As the dust starts to settle on the 2026 adidas Eurocamp, NBL Next Stars Head Coach Phil Handy has had time to reflect on just how special his group’s victory was in Italy.

Handy’s Next Stars team, headlined by some of the country’s top talents, defeated Eurocamp 1 66-62 in a hard-fought final in Treviso, capping off an undefeated week at the prestigious international pre-draft showcase.

“Anytime you can win a title, I don't care what level it is, you're going to compete, and the goal is to win," Handy said.

“I'm such a high competitor, so I take it as a complete honour.

“I'm very happy for these kids and everybody that was involved with the Next Stars program that we were able to go to this camp and win the event.

“There were some very high talents at this Eurocamp, so for us to be able to come out as the team on top, it's a great accomplishment for the kids in the program.”

Included in that talented squad were NBL Next Stars Malique Lewis and Dash Daniels, who claimed All-Eurocamp and Best Defender honours respectively.

Max Mackinnon, who led the event in points per game (18.7), was another who received recognition, being named Finals MVP.

“I feel like this team was really successful because of the three-day mini-camp we had beforehand,” Handy said.

“It gave us a great opportunity to spend some time together and get to know each other.

“Those kids put in a lot of work. I put them through an NBA-style training camp over three days, with a great coaching staff and those great players [didn’t take a backward step].

“All of the kids on that team came in, worked hard, bought into all the things we were trying to put together, and it just carried over [to the games].

“One of the things I tried to impress upon them was for them to be the standard at the camp in terms of competing every day, and they did that.”

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Having worked with the Next Stars program for a number of years now, Handy knows how beneficial this event can be for the athletes' careers.

“The Eurocamp is a great place for kids to get exposed,” he said.

“You have every NBA team executive there. You have a lot of high teams from Europe, you have just about anybody in the basketball space that wants an opportunity on the European side.

“This is just a great place for kids to get exposed, because you're playing against some high-level talent.

“A lot of kids that are in this tournament are going to be future [NBA] Draft picks, so for these guys from Australia and the Next Stars program, it's just another opportunity to be exposed at a very high level against high competition and give themselves an opportunity to be seen by NBA scouts.”

Four Next Stars players, Dash Daniels, Max Mackinnon, Malique Lewis and Oscar Cluff, were all mentioned as Eurocamp standouts by ESPN's National Director of Recruiting, Paul Biancardi.

The Next Stars program has seen six players drafted in the first round across the last six NBA drafts, including LaMelo Ball (2020), Josh Giddey (2021), Ousmane Dieng (2022) and Alex Sarr (2024), all being selected inside the lottery.