Edinburgh Dragons Basketball

An update long, long overdue marks the finale of the 2025-26 season for the Dragons - one that was rocky at times, but ended on a high note with one more bit of silverware for the trophy case.

LL Div 2 was quite competitive all year long and although 3 teams did pull ahead at the top of the table about halfway through the season, several games against mid-table and even lower-placed opponents proved to be tricky enough for everybody. Especially through some stretches in late winter/early spring, injuries and player availability became a key factor for us, and the end of the regular season found us in 4th place - which may not be bad per se, but also leaves huge room for improvement next year.

Going into the playoffs however, we were lucky to be at (almost) full strength and managed to pull off a good run and go all the way, culminating in a strong performance and a 17-point win over a young and spirited Blaze B team in the playoff final.

Since the summer of 2023 when we first pondered the whole idea of creating a team, winning 3 trophies in 3 years and going toe to toe against historic, decades-old basketball clubs in the city - yeah, is kind of a headtrip really. But we are here, bigger club, better teammates, closer friends.

The offseason is upon us, we have earned ourselves some rest but very soon, we will be back on the grind for the next era of the Dragons, because we are not just here now, we intend to stick around.

February 28th, 2023 - passenger train IC62, on its way through the darkness from Athens to Thessaloniki, collides head-on with a freight train that had been travelling the opposite way on the same line for a full 12 minutes. 57 people are killed and more than 180 are injured.

The most serious train crash in Greek history (and one of the deadliest in Europe) revealed the shocking conditions of transport infrastructure being underfunded and traffic control systems being non-functional for years. But even more importantly, the aftermath turned a spotlight on the hideous political truths surrounding the disaster: unclear cargo in the freight train possibly being the cause of a massive explosion after the crash, tampering of evidence in the crash site immediately after, families of victims repeatedly being discredited while asking to know the truth.

Three years later, we mourn the loss of 57 innocent people in a train crash that was nothing short of a crime. We stand together with those related to the victims and those who continue to protest, in Greece and around the world, opposing the policies that led to it and demanding to know what happened.

Memory is like a vinyl record or a wax tablet. Moments in time roll over and carve impressions on it, but as years pass by and memories increase, the needle has a hard time tracing the littler scratches and they are eventually wiped out and forgotten. Yet, deeper grooves always remain present: February 28th, 2023 is a groove so deep that will never be forgotten, but until the truth is brought to light, it is also a wound that is impossible to heal.

No justice, no peace.

Showdown #4 for the 25-26 season was against a familar opponent, the Gracemount Panthers. Monday late evening fixture at the Oriam meant the slot was pressed for time, so both teams had very little time for warm-up and got almost straight to business.

In that sense, the zone defense deployed by the Panthers in the 1st actually worked in our favour. We were able to get our rhythm going offensively, shot very efficiently beyond the arc and got a good lead straight off the blocks. They promptly switched their D to man-to-man after that though, and the rest of the game was a closer affair. Games against the Panthers are always a grind - tense, physical and heated. This was no exception, but we were able to match the physicality, play our brand of defense to both limit scoring and cause TOs by our opponent and ultimately build back the lead to get a deserved win.

A month and change into the season it's 4-0 and top of the table, but we still got work to do and don't intend to let up in the slightest.

On to the next one!

Off to a very busy month of September for the kick off of the 25-26 campaign and off to quite a flying start for the Dragons, claiming 3 W's in the first three games of the season.

Gameday 1 against the Titans was a strange affair, with both teams seriously undermanned and trying to shake off the rust. However, our trademark lockdown defense as well as a well-rounded, collective effort from all guys on offense led us to the first win, and in fact a double-digit one.

Our second fixture vs the Leith Honeybadgers was also a very tense one. Extended rotation and more options on the bench, but also more people trying to find their rhythm on offense was a challenge. Defense, once again, made the difference, and the second W, 53-68, was in the books.

Our latest game was our first proper away game ever, travelling to Kirkcaldy to face off against the Steel in their own gym. The excitement propelled us to a great first quarter. Our stalwart D combined with a great offensive movement of the ball, and we never really looked back from that point, keeping the energy high throughout the game and taking an emphatic away win with a 28-point margin.

3-0 to start the season is obviously a great feeling, but this is a long season and it will be a grind like every year, so lots of work to be put in.

It is time to bid farewell to the 2024/25 season after two heated matchups against the City of Edinburgh Kings.

The closing matchday of the regular season was an affair without real significance in the standings, as the top 3 spots in the table were already decided. However, and regardless of the absence of real motivation, we managed to play some good basketball at times and took a comfortable win against a young Kings team, to finish our regular season on a high note.

The first round of the playoffs would have pitted us against the LL Galaxy, a team of friends and good competitors. Unfortunately, they were unable to get enough numbers for the scheduled date of the match, and we got a walkover win to reach the semi-finals.

The single elimination semi-final game found us facing the Kings again, however, it was a very different team that showed up to play in that game, with lots of different faces that we didn't play against in neither match of the regular season. Affected by a long break between fixtures, as well as tough opposition meant we stayed close for almost a quarter before the Kings took a good lead to the half-time. In typical fashion, a big 2nd half run was in the books and we managed to trim the lead down and get back in the game. However, a few details here and there, including some dubious calls, and we weren't able to finish the comeback with a W, losing the game 63-68 and being eliminated from the final.

We may not have won this time around, but for sure it was a season in which we continued to grow as a team. Our regular season record of 14-2 gives us a 2nd place finish, which is probably not half bad for a team that was only promoted last year. A new coach, a few new people joining and the chemistry that we continued to build, along with tougher opposition brought us a new challenge that we rose up to, while always remaining true to our character as team: from day one, we set out to be a tight-knit group of friends, growing to be true teammates, fighting together, win or lose, and see where this takes us.

Did we say "stick tight" this year?
Stick tight.

Another busy month with three more matchdays in the books for the Dragons, and it was quite an eventful March for the team.

Matchday 13 found us facing Boroughmuir Blaze B at Oriam. Our first affair against them was one of our best games this season, and sure enough we wanted to replicate that performance going into this one, which we definitely did at least for the first two quarters. Good ball movement and pushing the tempo produced good touches, which we managed to combine with some stingy defense to take a healthy lead. Admittedly, we lapsed on the defensive end in the 2nd half, sent the Blaze way too often to the free throw line and ended up conceding 70, but our offensive game remained top notch and drove us to not only take the W, but also hit the 100-point mark for the first time.

At this point in the season, the games against Polonia/Pleasance Masters were bound to determine who wins the division. Going into matchday 14, we knew that we were about to face a team that has both quality and chemistry but in the end, we didn't seem mentally ready for the game. We had a slow start offensively, fell behind early and we never matched our opponents' intensity, ending up conceding a loss that was tough, but might also contain valuable lessons.

The second game against Polonia/Pleasance Masters, we approached it very differently. We were prepared and determined to fight till the end - which we did. Unfortunately, there can really be no comment about this game at all. Let's just say we can be extremely proud of our effort and grit throughout the entire 40 minutes, and leave it at that.

The regular season is almost done with only one game against the CoE Vets next week, but there's still plenty of basketball to be played in the playoff tournament afterwards.

La lucha continua.

It's been a hot minute since our last update but be sure this wasn't because there wasn't any basketball being played - quite the opposite: three Lothian League fixtures within eight days is the story of what's been going on for the Dragons.

Both matchdays 10 and 11 pitted us against Pleasance 1st, with the first fixture away at St Augustine's HS. Once again, previous booked activities on the court meant both teams had limited time to warm up, resulting in a slow start for the Dragons. An overall uncharacteristic stretch of defense found us conceding more than we should, but we managed to turn things around in the 3rd quarter and get to the W convincingly. Same opponent, different story a few days later at the Oriam. Partly it could have been fatigue, but if we're honest, we also probably got a bit complacent that the job would be done in the end no matter what. It wasn't a great game, and we ended up conceding 20 more points than the previous game, against an opponent that was also short-handed with absences. But by now we know that winning the ugly games is part of the story too.

Matchday 12 we hosted the Fife Steel in St Thomas of Aquin's and all that was on our minds was to actually play some damn ball. Unlike other games, we started clicking on offense from the get-go, made shots and scored pretty much at will, but defense was once again a problem. We didn't protect the paint enough, gave up drives and free throws and Steel remained in the game until the second half. That's usually when we make a run and this was no exception - while the offense kept firing, we also pressed the ball well, got stops and steals and ended up getting the win not only with a 24-point margin, but also getting to 90 points for the first time.

Four games remain in the regular season but the finish line is anything but in sight, as we still have to go through Boroughmuir Blaze B, the 3rd-placed CoE Vets and of course the two big derbies against Polonia/Pleasance Masters that will probably determine who wins the division.

Bell ding, squabble up.

Just before midnight on February 28, 2023, the passenger train from Athens to Thessaloniki collided head-on with a freight train near Tempi in central Greece. 57 people, including many students, were killed and many more were injured.

The tragedy, along with everything that came to light afterwards, shocked Greek society to its core. Rail traffic control systems had been out of order for years, causing the two trains to travel towards each other, on the same track, for more than 10 minutes. The massive explosion and fire caused by the collision raised serious concerns about illegal cargo in the freight train. The crash site was filled with gravel immediately after the incident, evidence was destroyed and two years on, the truth about this disaster has been systematically covered up.

Today, we mourn the tragic loss of 57 people that could have been, and indeed were, family members, friends and loved ones. We stand in solidarity with the victims' families and united with everyone else who protests, demanding to know the truth. Regardless of political party support, justice is our fundamental right as citizens.

We will not forget, we will not forgive.

The Lothian League D2 season rolls on with gameday 9 pitting us against the West Edinburgh Warriors, a team that we have already beaten twice both in the league and cup fixtures. Well, the confidence was there but sufficient time for warmup was not, and just like that we started off with a game that seemed to come straight out of last season. It was a slow and disjointed first quarter for the Dragons, while the Warriors made a lot of shots before we started finding some rhythm in Q2 and got much better on defense to stay close, even though we had conceded far more than we usually do.

Wait, did I mention it was a classic Dragons game - like the ones we always had last year? Yeah, that.

The 2nd half was that story, the different story. Our offense clicking early on to poke holes in the Warriors zone, shots falling, our D locked up and forcing a bunch of turnovers - all of that meant the momentum had shifted and it was a different game in the blink of an eye. Within one quarter we built a good lead and kept the pressure on until the end to get one more in the win column.

We move to 9-0 and remain top of the league.
And we are nowhere near our ceiling as a team yet.

"Δέκα μπάλες αλλά μόνο μία στέκα
Κι είμαι στο 5 ακόμα, πού να δεις το 10."