gbbasketball.net
For British Basketball Junkies (by basketmedia365.com)
September 1, 2010 at 8:28 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Tickets went on sale today for Europe’s first NBA regular-season games, between the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors, the National Basketball Association (NBA) it was announced today. The back-to-back games, the centerpiece of NBA Games – London 2011, will be played at The O2 in London on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.theo2.co.uk.
The NBA also announced plans for the first-ever “Basketball Week” in the UK. “Basketball Week” will bring together the key entities in the UK basketball community – England Basketball, the British Basketball League, and British Basketball – and provide fans of all ages with an exciting and interactive basketball experience.
Basketball Week is a weeklong festival of basketball-themed activities that will take place in the lead up to NBA Games – London 2011 and will include 3-on-3 competitions, basketball clinics, and a variety of grassroots and interactive events for fans. The event will tip off on Friday, Feb. 25 and culminate at The O2 on Saturday, March 5, with activities taking place in London, Manchester, and Newcastle, with other locations that will be announced at a later date.
“NBA Games – London 2011 will be a historic event and Basketball Week will be a key part of how fans across the UK can tap into the excitement around the games,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, Senior Vice President of NBA Europe. “Basketball Week will build awareness for the game, create additional participation opportunities for fans, and help all of the key basketball entities across the UK as we get closer to the 2012 Olympics.”
“We are proud to be working in partnership with the NBA and the governing bodies of basketball in the UK to get behind Basketball Week in March 2010,” said Paul Blake, Chairman of the British Basketball League. “British basketball is truly taking some major steps forward, from grassroots to the national teams and the presence of what will now be three high profile NBA games this season is unprecedented. It is going to be a great year for the sport in this country and we look forward to being a part of it.”
The popularity of Basketball continues to grow in the UK, with participation in the sport doubling over the past four years. In addition, more than 45,000 people have participated in NBA grassroots events in the UK over the last two years..
For the Raptors, this will be their first visit to the United Kingdom, while the Nets, who take home-court advantage in London, are already well-known in the UK’s capital after a 2008 visit to the city to play the Miami Heat as part of NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™. New Jersey Nets Guard Devin Harris said, “Everyone involved in bringing the games to London is excited about playing in one of the world’s great cities, and we look forward to the crowd getting behind the Nets as the home-court team.”
As part of the NBA’s preseason schedule, The O2 will also play host to the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves in front of a sellout crowd on Oct. 4 as part of NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™. Overall, the NBA will play a comprehensive slate of international preseason games that will feature a total of seven games this October on three different continents.
Picture: onEdition
August 30, 2010 at 3:18 am · Filed under GB Men and Juniors
By Dave Ryan
Great Britain men ended a great season with a 75-66 defeat in Ukraine on Sunday.
The result didn’t prevent Britain winning Group B of EuroBasket qualifying as Macedonia went down in Bosnia, but with worst points average record of the three group winners – all finished with 6-2 records – Chris Finch’s team look set to be given a fourth see in the Lithuania finals next summer.
Pops Mendah-Bonsu led GB with 18 points and ten rebounds before fouling out, while Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng added 17 points and six boards.
Veteran Nate Reinking finished off another impressive summer with 12 points, while Ukraine were led by Serhiy Lishchuk’s 21 points and ten rebounds.
Finch remained positive after the game, despite the loss: “This was a tough game and we rallied in the second half and gave ourselves a chance to win” he said.
“Flinder [Boyd] gave us some good minutes. Pops brought a lot of energy and triggered our run in the second half.”
“We have a lot to be proud of. Not many people gave this team a chance to qualify and we did it through great effort. Our young players played well and gain immeasurable experience from this campaign.”
“Next summer provides us with a chance to play against the best in Europe once again. I am looking forward to the 2011 campaign and I know the players are as well.”
Full report here
August 30, 2010 at 3:17 am · Filed under GB Women
By Dave Ryan
GB women were unable to finish the summer with a victory as they went down 70-66 in Ukraine on Sunday afternoon.
A 12-0 run in the third quarter proved to be the key as the home side recovered from 47-40 down to take control of the game.
Jo Leedham continued a great summer for Britain with 19 points, six steals and four rebounds, while Kim Butler added 11 points and nine boards, and Julie Page again impressed with ten points and nine rebounds for GB.
Oleksandra Prystupa led the home team with a 17 point, ten rebound double-double.
Tom Maher’s side has already sealed top spot in EuroBasket qualifying Group B, and a place in next summer’s finals, and the GB coach was in reflective mood after the defeat:
“It was very disappointing we could have won the game but we made too many bad decisions” he said
“Nevertheless we shouldn’t detract from what the players have achieved this summer.”
Full report, click here
Pictures courtesy GB Basketball
August 28, 2010 at 5:01 am · Filed under European Basketball
By Dave Ryan
While Britain were celebrating their double qualification for next summers EuroBasket finals, the mere mortals in the rest of the men’s competition were slugging it out as they attempt to join us.
In Group B’s other game, Hungary wrapped up their summer with an 83-75 victory against Ukraine, thanks mainly to a late surge that put the game to bed,
Akos Keller had 17 points and 7 rebounds for the home team while Marton Fodor and Adam Hanga buried seven treys between them. Serhiy Lishchuk had 16 points and 5 rebounds in just 21 minutes for Ukraine.
In Group A Italy finished their campaign with a fourth straight win, but although their 72-71 win over Montenegro put them top of the group, they will have to look at the Additional Qualifying Round if they want to join us in Lithuania.
Andrea Bargnani poured in 34 points for the hosts, and it was a thrilling finish as the sides went into the final four minutes and 27 seconds tied at 67.
A dunk by Tomas Ress made it 72-67 with two minutes to go and while Italy would not score again, Montenegro could only muster four free throws which meant they fell short.
Antonio Maestranzi supported Bargnani with 18 points for the home team. Omar Cook had a productive night for Montenegro with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Montenegro will host Israel in a winner-takes-all match-up on Sunday after the Israelis beat basement side Finland 85-71.
Lior Eliyahu 18 points, 13 board double-double meant that Israel have one foot in the finals as a second victory by a big margin gives them every opportunity to finish as one of the best runner ups should they fail to finish top of the group.
The Finns started with a 12-1 run, and were still ahead by one going into the final six minutes of the third period. But the hosts finally clicked into top gear and absolutely exploded offensively as they poured in 19 points during the next four minutes to establish a commanding lead at 66-53.
Finland never recovered and failed to repeat the fighting qualities they showed in their previous nerve jangler with Italy.
Yotam Halperin recorded a useful 13 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds while Tuukka Kotti had 10 points and 7 rebounds for Finland.
In Group C, everyone bar a hapless Portugal side is still in with a shout of what appears to be only qualification spot.
Leaders Belgium continue to stutter, going down to a 92-81 loss against Bulgaria in Sofia. Filip Videnov once again led his team with 18 points, six boards and three assists in the victory as Bulgaria gained the upper hand early and never relinquished their grip until the final buzzer confirmed a vital win.
Despite controlling the game Bulgaria only led by 52-42 at half-time with the visitors knowing it could have been a lot worse.
When Marcus Faison scored five points to start the second half for Belgium, a comeback looked to be coming but it was as near as they would get as the home team squashed their revival hopes.
They shrugged off their lax start to the third and shifted through the gears smoothly to head into the last quarter 73-57 ahead, meaning they could canter to victory.
Kaloyan Ivanov produced a nice cameo for Bulgaria with nine points and 11 rebounds while Lauwers finished with 21 points for Belgium.
Georgia kept their hopes alive after a pair of sparkling double-doubles by Zaza Pachulia and Nikoloz Tskitishvili secured a comfortable 80-57 success in Portugal.
Pachulia finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Tskitishvili claimed 12 points and 15 rebounds.
The visitors never looked back after a 22-8 first period, and although Portugal pulled it back to a ten point game going into the locker room at half-time, a 13-0 run ended the game as a contest.
Miguel Miranda finished with 20 points and eight boards for Portugal.
Belgium host Poland on Sunday evening knowing a win will send them to the finals. If they lose, it will go down to a three-way tiebreaker between the Poles, Belgians and the winner of Sunday’s Georgia versus Bulgaria match-up.
August 27, 2010 at 12:07 pm · Filed under GB basketball (General)
The Chicago Rib Shack is proud to host a charity dinner for the Luol Deng Foundation on Tuesday 31st August.
Tickets are £80 and include a £50 donation towards the charity as well as a sparkling reception and 3 course meal.
Team GB star Luol Deng will be hosting the informal event from 6.30pm and money raised will be supporting under-privileged children in the UK through basketball as well as children in Sudan, Luol’s birthplace.
August 27, 2010 at 8:59 am · Filed under GB Men and Juniors
By Dave Ryan
Chris Finch had praise for Pops Mensah-Bonsu following GB’s 94-85 overtime win against Hungary on Thursday.
While Luol Deng was breaking the GB scoring record with a 38 point haul, 26-year-old Londoner Mensah-Bonsu was pulling down 21 boards to go with his 32 points.
His most vital rebound of the game came when Deng missed a free throw with 20 seconds remaining, the resulting foul saw him sink two at the line to send the game into overtime.
“Pops was amazing, his offensive rebounding wins us games. That’s elite level rebounding, and as good as anyone in the NBA. He was really focussed and he kept things simple. When you have a big game you need your big guys to step up, but it wasn’t just Luol and Pops, Nate had some great moments, while Drew and Ogo played their part.”
Finch also praised his team’s character after a campaign that has seen all six of their victories sealed in the final five minutes of the game or in overtime:
“Our team has great character” he said. “We all believed we could win every game even when we were down late. We responded well and made the hussle plays. Drew [Sullivan] got good stops, Pops made some huge plays and Luol was superb for us. But over all we have a mentally tough group of players.
“We said to our guys that all the teams we played against had the ability to hit shots. We had to hang in there till we got a rhythm going. Every time we had an eight or nine point lead we let them have it back. But there was a lot of pressure on us tonight, and hung in there and it was a great win.
Captain Drew Sullivan was also delighted with the victory and the prospect of another trip to EuroBasket: “I’ve said that we need to playing in these kind of competitions every year” he said.
“We were gutted that didn’t get a wild card for the World Championships but that motivated us for this, so we could prove we should be playing at this level. It’s been fun every year seeing the programme getting bigger and bigger , it’s got more professional and we’ve had guys who’ve stepped in for the unavailable players and they’ve done a great job.”
August 27, 2010 at 3:10 am · Filed under Turkey 2010 & Lithuania 2011
With Great Britain safely booked into EuroBasket 2011, the next step up would be to make the 2014 FIBA World Championships in Spain. However let’s get Turkey 2010 out of the way first. It’s been an exciting build up and we have our man Sasa Jelisavic on the case as he finally recovers from brawls, suspensions and his beloved Serbia team being taken hostage by Greek fans.
ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP:
The FIBA World Championship madness begins with lot of drop outs, lots of injuries and many teams will inevitably struggle while there will also be lots of chances for some new players to make their mark. Here is my rapid-fire run-down of who to watch, how high they will be aiming aim and where they might end up! Good luck and remember – it is only the very best in the world we are looking for. One team will take it all…
A Very Eager Lithuania:
A whole new generation lead by Kleiza and they have won 7 out of 10 preparation games. With EuroBasket next year in their own country, every one of them will do whatever it takes to make sure to stay in the squad for the next tournament. What better chance than the World Championships to prove you are worthy?
A Very New USA:
A complete renovation for the US and some new boys are here, led by none other by K.Durant. No problems at all in preparation games, as even World Champions Spain were taken down, and after that Greece was an easy prey. US have skills but will it be enough for gold? Anything else for a “dream team” is a loser ticket back home.
The Defending Champs Spain :
No P. Gasol, Calderon got injured so the news is not so good for the Champs, but still, it is a Champion team we are talking about and they won’t surrender without a fight. Everybody wants to take it away from them and they will have to get dirty. Navarro will make sure of that!
A Challenger In Greece:
A good all round team, with a great coach, fanatic fans, medals wherever they go but that is not good enough since after all these years, nothing but a gold will be good enough for them. This is a generation at his peak – strong and ready.
A Cool To Watch New Zealand:
With half an amateur squad that is not scared of anybody and why should they be? They play like warriors. With Kirk Penney as a main gun and with license to shoot from anywhere, New Zealand is not a team that will win a medal, even the second round is far away from them but they play with that amazing attitude, team spirit and enthusiasm. A beauty, a diamond, call it what you want!
The Young Wolves of Serbia:
There is a squad with motivation and willingness to go far as it takes. One for all and all for one is what makes the Serbs really dangerous. They are not afraid of anybody, this squad all have a “bad boy” image and the tournament hasn’t even started. Dirty and even more hungry, talent is everywhere in a Serbian squad lead by the old wolf himself Dusan Ivkovic. The Serbs are aiming high, nothing lower but a top, averaging 23 years of age, these young wolves will have to prove that they are not only worthy, but also experienced enough. With a fast pace game and a captain that plays like a man possessed, with an MVP of Euroeague and an all star coach, it’s all hail these young wolves – for retreat is never an option!
Let the games begin….
August 26, 2010 at 8:17 pm · Filed under GB Men and Juniors
By Dave Ryan
GB men followed the lead set by the women at the Echo Arena to reach the EuroBasket finals again with a heart-stopping 94-85 overtime win against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Thursday evening.
Luol Deng broke the GB scoring record with 38 points, adding 13 rebounds as the survived being three down with 22 seconds remaining to seal place in the EuroBasket finals.
Pops Mensah Bonsu added 32 points and pulled down a massive 21 boards while Nate Reinking stepped up late in the game to finish with 16.
Bosnia were led by 21 apiece from Henry Domercan and Ratko Varda
A tight first half saw Britain lead 39-36 going into the locker room with Mensah-Bonsu on 17 points and Deng on 16.
Kenan Barjamovic tied the game with a trey to open the second half before Aleksej Nesovic also drained from downtown before Deng got GB off the mark with a midrange jumper and Reinking hit a trey to put Britain up by two.
Here's a logo I made earlier
Back-to-back Deng threes put GB up by five but a Nesovic and-one made it 53-51 going into the final four minutes of the third period and the closed out the quarter well to lead 64-57 at the final break.
Bosnia hit the first five points of the final stanza before Deng drained a pair at the foul line, but a Domercant trey put his side 67-66 ahead with 7:11 on the clock to force a timeout from Finch.
Reinking hit a trey off Adegboye’s assist as GB went into the final five minutes with a 73-69 lead but a big Domercant made it a one point game with 2:35 on the clock before Mensah-Bonsu nearly ripped the ring down with a dunk.
Domercant coolly drained three at the line after being fouled by Mensah-Bonsu to make it a one point game doing into the final two minutes.
Bajrmovic reversed that lead with a lay-up before Deng missed a pair at the line only to see Bajrmovic hit a hook shot to force timeout with Bosnia leading 81 going into the final 57 seconds.
Deng was sent to the line by Vard, who fouled in the process, with 21.5 seconds to go and he drained the first before Mensah-Bonsu got the rebound and was fouled in the process.
He both free-throws to tie the game with 18.7 seconds on the clock, and some tough defence saw Kojadinovic’s shot kept out to send the game into overtime.
Deng hit the second of a pair at the line to open the extra period, but Bajrmovic put his side back up again before he fouled out.
A Reinking floater made it a three point game before Deng’s put-back made it 88-83 with 2:04 on the clock.
Deng’s ally-oop to Mensah-Bonsu sent the Echo Arena crazy and put their team seven up before the former hit a jumper to make it a nine point game as Britain wrapped up a place in the finals.
August 26, 2010 at 1:31 pm · Filed under GB Women
By Dave Ryan
One down one to go!
An awesome performance from Julie Page saw GB women book their place in the EuroBasket finals for the first time with a 77-59 demolition of Germany at Liverpool Echo Arena on Wednesday evening.
Page who finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists asTom Maher’s side never looked back after a strong first half and will go into Sunday’s final game against Ukraine knowing that they already have a place in Poland 2011 assured.
Jo Leedham added 15 points and five boards while Kim Butler finished with 12 points for GB.
Germany were led by 14 Roli-Ann Nikagbaste points, with Anne Breitreiner addd 12.
Page opened the scoring off an offensive rebound after GB had won the tip, and another good piece of work on the boards from Page saw GB lead 10-3 with just under three seconds gone to force a German timeout.
The move had only limited effect, and with Page taking her tally to ten, GB went into the first break 20-11 ahead.
Stafford opened the second period scoring with a hail-Mary three and Leedham made it a 15 point game with a three-point play, and GB were 30-19 ahead with four minutes of the half remaining.
Jenaya Wade-Fray made it 38-21 for the biggest lead of the game with two minutes left and a lovely Stafford pass to Azania Stewart saw he score a lay-up and with Leedham hitting a trey GB went into the locker room with a commanding 47-24 lead.
Stina Barnert opened the second half scoring for Germany, and the visitors whittled the lead down to 48-34 with 6:22 when Linda Frohich hit a trey, forcing a timeout from Maher.
Leedham scored the Land of Plenty out of the break, and although the visitors cut the lead to 11 at one stage, GB went into the final break 59-45 ahead.
Magret Skuballa opened the scoring for Germany in the final stanza, but a Page trey saw Britain open a 65-50 lead with 6:37 on the lock to force a timeout from the visitors and when the game restarted, Butler made it an 18 point game as she also drained from downtown.
Steph Collins joined the trey-fest, and Britain went into the final two minutes of the game with a 77-57 lead and the game effectively over as Maher poured his bench into the game.
August 25, 2010 at 10:25 pm · Filed under GB Men and Juniors, GB Women, GB basketball (General)
By Dave Ryan
Thursday night could prove to be biggest night in the short history of Great Britain basketball s both of the GB teams attempt to wrap up their places in the EuroBasket finals at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
Victory for the men against Bosnia & Herzegovina and for the women against Germany would send them both into the finals next summer.
It would be a second successive finals for Chris Finch’s men’s side, but for the women it would be the first time they have qualified for the tournament, which will be staged in Poland.
It is the penultimate game of the summer for both teams, with the two squads travelling to Ukraine on Sunday, but they will want to wrap up a trip to the finals on home soil.
Finch expects a tough test when Bosnia arrive in the north west: “They’re like all of the other teams in the group, they’re capable of beating you if you’re not ready. They’ve got a high basketball IQ, and have some good shooters. They’re not in a position to win the group, but they’ll be fighting to get in the Additional Qualifying Round, and they’re going to be dangerous.”
Britain suffered their first defeat of this summer’s EuroBasket qualifiers when they went down in Macedonia on Monday, and Finch is looking for a big improvement: “We need to do everything better, we need to compete better and do the little things well. We don’t have a big margin for error, but we’ve played hard throughout and that’s why we’ve won as many as we have. We need to get back to doing that. There’s no more pressure on us on Thursday than any other game.”
The men are in action at 7.30pm, and when the sides met in Sarajevo a fortnight ago, a fine shooting performance from Dan Clark (below) helped Britain to an 84-80 victory.
The 21-year-old drained all five of his three-point efforts on the way to a 23 point haul, and with Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu each adding 16 points, Finch’s team held firm at the end of the game to take an important victory.
Bosnia arrive at the Echo Arena still looking to seal a place in next summer’s additional qualifying round which sees six teams competing for the final spot in the EuroBasket finals.
Their two victories have both came at home, beating Ukraine 86-76 and Hungary 73-64, and they round off their qualifying campaign at home against Macedonia on Sunday.
American born Henry Domercant leads their scoring with 13.8 points per game, and is adding 1.8 steals.
Edin Bavcic is pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game to go with his 8.7 points, and Feliks Kojadinovic is dishing out 3.8 assists as well as hitting 4.3 points.
Before that, the women take to the floor at 4.30pm and they will look to complete a double against the Germans.
The teams met in Wolfenbüttel last week, and 20 points from Julie Page (below) saw them gain their first EuroBasket victory of the summer with a 72-63 road win.
Jo Leedham also had a big night for Tom Maher’s side with six steals to go with her 13 points and five rebounds.
Germany go into the game with a 2-2 record having split their pair of games with Ukraine – each winning on their opponents’ court – and recording what could prove to be a key 63-58 win at home against Slovak Republic.
GB coach Tom Maher isn’t underestimating the importance of the game: “In our collective basketball careers to say Thursday is important to us is an understatement. Britain’s never qualified for the European Championship finals before and we can do so by beating Germany. Several non believers have stated that GB will never make a European Championship, we intend to prove them wrong.”
Pictures: British Basketball
Next entries »
