This Sunday, the Caledonia Gladiators men’s side travels to the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester to take on Brian Semonian’s Manchester Giants in the first fixture of the 2023/24 British Basketball League season. Both sides have finished a summer full of rebuilding their squads ahead of an exciting campaign, with the Gladiators competing in European competition for the first time, and the Giants hoping to bounce back from a seventh-placed finish last season.

Scout on the Giants

This summer, Manchester Giants have recruited in a mixed way, bringing back big-name British Basketball League stars like Jamell Anderson and William Lee, whilst also bringing in plenty of new faces who haven’t played in the league before.

The coaching staff have also seen a change, with Brian Semonian replacing league veteran Vince Macaulay in the summer, and Callum Jones changing his role to a player/assistant coach alongside Paul Cantwell.

Many fans within the league are unsure of how to analyse the Giants given the lack of unknown in their recruitment. However, with much change in their roster from last campaign, it’s set to be an interesting one for the hosts on Gladiators’ opening away fixture.

New Look Gladiators

While the Gladiators have maintained a fair amount of players from the historic 22/23 campaign. Remaining in Gareth Murray’s squad moving forward are Oscar Baldwin, Kyle Jimenez, Fraser Malcolm, Jonny Bunyan, Prince Onwas, and Fahro Alihodzic.

With new additions of Trent Buttrick, Ian DuBose, Kyle Johnson, Lukáš Palyza, Patrick Whelan, Mihailo Jovicic, and Clifton Moore, the Gladiators have a fresh, dynamic roster ready to compete in the British Basketball League and European competition.

This season’s squad has the ability to be a high-flying, fast-paced one, with the personnel to be a great shooting team, too. As the side continues through their pre-season preparations, following their trip to Belgium last week, Gareth Murray and his coaching staff are helping the team to continue to build chemistry and work together as a unit as the beginning of a crucial season is fast approaching.

Game Details

The squads will face off this Sunday, 17th September, at 6 PM, with the fixture taking place at the hosts’ National Basketball Performance Centre. The game will be broadcast live on the British Basketball League’s YouTube channel with the new-look on-screen team!