‘Like a fairy tale’: Caledonia Gladiators on the basketball season that changed everything - BBC Three (2024)

“It really was like a fairy tale,” says Caledonia Gladiators manager Sean Skelly about the men’s team taking home their first trophy in 20 years.

The men’s and women’s division of the Caledonia Gladiators are the only professional basketball teams in Scotland - they plan on being the best in the UK.

In March this year, the men's team took home their first piece of silverware in 20 years, at the British Basketball League (BBL) Trophy final. The dramatic game against Cheshire Phoenix saw the Caledonia Gladiators take their winning shot with 0.3 seconds on the clock.

“It was a buzzer-beater. I lost my head,” recalls Sean who did laps of the Emirates Arena upon seeing the result.

Head coach Gareth Murray was just as thrilled, explaining: “It’s the best feeling we’ve had at the club since I’ve been here.”

From turning trophy droughts into triumphs, to seeing construction plans for a new stadium, the Caledonia Gladiators have had an incredible year.

The team’s historic 2022-2023 season is documented in BBC Scotland and BBC Three’s Ballers: Ball or Nothing, which is available on BBC iPlayer now.

‘It’s a really tough industry to work in’

In 1998, the club was founded under the original name Edinburgh Rocks. Off to a good start, in 2002 the team won the play-offs, the post-BBL tournament that sees teams compete for a final end-of-season ranking, against the Brighton Bears.

But, they wouldn’t win another piece of silverware for two decades.

Gareth has been involved with the club for around 18 years. He explains that their drought was made worse by the pandemic.

When Covid-19 hit, he recalls the then-owners telling him: “The club is struggling. Financially we don’t have much, we need to start all over.”

In 2020, the owners appointed Gareth as the player-coach, a member of the team that holds playing and coaching duties at once.

Working with a limited budget and no players under contract, Gareth tried to keep the team strong: “As soon as you become the coach, you don't think about yourself at all.”

Sean joined the team at the height of Covid-19 and the pair worked hard to keep morale up: “It’s a really tough industry to work in.”

But he adds it was all worth it when the club won their first trophy in two decades under a new name - the Caledonia Gladiators. This came just a year after the organisation was bought by new owners.

“I've never felt emotion like that before. Never once, it was unbelievable,” Sean says.

“That was definitely not just a high moment of working in sport, that was a high moment in my life.”

‘We see ourselves competing against Saturday night TV’

Sean explains that the name Caledonia, the Latin word used by Romans to refer to Scotland, was chosen to expand the appeal of the club.

“We represent everyone, we want someone from Elgin, Dundee, Aberdeen to feel like we are their team,” Sean says.

The name reflects the broadening appeal of basketball in Scotland, with Sean explaining that he’s seen “so much growth” in the sport locally and across the UK.

Previously, Sean says: “The UK was regarded in the basketball world as one of the few untapped markets,” but that’s changing with new investments and fans coming in.

In part, he says this is because the game is accessible and incredibly exciting: “There's nothing in sport like the last five minutes of a close basketball game, because you can have leads change something like 14 times, in that five minutes.”

“We see ourselves competing against Saturday night TV, rather than football or rugby because it’s more than that,” Sean adds.

What’s next for the Caledonia Gladiators?

The £20 million purpose-built arena for the Caledonia Gladiators is due to be completed in approximately 2026 and it means a lot for the team, who were previously competing for court practice time with local gymnastics and badminton clubs.

“Honestly, I don't think anyone understands how important that is, having your own home where you can practice anytime you want. The guys have their own changing room, their name on the wall,” Gareth says.

The head coach wants new and returning players to feel at home - and to be a source of inspiration for young people.

Gareth hopes that Scottish people can look up to the Caledonia Gladiators and think: “If I work hard enough, then I can achieve that, in this country.”