That is the verdict of Matt Newby, head coach of one of their rivals in the Women’s British Basketball League, the Newcastle Eagles, and the man behind a leading junior basketball club in West Yorkshire.

Newby helped launch City of Leeds Basketball Club nearly two decades ago and this season has seen them win multiple titles.

Serving as director of basketball for City of Leeds is one of his two day jobs, alongside coaching Newcastle Eagles who still have hopes of lifting play-off silverware at the expense of Sheffield Hatters and the Lions among others, come the end of the season.

BRIGHT FUTURE: Matt Newby, director of basketball for City of Leeds. Picture courtesy of Gary Forster.

But London have bigger fish to fry over the next two Wednesday evenings in a historic two-legged final with Besiktas in the EuroCup.

“It’s a fantastic advertisement for the women’s game, 100 per cent,” said Newby, a BBL Cup winner on the men’s side with Worcester Wolves four seasons ago.

“It puts British basketball on the map. Yes they’ve got that big budget, but they’ve invested in British players. The run is unique because it’s not been done before and there’s only so many European journeys in women’s sport.

“They’re not just a standard-bearer for the game, much the way women’s football is going now, they’re standard-bearers for women’s elite sport.”

BUILDIONG BLOCKS: City of Leeds Basketball Club has developed a strong junior girls section. Picture courtesy of Phil Cain.

Closer to home, Newby has already savoured success in his role as director of basketball at the City of Leeds club.

“We’ve had real positives across the piece,” said Newby. “There’s a lot happening in terms of the club’s infrastructure itself, but the cherry on the cake is winning.

“The girls programme has taken their respective conference titles at Under-16s and Under-18s, which is a really strong endorsement of the effort that’s gone into the women’s team and the work our women and girls officer, Katie Lemond, has been doing since she came into post in January having spent a long time playing and coaching in the programme.

“We’ve always endeavoured to have a women’s provision. These girls are committed, their families are committed and we’re really thankful for that.

“We’ve got competitive teams at Under-13s regional level, Under-14s, Under-16s, and Under-18s. There’s close to 100 young girls playing basketball with us each week.”

On the boys side, Newby added: “We’ve had a strong year for our Under-18s academy. They won the North Conference with a 22-0 record, and we won the CBL (Academies Basketball League) third tier.”

Allerton High School, where the City of Leeds academy operates from, was also named the Basketball England educational institution of the year for Yorkshire.

Newby added: “That’s always a nice one because people see the sporting element but maybe not the added value where that sporting piece is embedded.

“Allerton have supported the programme for some time.

“We’ve got a good record of sending players to college and university, and that ultimately is what you want for your players. For them to go to the academic destinations they want to go to is very important to us.”

City of Leeds Basketball's director Matt Newby hails London Lions as standard bearers