Elite Academy Leagues recap (4 Mar 2026)
The playoff fields in both Academy Leagues were halved on Wednesday, leaving just eight teams to continue dreaming of playoff glory.
The only upset of the round was in the WEABL, where #3 seeds Barking Abbey went to Manchester and ended the run of the #2 Mystics, but the playoff games elsewhere all went to the higher seeded teams.
Eight programmes now advance across the two leagues, with next Wednesday Final Fours then confirming the sides for playoff finals on 26 March.
Wednesday 4 March
EABL
Playoffs
#1 Manchester Magic 77-65 #4 Oaklands Wolves - LIVE STATS
#2 Myerscough College 75-64 #3 Barking Abbey - LIVE STATS
#1 City of London Academy - Southwark 82-41 #4 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
#2 Itchen College 73-58 #3 Charnwood College Riders - LIVE STATS
Classification games (9th-12th)
SGS College 74-66 Copleston High Schools - LIVE STATS
HHS Reading Rockets 75-64 BMet City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS
WEABL
Playoffs
#1 Nottingham Academy Wildcats 93-35 #4 Oaklands Wolves - LIVE STATS
#2 Manchester Mystics 43-50 #3 Barking Abbey - LIVE STATS
#1 City of London Academy - Southwark 83-42 #4 Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy - LIVE STATS
#2 Copleston High School 107-52 #3 The Sheffield College - LIVE STATS
Classification games (9th-12th)
Charnwood College Riders 57-72 HHS Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
Itchen College 87-49 BMet City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS
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Standout performances
In the WEABL, Barking overcame a slow start in Manchester to eventually down the Mystics 50-43, claiming the second half 32-19 to book a spot in the Final Fours.
Both top seeds are safely through, with Nottingham easily dispatching Oaklands 93-35, and CoLA coasting past MK5D 83-42.
Defending champs Copleston make up the semi-finals, using a 33-10 opening frame to eventually beat The Sheffield College 107-52.
It was a good day for the home sides in the EABL, with all four hosts progressing.
Myerscough got revenge on Barking Abbey for last season's EABL Final, ending BA's title defence with a hard-fought 75-64 victory.
North Conference winners Manchester also advanced, leading from tip to buzzer for a 77-65 win against Oaklands despite a wobble either side of half time when their advantage dipped to a single basket.
South runners up Itchen looked to be in trouble as North #3 seeds Charnwood held the lead at stages of each of the first three quarters, but a 25-14 final frame got the hosts over the line 73-58.
That just left South champs CoLA to continue their unbeaten season, adding a playoff win to their 10-0 regular season record as they beat Derby Trailblazers 82-41 in a repeat of January's Sure Shot U18 National Cup final.
What does it mean for the brackets?
The playoff match ups for next Wednesday are now set, with classification games also ongoing:
EABL
- #1 Manchester Magic vs #2 Itchen College
- #1 City of London Academy - Southwark vs #2 Myerscough College
WEABL
- #1 Nottingham Academy Wildcats vs #2 Copleston High School
- #1 City of London Academy - Southwark vs #3 Barking Abbey
5th-8th classifications
EABL
- Charnwood College Riders vs Oaklands College
- Barking Abbey vs Derby Trailblazers
WEABL
- The Sheffield College vs Oaklands College
- Manchester Mystics vs Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy
9th-12th classifications
EABL
9th/10th game
- HHS Reading Rockets vs SGS College
11th/12th game
- BMet City of Birmingham Rockets vs Copleston High School
WEABL
9th/10th game
- Itchen College vs HHS Reading Rockets
11th/12th game
- Charnwood College Riders vs BMet City of Birmingham Rockets
Player-of-the-week candidates
Holly Ensoll (18pts, 22reb, 3ast, 4stl, 5blk) and Angel Whyte (28pts, 4reb, 4ast) both combined to down The Sheffield College, Kamilah Yakabu (18pts, 5reb) was the standout for Barking in their upset, and Eva-Grace Yebila (14pt, 7reb, 3blk) and Adaora Dioramma (15pts, 5reb, 3stl) both played well for CoLA against MK5D.
Nottingham shared the load in their WEABL win as Tiarna Chambers-Desmond (18pts, 11reb, 4stl), Ophelia Larder-Lee (19pts, 5reb, 5stl) and Hanya Correia (19pts, 10reb, 4ast, 3stl) all enjoyed productive afternoons, and Sophia Miell (16pts, 5reb, 8ast) was on song for Itchen in their classification game as team mate Aimee Nwabisi (9pts, 11reb, 9ast, 9stl) fell just short of an incredible quadruple-double.
In the EABL, Demi Babalola (26pts, 15reb, 5ast) was too much for Oaklands and Gavin Mitchell (20pts, 17reb), Andrew Nwokolo (17pts, 12reb) starred off the bench for CoLA, and Ethan Round (13pts, 11reb, 7ast) pushed Itchen past Tristan Curran's (27pts, 6reb) Charnwood.
Zach Trezvant (16pts, 14reb, 5blk) and Olivier Esingle (19pts, 7reb, 7ast, 6stl) were effective at both ends of the court for Myerscough against Barking, cancelling out a solid outing from BA's Kervy Mabaya (11pts, 9reb, 6ast, 3stl), and Kevin Ramirez Mora (11pts, 16reb) was the main man for SGS in their classification game win over Copleston.
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.
Main image credit - Kareem Lee
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