MATT Hogarth basked in the limelight as he led a resurgent Manchester Giants side to their first piece of silverware since 1988.

The 17-year-old 6ft 5ins forward, who plays for the seniors at the club, led his junior counterparts to a convincing 66-48 victory over arch rivals Brixton in the National Junior Cup final at Hillsborough Stadium.

A solid 33 points and eleven rebound performance also made him the games most valuable player.

"It was a sweet victory for all of us," he said. "We lost in the final last year to London, and we wanted to make amends second time round.

Hogarth, who was also England's MVP at the last European Junior Championships hopes that this mini-revival at the club will spur on the seniors to further honours in the English game.

"We're struggling right now and it's going to be very tough for us to catch up on the leaders. We've had some injury problems and hopefully when we get the players back we will make a run for the championship."

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