Men’s squad preparing for Final 8s at SportsDock

The University of East London’s basketball squad have high hopes for the BUCS Final 8s, which take place on their home court at SportsDock this weekend.

UEL dominated the BUCS Premier South season to clinch the title with an unbeaten record and two more wins this weekend will see them reach the final in Loughborough on March 25.

Brunel, Northumbria and Loughborough also qualified by virtue of their league finishes, while Worcester, Durham, Sheffield Hallam and Leeds Beckett came through play-offs to book their spots.

But UEL captain Dougie Bennett says his side of relative unknowns have the final in their sights.

“Our goal is to win everything, it has to be to win everything,” said Bennett.

“We relish the face that we are the unknowns in this competition. It makes us even hungrier for victory.”

UEL meet Durham on Saturday (March 14, 1pm), who won four of 10 matches in the Premier North League before beating Oxford 115-46 in their play-off.

Head coach Jonathan Campbell added: “We have had another very successful season and to be undefeated in the Premier South is a fantastic achievement for our first year in the league.

“We’ve had a fantastic group of players who have led the way in how we’ve played and worked this year, and they deserve all the praise for the hard work that has created this success.”

But Campbell also acknowledged that the squad are not finished yet, with bigger goals still to achieve.

“We are all very proud of what we have accomplished so far, but we have high expectations of each other and what we can achieve,” he said.

“We are preparing well for Final 8s and looking forward to our first game against Durham.”

Entry and parking is free at UEL SportsDock and the team are hoping supporters get behind them.