A young Bristol Flyers II side may still be searching for their first win in the inaugural British Championship Basketball season, but captain Wickens Simba believes the team’s progress is becoming clearer with each game.
The Flyers II guard reflected on Saturday’s close contest with local rivals Bristol Hurricanes at SGS WISE Arena, where the developing squad pushed their experienced opponents late despite ultimately falling short.
“It’s been a difficult transition moving from Division 2 into the BCB,” Simba said. “But we’ve just been working every week in practice and using these games to get better each week.”
Despite the team’s 0–21 record, the captain believes the recent Hurricanes matchup showed the strides Flyers II are making.
“The game against Bristol Hurricanes was probably our best game in terms of keeping everything close and having a real chance to win it at the end.
“It didn’t quite go our way, but we were working on things that we’ve been struggling with and trying to be better each day.”
The Flyers II roster, largely made up of players progressing through the club’s development pathway, faces a steep challenge against more experienced opponents across the league.
“It’s a tough league obviously,” Simba said. “But it’s a great chance to test yourself against a lot of high-level players.”
The veteran guard, a product of the SGS College Academy and the Bristol Flyers junior programme, believes those matchups are invaluable for the team’s development.
“The experience of playing against ex-pros and high-level players in this league is definitely a good opportunity for anyone coming through the junior academy.”
Saturday’s clash also carried a sense of local rivalry, with players and supporters from across Bristol turning out to watch the two sides face off.
“It was exciting, it was great to see the city of Bristol come out and watch a game like that. It was great to see support for the sport.
“There was definitely that little bit more edge to it, with both teams being from Bristol and trying to take home the win.”
Flyers II will face the Hurricanes once more before the end of the season, and the captain says the squad is already determined to make the most of the rematch.
“We’re definitely looking forward to it,” he said. “It didn’t go our way this time, but when we face them again we want to make it just as close and take the win.”
Before that meeting, the Flyers II squad will travel to face the London Cavaliers as they continue their push for a first victory of the campaign.
For Simba, the focus remains firmly on improvement rather than the opposition.
“The focus isn’t really on what we expect from London we’re more focused on what we expect from ourselves.”
“They hit a dagger three in the last couple of seconds,” Simba recalled. “So the focus this week is taking what we learned from the Hurricanes game and building on that.”
“We want to try and have our best performance as a team and hopefully get the first win of the season.”
As captain in the club’s first season at this level, Simba says his personal goal is simple: keep the group united and improving.
“Individually, my role is just making sure everyone stays connected and that we keep pushing ourselves in practice and in games.
“It would be great to get a couple of wins on the board before the season ends.
“But as a team we want to take everything we’ve learned this year and implement it, and try to put together complete performances in every game going forward.”
