TEESSIDE BALLERS

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen visiting a Teesside Lions community session at Durham University. (Credit Teesside Lions Facebook). Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen recently attended a training Teesside Lions community session, featuring young players learning the fundamentals of the game. On his take away from the visit Ben Houchen said: "It took me straight back to that feeling of training with Middlesbrough Rugby Club - that sense of dedication, commitment and of being part of

Jaydon Wise-Malcolm playing for the Teesside Lions. (credit Cuff Photography) 17-year-old basketball player, Jaydon Wise-Malcolm has accepted an offer to play for Southeastern Preparatory Academy in Florida, USA. The move comes after an impressive campaign for the Teesside Lions in NBL Division 1 and excelling at various international camps with the Richards Elite basketball programme. On his move, Jaydon Wise Malcolm said: "It was a blessing, and I'm really thankful. The opp

Teesside University basketball wins Sports team of the Year. Basketball players and coaches took home major awards at the 2026 Teesside Sports Awards at Teesside University. Teesside University BUCS basketball team took home the Sports Club of the Year Award (see above). The team had a fantastic campaign, finishing as champions of Northern Tier 4 and going unbeaten with a record of 10-0. On winning the award, Teesside BUCS basketballer Benas Maldutis said: "It's a great honou

Teesside Lions 25/26 season was a success in terms of developing the profile of the club and developing their youth talent. They finished at the bottom of division 1 and were relegated to division 2. However, the club were hard done by through the season. Most notably, Mike Hood played brilliantly for the Lions but due to eligibilty he was forced to leave and the wins he was involved with were turned over. "It’s a season where, for the last two years, we haven't performed as

Benas Maldutis is a player for Teesside Lions and is a part of the Teesside Lions youth coach team. Benas, originally born in Lithuania, emigrated to the UK at a young age and grew up in Northampton. His love for basketball has only grown since he picked up a ball at the age of four. He had a glittering career and as a youth basketballer, finding success as both a point guard a, he was picked for East Midlands county at 14 years old and with Northampton school, he reached the

Samuel Mamuni has officially signed for BCB club Yorkshire Dragons, after playing for Teesside Lions in the tail end of the 25/26 season.. On the move Mamuni said: "I'm grateful to the Teesside Lions team for all their support while I was there. Before playing for the Lions I hadn't played for two and a half years due to ACL injuries. It was a grueling process to get back to full fitness and I'm thankful to the Lions for giving me the opportunity to play for a team again. The

The Teesside Ballers brand made a big leap this Saturday as we released a match programme for Teesside Lions versus St Helens Saints. It proved to be a hit with all 36 copies being bought by fans. Staff and players who received free copies also gave stellar reviews. One fan who bought a copy commented that the programme was "top quality and a great read". They also said that they would buy in future games if there were further releases. Teesside Lions chairman James Thomson d

Teesside University basketball team with team director and head coach James Thomson (left). Photo courtesy of Teesside Lions. Teesside University have been confirmed as champions of Northern Men's Tier 4 and earn promotion to Tier 3, after a 74-53 victory over Leeds Trinity. Lithuanian guard, Benas Maldutis (pictured central in number 5) led the team in scoring with 32 points, supported by Dave Cosgrove (pictured second from left in the back row) and Temi Olusesi (pictured se

Fiontan Rogers Section 1: Basketball Earliest memory of picking up a basketball: Secondary school basketball "Go-to" move to secure the win: Harden double step back three Basketball idol growing up: Kyrie Irving Favourite NBA team: Dallas Mavericks Biggest strength as a player: Shooting Section 2: Teesside Lions Funniest teammate: AJ Harris Best trainer: Zak Missouri Worst trainer: Charlie Smythe Locker room DJ: Hector Omitowoju (Taste: "Not bad") Worst fashion sense: Benas M

B C C A and C* B C A B B A *Formed in 2007 as Middlesbrough Lions and rebranded as Teesside Lions in 2013.

Teesside Lions opened their NBL campaign against the Leicester Warriors, falling 81–53 but showing clear signs of potential. The Lions took the first points of the game through an imposing offensive rebound and finish from new signing Emmanuel Adeniyi. Emmanuel Adeniyi handling the ball. The Warriors responded quickly, knocking down a tidy corner three and, on the very next possession, finishing a contested layup at the rim. Zakariah Missouri started hot for Teesside, swishin