Kapoulas to lead England at Commonwealth Games

Friday, October 27th 2017

Andreas Kapoulas has been appointed as the new England senior men’s head coach ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Renowned for his work in the BBL as head coach of the Flyers, Kapoulas will continue his role with the BBL side, with assistant coach Nick Burns stepping up to cover the fixtures that conflict with the competition.

Having been appointed the Great Britain Under-20s head coach in March 2016, Kapoulas most recently led his side to promotion into Division A at the Under-20 European Championships with a bronze medal finish.

The 2015 Molten BBL Coach of the Year has a wealth of experience and knowledge on the international stage having also coached England Under-15s in 2010/11 and the U16s side in 2012/13.

"I am very honoured to be selected as the England men's head coach." said Kapoulas.

"It's a great time for our sport after a successful summer for the national team programme and we have an exciting opportunity to continue this momentum with the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

"We have plenty of work ahead of us to ensure we make the most of our preparations. I look forward to working with the players and staff towards a successful campaign."

Great Britain Under-18s head coach Alan Keane and Great Britain Under-16s head coach James Vear have also been announced as assistant coaches.

Coach Kapoulas led the GB U20s into Division A at the European Championships during the summer.

Vladan Dragosavac, Basketball England’s talent development and performance manager added: “As we approach the games, we will work closely with Commonwealth Games England to engage the nation in our campaign to support Team England.

"We have appointed a young, but experienced coaching team who have already demonstrated international success at the European level and are ready for the Commonwealth Games challenge.

"We are ambitious and realistic about our potential to medal at the games. This is an opportunity to demonstrate our talent potential and give additional momentum to the improvements in our sport."

Kapoulas’ first competitive game as England head coach will be against Scotland on April 5th 2018 in the opening round of the Commonwealth Games in Townsville, Australia.

The GC2018 basketball competition will feature eight teams in both men’s and women’s competitions. Split into two pools of four, nations will face off against teams in their pool during the preliminary rounds held in Townsville and Cairns between 5-10 April. The finals will then be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 13-15 April.

England have been placed as the fifth seed out of eight teams in the competition, and will compete in Pool B alongside Scotland, India and Cameroon.

The last, and only time spectators saw basketball on the Commonwealth Games sports program was at the Melbourne 2006 games where Australia claimed gold in the Men’s and Women’s events with England collecting bronze in both competitions.

England Men’s Preliminary Rounds - GC2018

England v Scotland
Thursday, April 5th 2018
Tip-off 8.30am BST

England v India
Saturday, April 7th 2018
Tip-off 8.30am BST

England v Cameroon
Sunday, April 8th 2018
Tip-off 5am BST