Kieran Baldwin meets a UEL gold-medal winner.
GB Junior Men’s and UEL Wheelchair Basketball scholar Jacob Robinson returned home from Japan with a gold medal around his neck, following GB’s 66-49 victory over Japan in the Kitakyushu Champions Cup
Robinson and his Great Britain team mates won all four games in Japan to come home as heroes.
Asked where it ranked amongst his sporting achievements Robinson said: “It’s right at the very top, definitely the best sporting experience I’ve had.”
GB put in dominant displays throughout the group stage, beating Japan (53-48), South Korea (50-33) and USA (65-26) before triumphing against Japan once again in the final.
Although the scholar didn’t play as big a part as he would have liked, he was excited about the experience and what is was like to be part of an excellent team.
“The team was superb, the morale before we left was high, the training camp helped with this. We were such a close squad and ultimately this helped on the court.”
Robinson also described what life was like out in Japan during the tournament.
“It a different world out there, the sport is massive and we were treated like celebrities. I could get used to it,” he added.
So what’s next for Robinson? He plans to continue to play for his club side London Titans and looks to develop his game whilst at UEL.
“I’ve now got to focus on my Club side and we’re doing well at the moment. In terms of GB, I’ll now have to prepare for the upcoming European Championships.”
The U23 European Champions will take place in 2016 with Robinson working hard to be in the squad.