #2 Itchen College - LIVE STATS
• #1 City of London Academy - Southwark 68-70 #2 Myerscough College - LIVE STATS

WEABL

• #1 Nottingham Academy Wildcats 59-61 #2 Copleston High School - LIVE STATS
• #1 City of London Academy - Southwark 74-32 #3 Barking Abbey - LIVE STATS

5th-8th classifications

EABL

• Charnwood College Riders 78-76 Oaklands College - LIVE STATS
• Barking Abbey 0-20 Derby Trailblazers

WEABL

• The Sheffield College vs Oaklands College (to be played 12/03/2026) - LIVE STATS
• Manchester Mystics 20-0 Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy - LIVE STATS

9th-12th classifications

EABL

9th/10th game

• HHS Reading Rockets 87-78 SGS College - LIVE STATS

11th/12th game

• BMet City of Birmingham Rockets vs Copleston High School (to be played 18/03/26)

WEABL

9th/10th game

• Itchen College 81-70 HHS Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS

11th/12th game

• Charnwood College Riders 81-76 BMet City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS

 

 

 

 

 

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Standout performances

Both leagues produced a standout contest on Wednesday afternoon, starting in the EABL as Myerscough overcame South #1 seeds City of London Academy - Southwark 70-68.

The visitors had led by as many as 13 points midway through the third frame, only for CoLA to battle back and even the game up at 63-63 and 68-68 in the fourth quarter.

Both teams had a shot to win it, but 'Sco's Olivier Esingle would eventually claim the game from the foul line, sinking the contest's final two points to ensure Myerscough made it back-to-back EABL finals, ending CoLA's unbeaten season in the progress.

In the other semi-finals, North #1 seeds Manchester were able to ease past Itchen 88-69, but that didn't look to be the case through the game's first three quarters.

Tied at 40-40 come half-time, and with the visitors ahead 55-53 after half an hour, it was the hosts who would command the final frame, taking it 35-14 to put a one-sided slant on the final score of an otherwise even game.

The WEABL also provided plenty of excitement, with defending champions Copleston keeping their title defence alive with a 61-59 comeback win against North champs Nottingham Academy Wildcats.

The visitors trailed by double digits early in the second quarter, hindered by a 20-8 frame, but fought back to erase that deficit by the middle of the third.

Nottingham regrouped, leading 54-46 with just over seven minutes to go, but Copleston refused to go quietly, erasing that lead as well. The sides swapped late baskets to keep things tied up before standout guard Maisie Keyes sunk the killer blow, netting a jumper with nine ticks remaining to send the Suffolk programme back to another final.

South winners CoLA had no such problems, taking their third meeting of the season with South rivals Barking Abbey 74-32.

Keeping their unbeaten streak alive, the hosts led from tip to buzzer and steadily grew their advantage the longer the game went on.

The clash marked a return from injury, and a return to form, for promising CoLA forward Chloe Vella, further bolstering Coach Gibbons' forward options ahead of the WEABL title game later this month.

What does it mean for the brackets? 

The final is now set across both leagues, with classification games also nearly completed as a full 1-12 ranking order of sides continues:

EABL Final

• #1 Manchester Magic vs #2 Myerscough College

WEABL Final

• #1 City of London Academy - Southwark vs #2 Copleston High School

3rd-6th classifications

EABL

3rd/4th game

• City of London Academy - Southwark vs Itchen College

5th/6th game

• Charnwood College Riders vs Derby Trailblazers

WEABL

3rd/4th game

• Nottingham Academy Wildcats vs Barking Abbey

5th/6th game

• Manchester Mystics vs Sheffield/Oaklands

7th/8th classifications

EABL

• Barking Abbey vs Oaklands Wolves

WEABL

• Sheffield/Oaklands vs Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy

View the EABL Standings

View the WEABL Standings

W/EABL Playoff Structures

Player-of-the-week candidates 

Manchester duo Jack Walton (26pts, 9reb, 7ast) and Demi Babalola (28pts, 13reb, 4ast) combined to down Oaklands in the EABL, Sayomi Latidan (18pts, 9reb) helped Myerscough down Toby Gass (25pts, 8reb) and CoLA, plus Zavier Gleadell-Smith (24pts, 10reb) and Tristan Curran (23pts, 10reb, 7ast) helped Charnwood take their classification game against Gavin Mitchell's (31pts, 12reb) Oaklands.

A huge double-double from Holly Ensoll (18pts, 23reb) sparked Copleston's win against Nottingham, with Tiarna Chambers-Desmond (16pts, 14reb, 4ast) and Ophelia Larder-Lee (19pts) countering for the Wildcats.

A Chloe Vella (16pts, 14reb) double-double and 20 points from Adaora Dioramma helped CoLA past Barking, and Charnwood's Grace Nzeakor (35pts, 15reb, 6stl) was unstoppable in the Riders' classification game victory against BMet.

Aida Badine (25pts, 9reb, 4ast) had the standout stat line for the Rockets, who finish their season with a hard-fought loss.

Watch out for the winner on our social channels, with the announcement going live on Friday at 12pm for the EABL, and 2pm for the WEABL.

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Main image credit - Kareem Lee