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April 1, 2026
Final Four bound! Historic night for Manchester!
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Historic night for Manchester Basketball as they reach the ENBL Final Four, the furthest any franchise from the city has achieved in European competition.
Manchester Basketball overcame Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, 97-94 on the night, 183-178 to advance the 2026 ENBL Final Four on Wednesday, 1 April in the Croatian capital.
Manchester punched their ticket in their European debut thanks largely to the excellent Pjay Smith who shot 31 pts (10 from 14 from the field) and the defensive prowess of Gabe Osabuohien.
Jordan Johnson led the bench unit with 20 points and 11 assists, battling his way to the foul line all night to go 15-17 from the stripe. Meanwhile, Max Jones had 19 points from the wing.
Dinamo made the early running, pushing out to an 18 pt lead. But Manchester fought back to lead the tie by a point at the break.
Dinamo had been on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to smash into the host’s lead. Smith caught fire from three, and Manchester continued to chip into the deficit as the game neared halftime. Smith scored 10 in the second, and a Matt Nicholson jam to beat the buzzer made it a one-score game at the break.
The second half saw the teams go blow for blow, with Manchester edging the tie in a thrilling heavyweight contest.
Manchester went from down five early in the fourth to up seven with under a minute left. Johnson was sent to the foul line to seal the win, and with steely composure, he went 4/4.
Zagreb wasn’t finished yet, however. They hit shots in the clutch to remain in contention before sending Manchester to the foul line. Manchester wouldn’t give them an inch, though, making every attempt.
It was Osabuohien who made clutch plays down the stretch to will his side through to the next round. In the final 5 minutes alone, he had three steals, a block, and muscled his way for an offensive board, locking down defensively to spark a comeback.
Smith’s free throw ended the game with 11 seconds left, scoring the conclusive point which sent Manchester through to the Semi Final.
The result takes Manchester’s European record to 9 and 2, booking Matt Otten’s side a place in the Final Four to face the 2025 German Cup winners MBC Syntainics in the Semi Final.
Next, Manchester return to domestic action, taking on the Surrey 89ers on the road. This Super League Basketball Championship fixture takes place on Saturday, April 4 at 6pm.
Historic night for Manchester Basketball as they reach the ENBL Final Four, the furthest any franchise from the city has achieved in European competition.
Manchester Basketball overcame Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, 97-94 on the night, 183-178 to advance the 2026 ENBL Final Four on Wednesday, 1 April in the Croatian capital.
Manchester punched their ticket in their European debut thanks largely to the excellent Pjay Smith who shot 31 pts (10 from 14 from the field) and the defensive prowess of Gabe Osabuohien.
Jordan Johnson led the bench unit with 20 points and 11 assists, battling his way to the foul line all night to go 15-17 from the stripe. Meanwhile, Max Jones had 19 points from the wing.
Dinamo made the early running, pushing out to an 18 pt lead. But Manchester fought back to lead the tie by a point at the break.
Dinamo had been on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to smash into the host’s lead. Smith caught fire from three, and Manchester continued to chip into the deficit as the game neared halftime. Smith scored 10 in the second, and a Matt Nicholson jam to beat the buzzer made it a one-score game at the break.
The second half saw the teams go blow for blow, with Manchester edging the tie in a thrilling heavyweight contest.
Manchester went from down five early in the fourth to up seven with under a minute left. Johnson was sent to the foul line to seal the win, and with steely composure, he went 4/4.
Zagreb wasn’t finished yet, however. They hit shots in the clutch to remain in contention before sending Manchester to the foul line. Manchester wouldn’t give them an inch, though, making every attempt.
It was Osabuohien who made clutch plays down the stretch to will his side through to the next round. In the final 5 minutes alone, he had three steals, a block, and muscled his way for an offensive board, locking down defensively to spark a comeback.
Smith’s free throw ended the game with 11 seconds left, scoring the conclusive point which sent Manchester through to the Semi Final.
The result takes Manchester’s European record to 9 and 2, booking Matt Otten’s side a place in the Final Four to face the 2025 German Cup winners MBC Syntainics in the Semi Final.
Next, Manchester return to domestic action, taking on the Surrey 89ers on the road. This Super League Basketball Championship fixture takes place on Saturday, April 4 at 6pm.
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