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British trio join Sunlive Basketball Academy for the 2018-19 season

Three players from England have joined the Sunlive Basketball Academy for the 2018-19 season. Pierce Maslen, Wesley Oba and Zak-Blue Shagourie will complete a ‘Prep Year’ with SBA as well as playing for Sangalhos Desporto Clube in Campeonato Nacional 1st Divisão, the third tier of Portuguese Basketball.

Pierce Maslen, a 6’1” Point Guard from Essex, England joins SBA from Barking Abbey Basketball Academy in London, a program with a rich history of player development. At Barking Abbey Pierce played in the Elite Academy Basketball League (EABL), helping Barking Abbey to back to back National titles in 2017 & 2018. He also played for Kent Crusaders in the National Basketball League Division 1 and represented England u16 at he European Championships in 2016. Speaking about joining SBA Pierce said; “I’m really happy to join the Sunlive Basketball Academy and I’m enjoying the experience so far. I’m looking forward to an exciting year ahead.”


Wesley Oba, a 6’6” Wing/Forward from Manchester, England played his junior basketball with Loreto College and the well renowned Manchester Magic club. A relatively late starter to the game, Wesley has a big upside and is coming off a season where he helped Manchester Magic to win the U18 National title in England. Talking about joining SBA, Wesley said; “I’m very happy to have the opportunity to play here at SBA. So far the support from all the staff has been excellent. Everyone is friendly and they take really good care of us so that we can focus on playing basketball and improving.”

Zakeus-Blue Shagourie, a 6’8” Power Forward/Centre hails from London, but spent the last two season at the Charnwood Basketball Academy in Loughborough, one of England’s leading academy programs. Zak helped Charnwood win the U18 National Cup last season, posting 16 points and 10 rebounds in the final. Zak had this to say about joining SBA; “It’s a great opportunity to be able to play at the Sunlive Basketball Academy. So far it has been great, we’ve had huge support from all members staff and the high playing level will shape out for a great year of growth and development.”

At SBA the players will benefit from a structured development program, incorporating individual workouts, strength and conditioning, team practice, sports psychology workshops and nutrition and lifestyle advice. The players will also receive help and guidance with the NCAA recruitment process if they have ambitions to play College Basketball in America.

For more information or to join the Sunlive Basketball Academy contact Academy Director and Head Coach Josh Merrington at basketacademy@sunlive.pt.



Keep up to date with the Sunlive Basketball Academy by following our social channels @SunliveBball on Twitter & Instagram and ‘Sunlive Basketball Academy’ on Facebook.