Becoming the first basketball team to lift the treble saw Teesside Mohawks honoured with the Over-18 Team Award at last year's Local Heroes Awards.

Since last November's awards ceremony the all-conquering Teessiders have repeated their amazing trophy haul.

To claim the Local Heroes award in 2002, the Mohawks had lifted three of English basketball's major honours: the English League Men's Conference, the Play-Off Trophy and the National Trophy.

And at the start of this year they did it all over again to record a double-treble!

What made the second treble even more special was that it was the fifth consecutive year the Mohawks had lifted the National Trophy - a competition first.

They clinched basketball's equivalent of the FA Cup in January with a 84-76 win over Worthing Thunder in Birmingham.

However, the Mohawks won't be defending their silverware in the final this season - they are already out of the tournament.

Since the double-treble the Mohawks have been rebuilding after the loss of several key players and younger players are now being given their chance to impress for the Eston Sports Centre-based side.

Howard Lighton, co-ordinator of the Teesside Mohawks, admits going out of the National Trophy was disappointing, but pointed to the National Cup as their next target: "Every great run has to come to and end someday. The National Cup is the one trophy we haven't won, it's a prestigious award and we took the first step towards winning that when we won at the weekend.

"If we did win it we would become the only basketball club to win everything that English basketball has to offer."

Going out of the National Trophy at an early stage having been holders for five years closes one very successful chapter for the club and marks the opening of another one.

Lighton readily admits since losing key players the past few months have been a challenging time, but now the Mohawks are looking ahead to a bright future.

"We've got a young team together, with some experience too, and we'll drive it forward.

"With it being a completely new-look team there's been a lot of re-building work. Quite a few of our players from the last two seasons have moved on or retired. It's a chance now for some of the younger players.

"The success over the last few years has been tremendous, and success will come again."

Gary Doig, npower's community relations officer for the North-East said: "As sponsors of the Over-18 Team Award we couldn't fail to be impressed by last years winners, Teesside Mohawks. They displayed all the qualities that go towards making a great team including determination, effort and achievement.

"At npower we enjoy playing an active community role in the North-East and we hope that our close and long-term involvement with a number of key community groups - as demonstrated through our support of outstanding teams like the Mohawks through the Local Heroes Awards - will help support the region.

"Through our npower Active programme last year, almost 7000 children and adults with physical, hearing and sight impairments took part in npower disability sports events in over 70 events.

"npower Active is the biggest regional sports development programme for people with disabilities in the country. It promotes wider opportunities for those taking part with the aim of making their lives better. Through the English Federation of Disability Sports, npower supports many sporting events from athletics and swimming to tennis and boccia."