• Home
• News

21 January 2026  7 min read

Senior National Cup Finals 25/26 - preview, live streams, live stats & more

We've got previews below for both Senior Finals, and fixture titles are clickable to access live stats links.

Live streams are also available, along with a gallery of photos of this year's finalists in action at the bottom of the page.

Rosters for each of this weekend's finals can be accessed from the button below:

Cup Final Rosters

Haven't got your ticket yet? Act fast! They'll be available on the door, but allocations are selling fast so click the button below to avoid disappointment.

Get Your Tickets Here

1pm: Women’s National Cup Final: London Cavaliers v Manchester Mystics

For all of Manchester's dominance across the Jnr. NBL, with countless league, Cup and playoff successes, their senior outlet is yet to etch their name on the WNBL National Cup in its 61 years.

That could all change this weekend, but to make it a reality they'll have to overcome London Cavaliers, winners in 2022/23 and finalists in 2023/24.

Both teams are currently flying high in WNBL Division One, with the Cavs' 10-2 record leaving them narrowly behind the 11-2 Mystics in top spot.

In their lone league meeting to date this season, Manchester took the spoils in the North West 72-66 in mid-November.

Twenty two points from Kizzy Spence and 16 more from Georgia Perdomo and Alexandra Hernandez got the hosts over the line that day, with Chinwe Iwunze (20pts, 13reb) and Mrashi Karumba-Roberts (19pts, 15reb) both providing double-doubles in reply as Janice Monakana (6pts, 3/12FGs) was unusually held in check.

Both teams will have learned plenty from that initial clash to inform their plans for the weekend, with the Mystics outshooting their opponents 38% to 29% and taking the assist battle 23-13.

London started their campaign with an 86-54 victory against D2 Hemel Storm before knocking out previous Cup winners CoLA (65-53) and Anglia Ruskin (85-59) to set up a Semi-Final win against D1's London All Stars (79-59).

Manchester's path has been somewhat kinder, seeing off D2 sides Nottingham Wildcats 113-44 and Cardiff Met Archers 105-54, before drawing current D1W bottom two Bromsgrove (52-68) and Loughborough (57-52) in the quarters and semis respectively.

Both these rosters are deep, with plenty of match winners on either side. The Cavs can lean on Janice Monakana, who turned out the the national side as recently as 2023. She is third in the D1W scoring charts this season with an impressive 22.1PPG, narrowly ahead of Iwunze's 18.8PPG.

Karumba-Roberts' (8.9PPG, 11.5RPG) is ready to dominate the glass as a top three rebounder in the league this year, and former Cup Final MVP Helene Trailin (8.6PPG, 8.6RPG) is another that can seriously affect the game in the paint.

For the Mystics, they have a host of former juniors who have returned to their roots. Guards Jade Mbam, Chloe Andrew and Spence have all re-joined the club after coming through Manchester's junior pathway and then taking their talents elsewhere.

Spence tops the team's scoring charts with 18.9PPG, with Perdomo narrowly behind on 15.3PPG, whilst Success Odemwingie is enjoying a breakout season, particularly on defence. Earlier in the season she helped hold D1W standout Harriet Welham to a single-digit outing, a rare occurrence indeed.

London Cavaliers' head coach Robbie Connell:

"We had a tough run to make the finals, playing the likes of CoLA and ARU, but to be in the finals, you have to beat the best teams along the way.

"We set ourselves some lofty goals in pre-season, winning the Cup being one of them, and we've given ourselves the opportunity to do that against a very good Manchester team.

"Manchester away wasn't our best performance in the league, and they were very good at punishing our mistakes.

"We need to make sure we stick to what we do best in terms of our tempo and physicality and if we can do that for 40 minutes I think we'll be very hard to beat."

Manchester Mystics captain Nat Feurtado:

"It's a fantastic achievement for the team to reach a Final at senior level. We've got a group that understands that winning basketball requires hard work and togetherness.

"We've improved as a team since the beginning of the season and we know that if we stay together and play for each other, everything else has a better chance of falling into place.

"We, as a team, are all looking forward to bringing our best efforts to the Final."

4pm: Men’s National Cup Final: Manchester Magic v Solent Kestrels

There's a high-pedigree in this year's NBL National Cup Final, with Manchester Magic and Solent Kestrels sharing six wins between them in the last 20 years.

Magic own four of those, though their last came in 2015/16. Solent's two successes were more recent, 2018/19 and 2020/21, to sandwich the lost COVID season of 2019/20.

Sitting in different pools in D1M, the two are yet to meet this season. Manchester are currently 8-5 in Pool A, battling hard for a top-four spot and a ticket to the post-season. A title push isn't out of the question, but it will require an uptick in form and a few missteps from Pool A's leading lights.

Solent are locked in a title race of their own in Pool B. Current leaders Barking are 10-3, but Solent (9-2) and Barnet (9-1) both have games in hand that could help lift them above the Londoners.

This weekend will be Manchester's first taste of a Pool B opponent this season, only taking on Pool A or lower league opposition to get to Worcester.

A Semi-Final win against D2 side Oaklands went 90-60 to Magic, with wins against St Helens (97-77), Yorkshire Dragons (90-86), Liverpool (95-69) and Manchester Spartans (92-46) preceding it.

It's been a different story on the South Coast, with Solent seeing off Pool A's joint leaders Birmingham City University 84-54 in an exciting semi-final clash.

London Lions II (82-60), Brent Bulls (100-49) and Exeter Spartans (91-62) were the other teams to be dispatched to get the Kestrels into this year's Final.

Magic will sport a blend of youth products and more seasoned veterans in their quest for a fifth National Cup win.

Guard Jack Walton (18.4PPG, 5.1APG) and forward Demi Babalola (10.5PPG, 6.8RPG, 2.3SPG) are two of the country's most exciting young players, both making a splash in both D1M and the EABL.

The more experienced Aaron Bile (12.8PPG) and Pharroh Gordon (14.5PPG, 6.5RPG) have both earned D1M weekly honours this season, and Tyme Regent-Bascombe (4.9PPG, 3.4RPG) was a double National Cup winner with Magic back in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Solent have a similar mix, utilising the youthful talents of EABL standouts Ethan Round (13.4PPG), Jakub Ofman (9.6PPG) and Ben Cope with Andre Arissol (16.6PPG, 3.6SPG) and Luke Busumbru (11.9PPG, 5.0APG), who were both central figures during Solent's recent D1M championship winning campaigns from 2020-22.

Manchester Magic's head coach Joshua Perkins:

"It’s been a rollercoaster first half of the season, with the team already having some high highs and low lows.

"We are pleased to make the Final of such a historic competition. Our goal remains to be consistent with our preparation, effort and standards."

Solent Kestrels' Andre Arissol:

"Reaching the Cup Final means everything to us and our community. These moments are built on the work of volunteers, supporters, and everyone in Southampton who champions what we stand for.

"We’re no strangers to this stage, and we don’t take it lightly. Competing here again is an honour and representing our city at the highest level is something we intend to keep doing."

All stat averages are from D1M/D1W unless stated.