Cardiff Met connections shine as Wales women reach Commonwealth Games 3x3 final

Cardiff Met’s basketball community played a prominent role for Wales at the Commonwealth Games 3x3 qualification tournament in Manchester, as the women’s side reached the final and the men’s team produced a positive campaign against strong Home Nations opposition.

The two-day event, held at the National Basketball Performance Centre, featured England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, with Scotland already qualified for Glasgow 2026 as host nation. England ultimately secured both remaining qualification places, with their men’s and women’s teams going unbeaten across the tournament.

For Wales, the standout story came in the women’s competition, where the squad beat Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man in the group stage to set up a final against England.

The Wales team, which included Cardiff Met alumni Issy Bunyan and Carys Roy, pushed the eventual qualifiers hard in the early stages of the final and remained firmly in contention until midway through the contest. England eventually pulled away to win 21-11, securing their place at next summer’s Games.

Although Wales missed out on qualification, reaching the final represented a strong performance from a squad with deep Cardiff Met links. Bunyan and Roy both came through the Cardiff Met junior and Super League Basketball pathway before continuing their development in the United States at NCAA Division I level. The Cardiff Met influence also extended to the coaching team. Laura Shanahan, Head Coach of Cardiff Met Archers Women, led the Wales women’s programme.

In the men’s competition, Wales also produced encouraging performances across the weekend. The side narrowly lost to Northern Ireland in the group stage, faced a tough challenge against a strong England team, and finished with a positive win over the Isle of Man. Cardiff Met was again well represented, with Jake Kinder, a Cardiff Met student alumnus, and Alex Koukouravas, a junior programme alumnus, involved in the squad. The men’s team was led by James Dawe, Cardiff Met’s Men’s Head Coach.

It also provided another example of Cardiff Met Sport’s wider ambition to support performance programmes capable of achieving success on the national and international stage, as part of its commitment to becoming Wales’ Sporting University.

For the Cardiff Met basketball community, the weekend was a reminder of the impact being made across the Welsh game, with players, coaches and staff continuing to contribute at the highest level.