Before the Invitational Cup, there was one day. On Saturday 4th July 2026, six teams came to Stevenage for the NEHBL's first ever event — the One Day League — and from the 9:30am tip to the evening's grand final, it delivered.
The Group Stage
In Group A, the Stevenage All Stars set the tone early, holding off a spirited Poker Boys side 66-53 in the day's opener before dispatching the Ipswich Tigers 59-41 to top the group unbeaten. The Poker Boys bounced back from that opening loss to edge Ipswich 50-42 and claim the second semi-final spot.
Group B belonged to CS London. The Londoners announced themselves with a 78-55 win over the Huntingdogs, then routed the Hoopers 85-44 to finish top with a massive points difference. Behind them, the Hoopers snatched second on the final possession of a 53-51 thriller against the Huntingdogs — two points the Dogs will think about all summer.
Semi-Finals
The crossover semis were one-way traffic. The All Stars overwhelmed the Hoopers 87-56, while CS London pulled away from the Poker Boys 88-65, setting up the final everyone wanted: the two unbeaten group winners, head to head.
The Grand Final
Under the evening lights, the final was a different kind of game — tense, physical, and low-scoring. CS London's defence turned the All Stars' free-flowing offence into a grind, and the Londoners closed it out 52-40 to be crowned the first ever NEHBL champions.
Stat Leaders
Huntingdogs guard Kevin Carreon (#12) topped the scoring charts at 16.5 points per game. CS London's Bryan Cote (#2) led all total scorers with 60 points across four games, with Kris Ignacio (#7) of the Hoopers matching his 15.0 average. Ardy Larong (#45) anchored the All Stars with 13.5 points and a team-high rebounding effort, and Hoopers sharpshooter Xtian Ruiz (#6) rounded out the top five on 13.0.
Dig Into the Archive
Every score, standing, bracket and box score from the day is preserved: browse the full ODL 2026 archive, the tournament bracket, and player-by-player stats on each game page.
The One Day League proved Stevenage wanted more basketball. The answer is the NEHBL Invitational Cup 2026 — every Friday.