Wales U23 Men Gain Valuable International Experience in Ireland
Wales U23 travelled to Ireland this past weekend for two valuable international fixtures against Ireland’s U20 and U18 squads, providing a strong test for the Welsh programme and an important opportunity for players to gain experience at international level.
Led by Head Coach Danny Williams, the Wales U23 squad faced two challenging games across the weekend, with the fixtures offering valuable exposure to the pace, physicality and intensity of international basketball.
The weekend opened with Wales U23 facing Ireland U20 at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin. Ireland produced a strong performance to take the win, 87–62, but Wales continued to compete throughout and gained important experience against a side preparing for the FIBA Youth EuroBasket programme.
Wales were back in action again against Ireland U18 at Coláiste Bríd, where the two teams produced a high-scoring and competitive contest. Ireland came away with a 97–86 victory, but Wales showed resilience and attacking quality throughout, keeping the game competitive and continuing to build valuable experience across the squad.
A standout performer for Wales across the weekend was Tomide Akinisku, the Leicester Riders SLB player, who delivered a strong performance and demonstrated his quality against high-level international opposition.
For Wales U23, the weekend was about much more than the final scores. The fixtures provided players with valuable court time, tested the squad in a challenging environment, and gave the coaching staff an opportunity to assess the group as part of the continued development of the Wales performance pathway.
Basketball Wales would like to thank Basketball Ireland for hosting the fixtures and for providing two excellent development opportunities for the Wales U23 programme.
The experience gained across the weekend will be an important step forward for the players involved as Basketball Wales continues to support the development of Welsh talent and create meaningful opportunities for athletes to compete internationally.
