Loreto College U17 Boys were crowned Dynamic English Schools champions after beating Charnwood College 92-78 at the National Basketball Performance Centre.

Josh Grant was named MVP after scoring 24 points and bagging countless rebounds, with Luke Gordos (16), Malachi Boakye-Yiadom (15) and Noah Tchifounga (10) also reaching double figures. Dan Gargan (9), Saul May (6), Jason Ani (6), Ty Jordan (4) and Mo Shegow (2) also got on the scoresheet for Loreto.

Coached by Pete Paraskeva, Loreto started well, opening up an 8-0 lead before finishing the first quarter 23-15 up. That advantage became 14 towards the end of the second, before a late Charnwood rally closed the gap to 7 by the halftime interval. Despite the loss of Ani to injury, Loreto took firm control in the third quarter, going 22 points up, before easing to victory in the fourth despite another late charge from their opponents.

“The team have grown in confidence throughout the competition and beating an academy like Charnwood in the final is always a great achievement,” said team coach Paraskeva.

“This shows not only our strength in depth this season, but, with two U17 titles in three years, also shows our continued effort towards development of our junior programme at Loreto College and Manchester Magic.”

Loreto: Josh Grant, Dylan Consterdine, Saul May, Henry Lythe De Pee, Malachi Boakye-Yiadom, Ty Jordan, Dan Gargan, Noah Tchifounga, Luke Gordos, Jason Ani, Mo Shegow.