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Well, Great Britain just beat Bosnia&Hercegovina 100:98 in "Efes Pilsen Cup". Best scorers were N.Reinking - 21pts, N.Mensah-Bonsu - 20pts and 7rbs, S.Leven with 19pts.
Quite surprising I'd say B&H looks like played with their best squad
What about Kelenna Azubuike, he would be a huge addition o the team and solidify their backcourt. Plus, isn't Bryan Mathew Amaning also on the GB team?
What about Kelenna Azubuike, he would be a huge addition o the team and solidify their backcourt. Plus, isn't Bryan Mathew Amaning also on the GB team?
Azibuke was denied citizenship when he applied last year, were some issues with his parents paperwork (legal status) at the time he was born in London.
If Britain can assemble all their potential players they should at least have a respectable team. If they're going to be allowed to compete in sports like volleyball and handball where they are really going to be overmatched they ought to be able to field a basketball team as well.
Steve Bucknall was probably the first British-born player to make an impact.
It may still be a little early for Team GB to have a significant impact in Europe but I think we'll be competitive. Yes, Deng is 50% of the team, but Richard Midgley, Andrew Sullivan, Pops Mensah-Bonsu (in particular) and Andrew Betts are all good players while the new generation - Ryan Richards (in particular), Dan Clark, Joel Freeland will soon be in the mix. It's just a matter a keeping the core squad together. The British league remains weak, so the majority of our top players are scattered across the globe - NBA, NCAA, Spain etc. - so getting them together can be problematic. But we have to prove we can be competitive internationally before we're allowed to play in London 2012. If we do, it will not only be huge for the sport - additional sponsorship, boosting the league, enhancing grassroots basketball in the country - but inevitably it will also further open the door to the possibility of an NBA franchise. Anyway, will be catching the qualifying games over here so will report back.
Much respect to whoever mentioned Steve Bucknall. Buck opened the doors for British basketball (first Brit in the NBA, first to play regular ball in the major European leagues pre-Bosman). Along with John Amaechi and Luol Deng, he is British basketball GOAT.
Azibuke was denied citizenship when he applied last year, were some issues with his parents paperwork (legal status) at the time he was born in London.
Azubuike not playing is a major blow, as is the injury to Robert Archibald and the likelihood of Ben Gordon never playing for Great Britain. Regarding Olowokandi, he has never represented England or Nigeria. I don't believe he has ever intended to represent the UK
Damn Deng&Co were 1 second away from upsetting Israel in an away game, Israel had only 3 seconds for last attack...but there was supposedly a foul 1 second before the end of the game, while GB was up by 2, I hope someone puts these last seconds up so we could see was it a phantom foul or not...very stupid foul, if there was one.
If it was a foul and not the ref being an idiot, then Reinking deserves a healthy portion of the blame. Not only missing the free throw that would have put them up three, but committing the foul that led to them tying the game.
That call was very doubtful in my eyes..certainly not a clear cut foul, though there was some contact. But usually it's not a call that should be taken, taking into account the situation in the game. We were very very lucky on this one..at least you can be comforted by the way Deng has played. You could not even noticed this guy joined the team before only two days..and Freeland was pretty good too.
That call was very doubtful in my eyes..certainly not a clear cut foul, though there was some contact. But usually it's not a call that should be taken, taking into account the situation in the game. We were very very lucky on this one..at least you can be comforted by the way Deng has played. You could not even noticed this guy joined the team before only two days..and Freeland was pretty good too.
Great Britain confirmed their status as one of Europe's new elite by clinching a spot in their first EuroBasket on Wednesday with a 67-63 triumph at the Czech Republic.
Playing in Division B just one year ago, the Brits improved to 4-1 and sealed first place in Group D of Division A.
The Brits, told by FIBA they must prove their competitiveness before taking up the spot normally reserved for host nations at Olympic Games, have probably done enough to justify their place at the London 2012 Games.
Luol Deng and Co will try to put an exclamation point on their qualifying campaign by winning their last game in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday.
They will then try and make an even louder statement next summer in Poland where the final round will be staged only there, the Brits will encounter world class opponents like Russia, Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Croatia and Germany.
All of those sides played at this summer's Olympics in Beijing.
Britain, whose only defeat came at Israel in their opening game, a 102-92 overtime setback, became the first team in the group to win on the road.
Deng, the country's Chicago Bulls star, led the way with 21 points and Nate Reinking added 20.
The Brits overcame a terrific effort by the Czechs' Jiri Welsch, a player who scored a game-high 28 but missed a layup in the closing seconds that could have forced overtime.
After Tomás Satoránský buried a three-pointer to give the Czechs a 63-60 advantage with 2:36 remaining, Pops Mensah-Bonsu closed the gap to one with just under two minutes left by making two free throws.
Each team then committed a turnover, and Deng blocked a lay-up attempt by Welsch with 1:10 left.
Flinder Boyd committed his second straight turnover with a bad pass, but Welsch missed a three and fouled Deng.
The Sudan-born forward who moved to London at a young age made both free throws for a 64-63 lead.
After the Czechs missed, they fouled Richard Midgley and he was only able to convert the second for a 65-63 advantage with 10 seconds to go.
The Czechs inbounded the ball to Welsch at midcourt coming out of a timeout and he dribbled in for what looked to be an easy lay-up, using his body to shield himself from Mensah Bonsu.
The Unicaja Malaga swingman laid the ball off the glass too hard with his left hand. Satoránský tried to tip the ball in but missed and Mensah-Bonsu rebounded.
The Czechs fouled the DKV Joventut center and he made both for the four-point win.
Great Britain won, but the game was there for the taking for the Czechs. They missed nine of their 18 (50%) free throw attempts while the visitors sank 17 of 23 (73.9%).
The Brits won despite turning the ball over 24 times compared to just 11 for the home side.
Mensah-Bonsu had 12 rebounds to go with his nine points.
O temperes,o mores(latin.)... It,s no secret,that England invented football for others(Brazil,Arg,Italy,Cameroon,Zimbabve,Armenia, even Lithuania ).But i couldn,t imagine that Great Britain basketball NT much stronger than England football NT!
GB bosses are back on the trail of NBA star Kelenna Azubuike (196-G/F-83, college: Kentucky) as they look to strengthen their squad for the 2009 European Championship Finals.
The Golden State Warriors guard does not yet possess a British passport, even though he was born in London prior to his family moving to the United States.
But he has indicated he is keen to pursue one and join the GB squad as it continues its successful march towards the 2012 Olympics.
GB performance manager Ron Wuotila said: 'We have had discussions with the NBA's international people, as well as Kelenna's people themselves, and every indication is that he is very keen to play.
'We understand that last year he had to concentrate on his NBA career and make sure that he had a contract to sign at the end of the season.
'But now that he has done that, we are investigating fully what needs to be done to help him obtain his passport.
'The NBA have been great partners for us in this and, hopefully, he will be another player we can add to the squad for the challenges ahead.'
GB continue to hold a regular dialogue with Chicago star Ben Gordon, a team mate of GB's Luol Deng at the Bulls, who has also committed his long-term international future to the country of his birth.
Like Azubuike, Gordon withdrew from consideration last year because of contract uncertainty at his club, but officials are hopeful that he will be available for the Finals in Poland.
And that could give coach Chris Finch three established NBA stars in his squad for a tough campaign that sees the Brits take on world champions Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in their opening group".
If GB can get Azubuike to play with them, they will be a very dangerous team in the 2009 European Championship. Good luck maties
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