MARCEL Mavronicholas won the Volunteer Coach Award and it was a great reward for all of his hard work promoting the sport of basketball.

He has really moved the sport forward in the town, creating a junior section for the Basingstoke Blizzards and masterminding a merger between the town’s two senior men’s teams, the Blizzards and the Bobcats.

The 51-year-old from Oakley started coaching four years ago and is now a level two basketball coach.

The Frenchman said: “I am overwhelmed to win this award and it is nice to have put the sport of basketball on the map in this town.

“The club is really growing at the moment and next season it looks like we will have two teams in Wessex League Division One, which is going to be great.

“The junior section is going from strength to strength and I just enjoy coaching all the players. We are always on the lookout for new players to join us.”

He added: “We play all our home games at Queen Mary’s College and everyone is welcome to come along and support us.”