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Daily Record
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Caledonian Gladiators appoint club legend as head coach
The East Kilbride basketball franchise have made a permanent appointment Caledonia Gladiators has appointed club legend Jonny Bunyan as its men's head coach for the 2025/26 season. Jonny, 33, who captained the East Kilbride side to their first silverware in two decades when they won the Super League Basketball Trophy final in 2022/23, had been interim head coach at the national club since stepping into the position in January. The team enjoyed an uplift in performances during the ex-Scotland point guard's time in charge, despite it being a challenging campaign, and he has now been appointed into the role as the club seeks to turnaround its fortunes in season 2025/26. Jonny, who played more than 400 times for the club, said: 'I'm really honoured to be taking on the role of head coach at the Caledonia Gladiators - a team I've had such a huge connection with over the years. 'The club means a lot to me and my family – my brother Keith played for the club for six years and also lifted silverware here – and we've supported the club my whole life. It's like a second home for me. 'It was a tough season for our men's team last season, but I'm determined to improve results and see us perform to the levels I know we're capable of. 'The aim now is to get the club back to where it should be – fighting for championships and back up towards the top of the league, putting in good performances in front of our home crowd.' Jonny has been associated with the Gladiators for nearly 15 years and recently enjoyed his testimonial season. The club veteran is second in the all-time standings for club appearances with 424 games. The highlight of his time at the club was winning the Super League Basketball Trophy final in 2022/23 when they defeated Cheshire Phoenix 73-70. His brother Keith, 47, previously won the Super League Basketball Playoffs with the club in 2002/3. Jonny finished his playing career at the Gladiators in January 2024 to move into a community development role with the club as part of their community outreach programme, which he combined with playing for his hometown club Falkirk Fury. Jonny has played for Scotland at every age level, representing his country as they finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018, and he has also been picked for Great Britain squads at under 20 level. Delighted Jonny added: 'We want to fly the banner for basketball in Scotland here. 'It was obviously challenging stepping into the role of head coach for the first time, but I felt like I really grew into the role and got some good performances from the team towards the end of the season. 'I believe I can put my own stamp on the team for the new season and make it into an exciting team our fans can be proud of.' The new head coach hopes to announce new signings within the coming weeks, with recruitment well-underway, and the club will provide updates on those in due course. Tony McDaid, Caledonia Gladiators chief executive, said: 'Everybody at the club has been hugely impressed by Jonny since he stepped into the head coach role earlier this year. 'He has a real command of the dressing room, and we view Jonny as a natural fit for this role longer term. 'We know Jonny is a real fan favourite, and we hope this news will be well received by fans as we look forward to the new season.'
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'More to come' as Newcastle make European semi
Newcastle Eagles are "not satisfied yet" after making the semi-finals of the European North Basketball Eagles defeated defending champions Bakken Bears 93-73 at home to win 177-160 on aggregate, having lost the first leg in Denmark are aiming for their second trophy of the season, having won the Super League Basketball Trophy in January."This was one of our goals, to move forward in this competition," Josh Ward-Hibbert told BBC Look North."We're a stage closer but I don't think anyone's satisfied yet. With the team we've got, this is what we're planning for." The Final Four takes place on 8-9 April with the venue to be decided once all the finalists are known. Success in the SLB Trophy over Bristol Flyers was a 28th piece of silverware for the most successful men's franchise in British basketball. But all of those have come on the domestic front, so winning a European trophy would be new ground for the Eagles, led by ex-Great Britain head coach Marc 31, contributed 14 points at the Vertu Motors Arena as the English club convincingly overturned a three-point deficit against Bakken, the team who beat them at the same stage of this competition last now it leaves the guard and the rest of his team-mates chasing history. "It's something the club hasn't done before, so it's an amazing achievement," Ward-Hibbert added."Just the event and the whole few days that it's taking place over is going to be something amazing. "I can't wait to get my teeth stuck into it and hopefully come back with a couple more wins."
