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14 September 2026  2 min read

NBL Men's National Cup round one in the books as teams take first steps on road to Manchester

Cleveland Steelers got the ball rolling last Tuesday night with a hard-fought 78-75 victory over East Durham Lions, lifting the curtain on the opening round of the competition.

Dream Chasers Sheffield, Exeter Spartans, Northamptonshire Titans, London Westside, Yorkshire Dragons progressed on Saturday. 

They were joined in by Sunday's winners: London Southside Saints, Barrows Thorns, Gravesend Spartans, Bromsgrove Bears, Teesside Lions, MK Breakers, Southend Scorpions, Oxford Hoops, Manchester Giants, Kent Crusaders, South Lincs Dragons, Greater Manchester Titans (pictured), Shropshire Warriors, Bedford Thunder,  London Sharks, Sheffield College and University of Hertfordshire Storm.

Last season's D2M playoff winners Oaklands Wolves beat Anglia Ruskin University 89-69 in Cambridge in an early round two game.

Men's National Cup Results

Destination Manchester

The weekend ties marked the start of the journey for all the league's sides as they try to plot their way to success in this season's Cup competitions.

The Finals are set for 23 and 24 January 2027 at Manchester's National Basketball Performance Centre, returning to the North West after last season's stop in Worcester.

Solent Kestrels are due to get their their NBL National Cup defence underway in Round Two at the end of September, hitting the road for a local derby with Portsmouth Force.

Holders Manchester Mystics are the only side with a bye in Round One of the WNBL National Cup, which gets underway on 4 October 2026.

That means their journey will get started in early November against either City of Birmingham Rockets or University of Nottingham Wildcats.

Action elsewhere

The NBL National Cup formed part of a total of 74 fixtures to be played across the week, officially opening the new season.

There were also contests in the U16 and U18 Sure Shot National Cup for both the girls and the boys, plus a host of league games across the U16 and U14 Boys' competitions.

Check all the Results here

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