The Bench Units Podcast

It’s not every day a club from the other side of the world gets in touch out of the blue and volunteers a legend of the sport to give you the low-down on their continent’s upcoming season.In an episode recorded on 13th June, Mark is joined by Koen Jansens. Koen’s list of attributes contains gold and silver Paralympic medals, but most recently his attention has been on the growth of the Manly Wheelchair Eagles and contributing as a board member of Wheelchair Basketball Australia.Koen talks through the revamp of Australia’s national league competitions on both the NWBL and WNWBL fronts, covering everything from travel, player development and import players.Everything you need to keep up with Wheelchair Basketball Australia can be found here:https://wba.net.au/@wheelchairbasketballaustraliaAvailable now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Aaaand season.For our last recorded episode of the 20245/25 season, we break down the final standings and dramatic closing games, of the U23 World Championships. We try and pick out what Germany's crowning as champion might mean in the big picture, and pick out some potential future stars.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

The U23 World Championships are reaching boiling point.Ahead of today's semifinal action, we bring you our takes on the competition so far and predictions of how the medal games are going to pan out.We also give a nod to the newly-crowned French Champions after a stunning finals series.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Spain concludes the season with a Final Four that lead to one final, seemingly inevitable, clash of the titans. And a team lifting the trophy after going 35-2 across all competitions.In France, we got two do-or-die second legs of the playoff semi-finals, culminating in two of the gutsiest wins of the year as the matchup is set for the Finals.To close the episode, we lay out what we’ll be covering as we wind down the season, as well as what might be next for Bench Units…Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

This week we ponder an existential question: why do we even play the games?Spain’s Final Four is locked in, with the same semifinal matchups as last year.Meanwhile, two longtime stalwarts of the league are each halfway to the French Finals.If it sounds familiar, that's because there are only two certainties in wheelchair basketball: the same teams being there at the end, and us being there to talk about it (sometimes).Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

In Italy and Germany, we have our champions!In Spain and France, our final four is set! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Death, taxes, and Albacete winning the Champions Cup.We're pleased to be joined by a long-time friend of the show, as Ben Fox stops by to discuss the most recent (and maybe unlikeliest) continental cup win of his Amiab tenure.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

54 games, 24 teams, 3 levels of competition.We tear our eyes away from game footage long enough to digest the key takeaways from probably the single most important big-picture-painting weekend in European basketball.We do our best to square the biggest risers, fallers, surprises and lessons learned from an intense 3-day blur.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

The season’s annual spring clean of the continental standings is here.We work our way up from a top-heavy EuroCup 3, through an incredibly condensed EuroCup 2, to the impending massacre that is EuroCup 1.We also voice our grievances with the NBA App and give our picks for the new Pope.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

I Germany, Turkiye and Italy, we get five teams go up 1-0 in their respective playoff series and five opponents looking for a chance to even things up this coming weekend.In Spain, we get a step closer to clarity around which team is going to make the final four.We also talk about what it would be like if we took over an NBA team as the Coach & General Manager.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

This week:Italy Final Four is set!German Pokal Champions crowned!Turkish Finals matchup decided!Spanish 4th place is a Royal Rumble!France is heating up!Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

A statement win punctuates the end of the German regular season, as the standings fall into their final state.One team punches their ticket to the Turkish Superleague Finals, while we go to overtime to force a deciding game on the other side of the bracket.The mother of all shooting-variance upsets puts the top 3 spots in the Italian League standings well and truly up for grabs.The two teams at the top of the Spanish standings go head to head again, while two other results keep the battle for the 4th spot in complete chaos.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Today's core question:Why does nothing that happens at EuroCup have any bearing on the immediate results once all those same teams get back to their domestic competitions?We tour this question around Spain, Germany, Italy and Turkiye!Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Well, that was eventful.In an absolute sizzler of a weekend, we saw the final fields set for all four levels of the EuroCup Finals.There we too many moments to even begin to list here, so saddle up and listen!Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

In the last week of action before teams head to their respective EuroCup rounds, we try and use the results to predict some almost-totally-unrelated outcomes in a different competition.Turkish playoffs, Italian standings, German statement games, and hosts’ picks for games to watch in EuroCup.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

We've got some mid-season champions!In Spain, Ilunion reclaimed the Copa del Rey throne after several years. The field was as strong as it's ever been during their march to the Gold, as Albacete and Murcia took Silver and Bronze.In Italy, Porto Torres continued their stunning season by claiming the first Coppa Italia in the club's history, perhaps cementing themselves as the best team in the country in the process.Elsewhere, we saw the first weekend of the Turkish league playoffs highlighted by a vintage superstar performance, and a couple of surprising scorelines across Germany and France.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

As domestic leagues resume, we deploy the age-old rest vs rust battle in the aftermath of EuroCup.Spain saw a pair of one possession wins further middle the middle of the pack, and a reminder of who resides in the top tier until proved otherwise.Germany saw a clear case of weekend-off benefits vs EuroCup hangover, and a bid for a second straight upset of a top-4 team.Italy saw yet another scrap of an Adriatic derby decided by a single point, as well as a resounding revenge game as an early-season score was settled.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Well, that was eventful.With 3 qualifying groups for Champions Cup and 2 more for EuroCup 1 having taken place, concurrently, across 2 days, we have a lot to go through.We break down all 5 group stages and look ahead to how the next rounds have begun to take shape!Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

Tough week to be favoured.Bilbao take down AlbaceteMideba hang 96 on Gran CanariaVigo take down red-hot MalagaKöln with the first win over Lahn-Dill in the club's historyEuroCup opening weekend has a lot to live up to!Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe

No, you disappeared for over a month during the season.We get back into the swing by looking at some recent bodies of work and teams that have been noticeably trending up or down lately.We talk Hyeres French Cup victory, Malaga crashing the party, a Lahn-Dill statement, Porto Torres being the ultimate wildcard, Reggio Calabria discovering new dimensions, and Turkish titans.Available now, wherever you get your podcasts! Get full access to Bench Units at benchunits.substack.com/subscribe