La Trobe Men’s UBL team prepare to hit the court for inaugural campaign

After a year of no sport, the La Trobe men’s team are raring to go ahead of a trip to Queensland for the first match of the competition on April 13.

The UBL is a new national basketball league endorsed by Basketball Australia for university students, designed to strengthen the pathway to professional basketball in Australia.

In 2021, seven universities will battle it out over six weeks across men's and women's competitions around Australia to determine the strongest university basketball team in the country. Each participating university will have the chance to host and livestream matches throughout the competition.

Braden Cotter has been announced as the head coach for the upcoming UBL season, while Eltham Wildcats forward Ovie Magbegor will be the captain for the inaugural campaign.

Cotter says that the team are excited at the prospect of representing La Trobe University on the national stage.

“It’s an amazing feeling, it’s a good buzz,” he said.

“I think everyone has enjoyed the release and being able to get out and play again.”

Cotter praised the state-of-the-art facilities at the La Trobe Sport Stadium, saying the players were looking forward to playing on their home court.

“I think for the players it’s such a huge step up from what they would have had in the past, especially at university level,” Cotter said.

“I think what the university has done has really set us apart.”

On the eve of the season, Cotter is extremely excited about the players he has at his disposal.

“Our captain Ovie Magbegor, he’s looking to push in NBL1 – he’ll be great this year,” Cotter said.

“I also think Christian Yammouni is really going to set the standard for us.

“We’ll have a really aggressive style of play and we’ll be really pushing to win.”

The same level of excitement is seen through the team, with inaugural captain Magbegor thrilled to be able to play with his La Trobe counterparts again after representing the University at previous Uni Nationals campaigns.

“It’s really exciting, I’ve played with a few of the guys over the years, so it’s great to be able to get another opportunity to be on the same team again,” Magbegor said.

“We also have some really good new players coming into the team that play at a high level outside of UBL. We’re all excited to be able to get onto the court together.”

La Trobe University will kick off its UBL campaign with a trip to Queensland to take on the University of the Sunshine Coast on April 13.

The following week, La Trobe will host two rounds of games at the La Trobe Sports Stadium on April 21 and April 22 (both Women and Men) against the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Sydney respectively.

Stay tuned to the La Trobe Sport Facebook and Instagram channels for more details on how you can follow Team La Trobe’s UBL campaign, including information on our home matches at the La Trobe Sports Stadium and livestream links.

To view the full fixture for the 2021 UBL season, click here.