THERE is confidence among Team Isle of Wight’s basketball hierarchy they will cause an upset in Gibraltar at this summer’s Island Games.

Despite the obvious disadvantage for players — most of which are Island based — there is no competitive five-on-five league on the Isle of Wight, a new three-on-three format was established to get them playing at some sort of intensive competitive level in the run-up to the week-long Games in July.

Isle of Wight County Press: Team IW’s basketball team show off their new kit, sponsored by PC Consultants — back row, from left: Jack England, Leighton HendonJohn, Rafe Abrook, Mitch Andrews and Anthony Bryan. Front: Conor Wright, Oscar Gosling, Ian Broadsmith, Ross Toogood and Harrison Fisher. Tristan Hall and Mr YT are not pictured.Team IW’s basketball team show off their new kit, sponsored by PC Consultants — back row, from left: Jack England, Leighton HendonJohn, Rafe Abrook, Mitch Andrews and Anthony Bryan. Front: Conor Wright, Oscar Gosling, Ian Broadsmith, Ross Toogood and Harrison Fisher. Tristan Hall and Mr YT are not pictured.

However, there are some members of the team who play for mainland outfits — Jack England, 24, for Loughborough University, and Tristan Hall, 24, for Plymouth Raiders, together with Winchester University’s Conor Wright, 22, and Oscar Gosling, 23.

The team’s joint captain, Rafe Abrook, plays for Hemel Storm II.

Alongside joint captain and team manager, Ian Broadsmith, 45 — who Rafe, 44, has played alongside for 30 years — they will almost certainly be the oldest basketball players in the Island Games.

Isle of Wight County Press: Co-captains Rafe Abrook, left, and Ian Broadsmith.Co-captains Rafe Abrook, left, and Ian Broadsmith.

Their experience will be vital against the Cayman Islands in their July 7 opener, Aland the next day, and the Isle of Man on July 9.

The pair played together in for title-winning Cowes Dolphins in the former IW Basketball League, between 1991-93.

They represented the Isle of Wight in the 2015 and 2017 Games, with Ian also taking part in 2011 and Rafe, 2003.

In the 2017 Games in Gotland, Sweden, the Isle of Wight’s men’s basketball team came fifth — narrowly losing to eventual winners, Gibraltar.

Ian said: “We’re fairly confident we’ll have a good tournament. We know what we are up against, but feel we can match what we achieved in Gotland.

“A medal seems unlikely, given the top teams have full-time pros, but our preparation has gone well.

“If we win our pool matches against Aland and the Isle of Man, it’ll set us up for a potential upset — if we play our socks off.

“We look forward to being part of the Island sporting community in Gibraltar and supporting our fellow athletes in their disciplines.”

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