Unofficial Flyers

In 2008/09, Flyers senior mens team went into their second season in EBL Div 1, playing against the best teams in the EBL.

This year London Mets and Leicester Warriors join the division, whilst Cardiff Celts have had to drop out. 

Flyers will be hoping to make this their third season in Div1, the best yet, but will have to face the might of Reading Rockets, Manchester Magic, London Leopards and Sheffield Arrows, all of whom finished above the Flyers last season. They also have the unknown of the two new teams to worry about, but this has not bothered coach Kapoulas and the team in the past.

Last seasons captain, Gareth Till, decided to retire from the game after many years with the team. Also departing were John Grazioli and Brody Bishop, both of whom were on a one year contract with the Flyers. Under 18's captain and regular senior team player, Richard Loftman has also moved on, and will be playing in Nebraska, USA, this year. Our best wishes go to all of these guys.

Here's how the Flyers look going into the new season

Head coach - Andreas Kapoulas

Assistant Coach - Nick Burns

Physio - Aaron  Ryan

Captain -Greg Streete

 The table below shows the fixture list for the Flyers Senior Mens team but maybe subject to change.

Please keep checking for the latest fixture details.

 Download a Flyers Home Game Fixture list here!

Flyers back to winning ways

The Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers went on to collect a comfortable 102 to 81 home win versus the Sheffield Arrows this past Saturday. The win added to the club’s really successful Saturday results that saw all Under18 and U16 teams securing impressive victories versus Bath and Plymouth.

Former Arrows players Doug McLaughlin Williams and Danny Williams were the top scorers for the Flyers with 20 and 18 points while Arek Makowski and Davis Bowne added 15 each in the Flyers balanced offensive attack. Arrows were led by three point specialist Ben Murray with 25 points and 5 shots beyond the arc and Semi Eboigbe with 14 points.

Bristol showed their intentions to put the Manchester loss behind as the team raced to a 10 to 3 start. Baskets by Williams and Makowski fuelled the Flyers attack further to extend the lead to 14. With a minute remaining two baskets by Arrows forward Chitagu brought the score down to ten but a successful trip from the charity stripe from Rob Loftman gave the Flyers a 28-16 lead a the end of the first period.

The second period saw Bristol extending the lead further as a lay up by Danny Williams put the Flyers ahead, 36 to18. Arrows tried to resist with baskets by Ellis and Eboigbe however back to back threes by McLaughlin-Williams and a lay up by Bowne  would give the Flyers a 56 to 34 lead at halftime.

An early Arrows run led by Murray in the first six minutes of the third period saw the Sheffield team cutting the deficit to ten and forcing a Bristol time out. Flyers came out of the timeout determined to restore order and with a 13 -3 brought the difference back to 20, 77-57 at the end of the third.

Baskets by Williams and Loftman increased the score further 81-57 for the Flyers but Arrows would not give up. Murray with three successful attempts from beyond the arc would again help the Arrows cut the deficit to 15, 85 to 70 halfway through the fourth.  However baskets by Williams and Berry would bring the difference back to 20 and a lay up by Captain Greg Streete secured a valuable 102 to 81 home victory.

Coach Andreas Kapoulas after the game commented on the importance of the win over Sheffield: ‘We really wanted win to bounce back from last week’s game versus Manchester. Tonight’s game served as a good confidence boost, especially with the number of difficult away fixtures coming up.’

He went on to add: ‘I was not particularly pleased with our defensive effort at times but again there were moments that th team showed what we are capable of. I think consistency and execution are the two areas that we need to improve on for next weekend’s fixtures.’

The Flyers will have two away games next weekend. On Saturday they would travel to meet league newcomers London met who so far had an excellent start to the season while on Sunday they will have to face the Reading Rockets away for the Cup quarterfinals.

An early burst from Manchester saw Magic storm into a 11 point lead with less than 2 minutes of play gone, thanks mainly to Stefan GILL and Brandon KIMBROUGH. First to score for Flyers was young player Rob LOFTMAN who sank a pair of free-throws just before being substituted for Davis Bowne with the score at 16-2. Greg STREETE added another 2 whilst SLATER hit home from distance for another Manchester 3 points at the other end.

Magic extended their lead further with just 5 minutes played, to hold a 17 point lead over the visitorS, but with some good scoring from Captain STREETE, Flyers fought back to just 13 points difference with only a minute of play left in the quarter. GILL hit another 3 for Magic and McLaughlin-Williams sank two free-throws to keep Bristol in touch. Magics KIMBROUGH finished the scoring for the quarter with another 2 leaving the 1st period score at 36 -20

Going into the second period, Bristol needed to put in the best performance of their season so far, but again GILL took first blood and Magic were off on another charge. Flyers new boy Danny WILLIAMS got his debut for the team in this quarter, spending over 5 minutes on court. Flyers big men started the comeback campaign and with 33 minutes played the gap was down to 16 points, but the 4th minute saw Magic wave their wand and produce another blow to Flyers chances, adding another 5 points. By the end of the 8th minute that lead was back up to 25 and Kapoulas must have been left wondering what his team had to do. At the half time hooter the score stood at  58 - 35.

With a 23 point lead, Manchester must have felt confident, and after Flyeres brought the gap back to 21 for a short time, Magic were glad to see some valuable points going onto their side of the scoreboard, and the lead extend to 29. Tony BERRY got an UNSPORTSMANLIKE foul against him at the midpoint of the 3rd, but GILL only managed to sink one of the two penalty shots , but then things went really wrong for Flyers., with GILL and WATTS both hitting big 3 pointers. BOWNE and STREETE did their best to keep the points going in for Bristol but by the end of the 3rd the score stood at 84-48. A slow start to the final 10 minutes but Manchester managed to add to their lead making the gap 39 points with 7 minutes to play. STREETE hit a 2 pointer whilst GARCIA blocked out SUTTON's counter attack. Magic brought on HOGAN and within 20 seconds he had added another 2 points and with only 5 minutes left the score stood at 91-54. A succession of missed shots from Manchester allowed Bristol to reduce the difference slghtly, thanks to STREETE scoring twice from the line and GARCIA doing the same to one of his two attempts, and Manchesters charge seemed to be halted. STANNARD added 2 for Flyers helping with damage limitation before returning big man Tom Hutchinson missed both his shots from the line. With 19 seconds left it was LOFTMAN who was sent in for two shots, scoring with one of them but it was not enough. Magic came out victorious again with a 91 - 60 score line. A huge blow for Flyers leaugue challenge but lets hope that KAPOULAS and BURNScan sort out all issues beofre next weeks big game against DANNY WILLIAMS and DOUG MCLAUGHLIN-WILLIAMS' old team SHEFFIELD ARROWWS.

Final period report will appear here as the game progresses.

72        -      69

The Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers had a successful doubleheader weekend by recording wins in the first two home games of the season. On Saturday the Flyers faced a tough Coventry Crusaders for the National trophy competition while on Sunday the Bristol side hosted the Plymouth marjons for the second round of the National Cup.

Flyers 72 (15,28,49) Coventry 69 (17,32,53)

Top Scorers

Flyers: G.Streete 14. M.Gregory 14, D.McLaughlin-Williams

Coventry: J.Olinger 17, D.Edden 15

 It was the Flyers first game after a couple of weeks break due to the new seating being installed at the WISE campus which increased seating capacity to 800 spectators. The break was evident as Coventry started the game strong and an early three-pointer by Edden gave them an 8-4 lead in the first minutes of the game. The Flyers side responded back cutting the lead to 2 by the end of the first period, 15 to 17. Nevertheless, the Crusaders were determined to put the home team under pressure as two consecutive baskets by Taylor increased the difference to 9, 23-32 after seven minutes of play in the second period. However 5 unanswered points by Bristol in the closing 3 minutes brought the Flyers back to striking distance 18 to 32. The third period was similar story as Coventry looked to extend their lead but always valuable baskets by Mike Gregory and Doug McLaughlin-Williams, will keep the Flyers close to the game and trailing by four points going into the last period, 49 to 53.

A basket and a foul by Bristol’s Rob Loftman brought the difference down to 2 halfway through the last period as the Flyers looked desperate not to suffer their first home defeat. A run of 9-0 in the closing minutes however gave the Crusaders the highest lead of the game, 55 to 66. With 2 minutes and 20 seconds remaining, it was obvious that the Flyers needed more than miracle to come back in the game. The miracle was led by Flyers captain Greg Streete and US import Doug McLaughlin-Williams, who with 7 quick points brought the game back to 4 points, 62 to 66. With 55 seconds remaining, a three pointer by Coventry’s US import Olinger increased the lead to 7 but back to back three’s by Mike Gregory and Mcghlaughlin-Williams brought Bristol to striking distance, 68 to 69 with 30 seconds remaining. In the next play, the Flyers pressure forced Olinger to commit an offensive foul and with 20 seconds on the clock the Flyers had a chance to win the game in an amazing turnaround of events. A drive by Greg Streete with 10 seconds remaining was unsuccessful but Flyers forward Davis Bowne got the rebound and with a basket and foul put the flyers ahead for the first time in the game with7 seconds remaining. The missed free throw attempt by Bowne would proved beneficial for the Flyers as Mike Gregory picked up the rebound and time run out for Coventry just as Greg Streete got fouled.

90           -          61

Flyers 90 (25,50,79)                   Plymouth 61 (24,38,50)

Top scorers      Flyers: D.McLaughlin-Williams 22, M.Gregory 20         Plymouth: S.Rogers 28, J.Peake 11

Sunday’s game proved less exciting as the Flyers secured a comfortable 30 points victory versus Plymouth Marjons. Plymouth took an early 12-20 lead halfway through the first period but a three-pointer by Gregory at the end of the first period gave the Flyers the lead 25 to 24. The West Country side never looked back as it expanded its lead to 12 by halftime and continued to dominate the game as an impressive 29 to 11 third period secured their place in the third round of the National Cup.

Flyers Head Coach Andreas Kapoulas was pleased about the two wins but at the same not particularly happy about the way his team performed at the weekend:

‘It is really positive that we started our home games this season with two wins. The Coventry game was a great season opener and showed to everyone watching that we are determined to win games even when we are not playing well. A good confidence boost but at the same time, we need to perform better as a team if we are to achieve the goals that we set out at the start of the year.’

He went on to add:

‘We are very much a new team and we are still learning how to play with each other. There are a few areas in particular that I expect us to improve on starting from next game. Having said this we have progressed to the next round of the Cup and we have also put ourselves into position to finish first in the National trophy group so in terms of results we should be please.. I definitely think the longer we are going to be together, the better we are going to become.’

 68        -      67

Taunton Tigers proved just that little bit too hard to beat tonight in the second pool round of the National Trophy. Flyers ended the first period with a one point lead, with the score at 12 - 13, but Taunton were not going to leave them run away. In the second period, Tigers outscored Flyers and went into the break with a 34 - 33 lead which must have given them some hope considering they have had next to no luck against the Bristol team over the last few seasons.

Second half should have seen Flyers come out stronger following one of Coach Kapoulas' famous half time "talks", but the Welsh Giant Tony Berry got fouled out and was to take no further part in the game, and Flyers only managed to add 17 to their total. Tigers added 18 so led by 2 going into the final 20 minutes. But it was not to be the Flyers day, and even though they managed a better period score in the 4th, they still failed to tame the Tigers and lost the game by a single point.

Kapoulas was far from happy with the result and the performance, but now has just under two weeks before the two sides meet again at WELLSPRINGS Leisure Centre. You can be sure that this loss will not go unavenged.  

                  

CRUSADERS       V's     FLYERS

FINAL SCORE

56      -       69

 this photo and those in the Trophy album on our Photo page

courtesy of Chris Bestwick, Crusaders press office.

 M

Match report

Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers kicked off the 2009/10 season in a pulsating National Trophy encounter at the Coventry Sports Centre, where Flyers fought all the way to the buzzer for their 69-56 victory after leading for most of the game. 

 Flyers travelled to the game with a brand new squad including Flyers second American, Doug Mclaughlin- Williams who had landed in the UK just hours before Flyers set off to Coventry.

The first quarter saw a low scoring affair and both teams went into the break having scored just 10 points each in a quarter that was dominated by defence.

The second quarter saw Flyers score 26 points in flowing basketball, taking Flyers into the half time break leading by 14 points. Greg Streete and Tony Berry were scoring for Flyers whilst defensively Davis Bowne and Tom Hutchinson were preventing the Crusaders offence from getting any consistency. New man Doug Mclaughlin Williams came off the bench to hit his first 3 shots and showed why he was one of the league’s top imports last season with former club Sheffield, the 6”8 guard had his minutes limited by Coach Kapoulas as he recognised that he had already had a very long day.

The third quarter saw Coventry fight back through the efforts of their American Olinger who shot the lights out single handily dragging Coventry back into the game and eventually giving the home team a 2 point lead late in the quarter. Flyers had lost their way in the quarter but saw Davis Bowen tie the scores at the end of the third at 51 points apiece.

Flyers came out in the fourth quarter a totally different team and dominated a very tired Crusaders team, a game highlight inspired Flyers to finish the game in style. Greg Streete showed his athleticism in a play which saw him catch an “alley oop“ pass from Tony Berry and dunk the ball bringing even the home crowd to their feet.

The rest of the quarter saw the game slip away from Coventry as Bristol racked up free throws. Olinger continued to add to his tally launching a three pointer to make it 64-56 with four minutes to go, yet it was to be the last points Coventry would yield from the game. Flyers finished the game with a convincing 69 point to 56 point victory which saw Coach Andreas Kapoulas rotate his squad and share out the minutes limiting the minutes of a few players including one of Flyers American imports. Flyers were also missing Polish star Arek Makowski due to a family commitment but he is due to return in this weekend’s local Derby away to Taunton Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

“This was a good display in our first regular season game, Coventry fought hard but I think we were just too strong for the Crusaders. We have a big team this year and they have great potential, the dynamics of the team were fantastic today and with a few more games under our belts we could see the makings of a fantastic team. Greg Streete was outstanding today and has taken his role of team Captain very well; he led the team and was inspirational tonight. This weekend we have a chance of our first local Derby against Taunton but History is in our favour as we have not lost in some 20 plus games between the two teams” Comments Coach Andreas Kapoulas.

Flyers Top scorers were: Greg Streete 21, Doug Mclaughlin-Williams 10, Tony Berry 10.

Flyers are looking forward to a return to Bristol on October the 24^th when they face the return leg against Coventry at Filton College’s WISE Campus 7pm tip off. This will be more than just the first home game for the club as the installation of new seating and PA system will make the teams home a 1,000 seat Arena and one of the best courts in Division I for Basketball. Tickets will be available on the door for this game but they can be pre booked by contacting Danny James: danny.james@filton.ac.uk.

Flyers take on Taunton Tigers on October 4th at Wellsprings Leisure Centre, Taunton.

Anyone requiring directions to the venue, please drop me an Email and I'll do my best to guide you there.

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 FLYERS 72 - 78 TEAM USA

The 2009/10 basketball season kicked off tonight for the Flyers Senior Mens team, with a game against a USA Select team. Made up of top college players from all over the USA, the select team are touring the UK and Europe in search of contracts to play for teams like the Flyers.

The Flyers team for the game was a mix of old and new faces, with Tom Hutchinson, Tony Watson, new captain Greg Streete, Rob Loftman and Iri Omoyeni returning from last season. But there was also a number of new faces in the new Red Flyers 2^nd kit.

Jack Stannard and former Celts player Tony Berry played for the team for their first time and played a major part in the teams performance.

Also in the squad tonight were local lad Jake Vye, Mike Farage, Spencer Wells and Damon Dyer.

Finishing off the line up was the returning “Polish WIZARD “, Arek Makowski who missed most of last season due to work commitments.

Flyers put on a fantastic display of ball skills through most of the game, leading the match for most of the first half, but a few minutes of poor play early in the third saw the game turn around, and the Americans took control. With only 4 minutes to go, USA had a 12 point lead. Flyers started to trade points with them but saw no sign of closing the gap, until a few errors and fantastic skill from the Flyers team saw a burst of points appear on the scoreboard. As the final hooter sounded, Flyers score was just 6 points behind that of the visitors. A fantastic game to watch, even if the score was the wrong way round.

Winner of tonight’s raffle was Sharon Black, who went home with a signed basketball.