Basketball match held at Leicester Riders for player with brain tumour

Basketball players are holding a charity match to raise funds for charity, after a local player was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Andi Peel, 30, Groby, Leicestershire, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GMB) in January 2020.

Ross Bland, 34, said he has known Andi for 15 years. "Everyone's come together and it's all through Andi and basketball," he said.

The match will take place at the Leicester Riders stadium on 17 April.

Mr Peel began getting strong headaches in August 2019.

In January 2020, he had an MRI scan at the Leicester Royal Infirmary which revealed a mass on his brain.

He had the tumour removed at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Mr Peel's basketball career took him from the Loughborough University team to Leicester Warriors at junior level.

From there he played for the Coalville Cougars, the Ferndale Fury, the Burleigh Bucks and the Gateway Galaxy - all teams in the Leicestershire Basketball League (LBBL).

Ferndale Fury was set up by Mr Peel and Mr Bland and won the league and the cup during the two seasons it operated.

The match will be streamed online, with descriptive commentary, to allow Mr Peel to follow it from home.

Mr Bland, a product manager, has brought together friends and players from across the basketball leagues who were connected to Mr Peel.

He said: "When I was told he had a GBM, it completely crushed me because I knew the prognosis is not good.

"Andi's been involved in organising the event and it's given him a new lease of life.

"We want to help others avoid what he's going through.

"It was devastating because he's like my little brother.

"We met through basketball and we've played in many teams together, and we created our own successful team - Ferndale Fury - together in 2013."

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, which will receive proceeds from the game, said: "We're really grateful to Ross, Andi, Leicester Riders, and the basketball community.

"It's only with the support of people like them that we're able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Andi."

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