Falkirk Fury teams ready for respective Scottish Basketball league openers

Fury’s male and female sides all tough opposition in their respective Scottish Division One openers.

Back in the 1992/1993 season, Fury first joined the Scottish League set-up with one team - a junior boys team who went on to lift the then Division Two title, losing only one game in a Scottish Cup semi-final tie.

Now, Fury now have 16 teams from under-10s to senior level competing in Scotland's top leagues and with over 30 National titles earned over the years, and the club are keen to add to that tally.

The U16 and U18 men play Stirling Knights with Cadets tipping at 10am and the juniors at midday. For coaches Ewan Carlow and Keith Bunyan, their respective sides will be among the favourites for honours this season.

The U16 and U18 females will see a number of Fury's talented cadette side play in both leagues. Kim Hunter's U16 side finished runners-up in both the league and Scottish Cup last season, and with all bar one of that team returning, Fury will again be among the favourites in what should be a very close and competitive league.

Coach Rebecca Lonsdale at U18s faces almost the opposite situation with few returning players and the core of a successful team last season now at the senior age group. Both the 16's and 18's face Aberdeen Panthers in their opening games with the cadettes tipping at 2pm and the juniors 4pm to complete a four game schedule on Saturday.

Spectators are welcome to Grangemouth Sports Complex – which is heralded as one of the best venues in Scottish basketball, and it will be packed as players and fans support each other.

Fury also have their two U14 boys and girls teams playing this weekend but their games have been relegated to the club's training venue at Falkirk High School as other events at GSC have not allowed the U14s to play at the venue.

For both teams this means very limited spectator opportunity but in terms of the games both sides will look to come out on top against their opposition, the Caledonia Gladiators. Greg Foussas’ boys side will be the strong favourites as he has a strong group of players returning for their second season at U14, whereas the Gladiators are new kids on the block at this age group and could not have picked a tougher start to their campaign.

However, the U14 Girls game may see a different outcome as Abby Reid's Fury side have only three of last season's team returning and a host of players just out of primary school now in the roster. That said, this is potentially a talented group of players who will look to develop and improve as the season progresses.

The boys play on Friday night with the girls on Saturday with limited family spectators.

Elsewhere, Fury head coach John Bunyan continues to look at his potential squads at senior men and senior women for the new season, which for them gets underway in October.

Fury's U10 and U12 sides and their Lothian League squads have also been working hard in training as their competition dates draw closer.