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5 December 2025  5 min read

W/EABL Players of the Week (3 Dec 2025)

You can have your say on this week’s selections and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one on the Academy League channels.

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How it works

Each week, a standout player plus four other worthy selections will be put forward to make the Player and Team Of The Week in both the EABL and WEABL, paying attention to the following criteria:

• Efficiency
• Stats
• Team and opposition strength
• Periods of influence in the game
• Being on a winning team (exceptional performances from players on losing teams will be considered for TOTW)

Players of the Week

A pair of high-efficiency winners take Player of the Week honours, with eye-catching stat lines to boot.

Oaklands' Gavin Mitchell was instrumental in helping the Wolves down defending EABL champs Barking 88-57, providing a big 21-point, 22-rebound double-double, with both numbers being game-highs.

Three blocks and two assists added to Mitchell's value as he continues to add himself to the list of elite forwards in this season's competition.

Speaking about the performance, Mitchell said: "I'm really happy to play my part and get our first home win of the season. I am even happier how we got it. It was a great team performance and we played our brand of basketball for the full game."

Oaklands' Head Coach Liam Jefferson added: "Gavin has set the standard for our programme the moment he walked through the door.

"He was hugely impressive in this game, and whilst the stat line jumps off the page, his leadership from the jump to the final buzzer was the most impressive and this award is deserved recognition."

After sealing a historic first-ever WEABL win, there was plenty to celebrate on Wednesday for MK5D. After playing a starring role in that success, it's fitting to provide recognition to Sofia Elnur for helping to make it happen.

The talented guard scored a joint team-high of 23 points on 10/16 FGs (62%), adding 12 boards, three assists and a trio of steals to her afternoon's work.

Elnur scored 12 of MK5D's 18 points in an 18-7 second frame that helped to break the game open for the visitors, providing the spark they needed to pull away to a well-deserved victory.

"I’m really happy and grateful to receive this award," said Elnur.

"The team had a great performance against Birmingham and everyone contributed. We have been working really hard and it felt amazing to get our first win."

MK5D Head Coach Paige Vyse added: "I’m extremely grateful and proud to be coaching this group. Their hard work and dedication is admirable.

"The team cohesion is growing weekly, and in turn they are growing and improving as individuals and as a team.

"They’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this point and we are excited to continue pushing the programme and seeing what else we can achieve."

EABL Team of the Week

Gavin Mitchell - Oaklands College (21pts, 22reb, 3ast, 2blk, 37eff)

Demi Babalola - Manchester Magic (18pts, 6reb, 9ast, 6stl, 2blk, 34eff)

Ethan Round - Itchen College (25pts, 3reb, 3ast, 6stl, 31eff)

Jakub Ofman - Itchen College (22pts, 11reb, 2stl, 31eff)

Zavier Gleadell-Smith - Charnwood College Riders (10pts, 10reb, 3ast, 2stl, 5blk, 25eff)

POTW Mitchell is joined by an Itchen duo and a pair of North Conference standouts in the latest TOTW.

Manchester's Demi Babalola continues his standout season with points, rebounds, assists and steals, piling it all on in the 99-72 win over SGS.

Ethan Round and Jakub Ofman combined to help Itchen hammer HHS 101-53, with Round dropping a game-high 25 points and Ofman adding 11 rebounds to his 22 points.

The team is rounded out by an efficient performance from Charnwood's Zavier Gleadell-Smith, who provided a tidy 10/10 double-double on 66% shooting, with an impressive five blocks on top, as the Riders beat BMet 90-83.

Honourable mentions

Dylan Gladstone - Oaklands College (15pts, 11reb, 25eff)
Larry Duru - BMet City of Birmingham Rockets (26pts, 18reb, 22eff)
Tom Richardson - Manchester Magic (22pts, 5reb, 22eff)
Pharrell Kattah - Charnwood College Riders (13pts, 8reb, 5ast, 2stl, 21eff)
Jonathan Agbeze - BMet City of Birmingham Rockets (20pts, 8reb, 4ast, 3stl, 19eff)

WEABL Team of the Week

Sofia Elnur - Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy (23pts, 12reb, 3ast, 3stl, 35eff)

Irene Oboavwoduo - Manchester Mystics (26pts, 8reb, 6ast, 8stl, 34eff)

Anna Mendez - Itchen College (20pts, 10reb, 3ast, 4stl, 2blk, 29eff)

Sharliyah Sutherland - Barking Abbey (20pts, 4reb, 2stl, 15eff)

Holly Welch - Oaklands Wolves (15pts, 14reb, 20eff)

Elnur headlines this week's team and is joined by Manchester's standout guard Irene Oboavwoduo after her excellent performance against The Sheffield College.

Itchen's Anna Mendez added a double-double to six defensive stops as the South coast programme made short work of HHS, and two former Player of the Week winners round out the five.

Sharliyah Sutherland was the standout for Barking as they edged past Oaklands, 56-47, dropping a game-high 20 points as the visitors overcame Holly Welch's double-double performance for the Wolves. 

Honourable mentions

Sophia Agboola - Itchen College (18pts, 4reb, 2ast, 3stl, 18eff)
Matilda Upfold - HHS Reading Rockets (13pts, 9reb, 3ast, 2stl, 17eff)
Yi Na Chan - MK5D (21pts, 8reb, 5ast, 3stl, 17eff)

Main image credit - Josh Nesden/MK5D