Essex Rebels win the league after undefeated season

An undefeated season was celebrated by student basketball players after they won a high-stakes national final.

The Essex Rebels Division 3 men's side lifted the trophy on Saturday after beating Barnet Bulldogs 85-62.

Manchester hosted the National Basketball League Final which saw the Rebels adding playoff success to an 18-0 regular season.

DJ Wol picked up MVP honours with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, whilst shooting 80% from the field.

DJ Wol with the MVP match ball

He said: "Winning the D3 championship is a major achievement for the team, as this was a major goal that was set early at the start of the year."

The third-year sports therapy added: "I am highly grateful for my teammates and coaches as this year, we have all put in a lot of workday in and day out to complete these goals.

"Winning the finals MVP is a great achievement for me, however, it could not have done it without my teammates who have played a major role to win in an important game like that."

Incredible

The incredible success was toasted by Head Coach for the D3 side Ryan Maiden.

He said: "Winning the D3 playoffs and completing an undefeated season is a huge achievement for everyone involved.

"I've coached some of the players since they were as young as 13 or 14 so to win a senior title with them is incredible.

"For the club, this is exactly what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.

"We really hope that the success of this season will carry forward into next year and we can help to bring more silverware back to Colchester."