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.
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.”
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….
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
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.
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
Team GB skipper Andrew Sullivan seems set to leave Newcastle Eagles to link up with BBL rivals Mersey Tigers after the EuroBasket campaign concludes.
The 30-year-old Londoner had offered to take a pay cut to remain in the north east, but now appears to be joining former GB assistant Tony Garbelotto on Merseyside.
Garbelotto feels that the signing gives a clear signal that the Tigers are ready to challenge on all fronts again this year: “For our organisation and team this is a massive signing for us and shows our intent to compete at the top again this season. I know the fans will be really looking forward to him pulling on a Tigers jersey.
“Andrew’s playing abilities and experience is well documented but for me he will bring a winning mentality to our program along with a defensive mindset which is unparalleled.
“On a personal note, I finally will get a chance to coach him as a professional player all the years after I first started working with him as a 14-year-old.”
Having originally arrived on Tyneside back in 2004 where he went on to enjoy two hugely successful seasons, he later rejoined for the start of the 2008-09 season before departing to play with Samara in Russia. The 6’7” forward moved on to Cypriot team Apollon, before linking up with the Eagles in February. The intransigence of Appolon led to Sullivan returning for his third spell with Eagles, and he helped them win the league title and BBL Trophy.
On the positive side for Eagles, Trey Moore will be travelling in the other direction as he moves from Tigers – who recently split from Everton FC – to Eagles.
By Dave Ryan
Italy kept their EuroBasket hopes alive, but where made to fight all of the way before winning 85-83 in Finland.
The Italians had led by 18 points at half-time, but Finland fought back to trail 70-62 early in the fourth period before the home team rattled off a 14-3 to send the home crowd into raptures. Back-to-back triples by home favourite Teemo Ranniko brought the hosts to within one point and then a free-throw by the player putting them in front ay 76-75.
In a nail-biting conclusion, another outside score, this time by Salin kept Finland in front at 81-80 with just over a minute to play but five points by Bellini inside the last 60 seconds saw Italy home.
Andrea Bargnani finished with 24 points while Bellini claimed 23 for the Italians, while Teemu Rannikko led the Finns with 22 points, six boards and as many assists.
The other Group A game was a complete contrast as Israel hammered Latvia 92-56 on the road.
Latvia led 15-7 early in the game lead after a basket by Kaspars Berzin, but a stunning second quarter blew the hosts away with Israel running riot, to outscore their opponent 36-11 to take an unassailable lead.
It was a sign of things to come for the home team who then buckled in worrying fashion under a tremendous display of power by Israel Midway through the second period, they exploded and poured in 19 points and held Latvia to just six points in a blistering five minute spell. It meant at half time, they held 54-26 lead and the game was effectively over.
Yuval Naimy, David Bluthenthal, Guy Pnini, Lior Eliyahu and Omri Casspi all registered double-digit scores for Israel. Andrejs Selakovs was the pick for Latvia with the 21 year old recording 14 points and six rebounds in just 16 minutes.
Montenegro, who sat out Monday’s action, look a dead cert for top spot in the group although they still have to face both Israel and Italy, and the latter will know that they can’t afford to lose another game if they are to stand a chance of going through as one of the best second place teams.
Group C leaders Belgium also look to be on the plane to Lithuania following their 68-63 home win against Portugal.
The hosts led by one point going into the final five minutes before Heshimu Kenyatta Evans hit successive baskets to shock the home crowd and give the visitors a 61-60 lead.
However, Portugal would only manage one further basket in the last four minutes as a relieved Belgium had Marcus Faison and Sam Van Rossom to thank for getting them across the finishing line.
Van Rossom led Belgium with 14 points while Evans and Carlos Andrade combined for 45 points for Portugal.
Things were equally tight in Poland as the hosts kept up their challenge for second spot in Group C with a 75-71 win against Bulgaria.
A 14-6 run in the second period put the Poles 32-22 ahead before and a trey from by Thmas Kelati wrapped up the scoring for the half with the home team leaving the court 38-30 in front.
Poland strode back onto court for the second half looking confident and were in control and keeping Bulgaria at bay until midway through the third when the visitors began to rally.
A triple by Kaloyan Ivanov made it a one-shot game at 46-43.
It was a warning of what was to follow for the hosts but it was not one they heeded. Having re-established control heading into the last ten minutes, they again allowed Bulgaria back into the game.
While the home fans hid behind their hands for long periods as Bulgaria threatened to deliver what might have been a killer blow, all turned out well for the home team as that final Kelati three-pointer dropped to give Poland real hope they can make it.
Marcin Gortat was again a rock for Poland and he finished with 23 points and 9 rebounds while Filip Videnov was the top man yet again for his country with 21 points.
Belgium still have to play Poland and Bulgaria, and realistically need one win to qualify. With Bulgaria, Poland and Georgia all on three losses, they could yet each other’s chances of getting one of the two spots open to for second placed teams to qualify.
Bosnia & Herzegovina, who visit Echo Arena on Thursday to face Chris Finch and the GB team, picked up their second victory of the summer with a 73-64 home victory against Hungary on Monday.
The hosts started well and rushed into a double-figure lead at 19-7 inside the first six minutes and were still in control heading into the second quarter at 24-15.
They extended their lead to as many as 14 at 38-24 after a hook shot by Ratko Varda although the visitors did cut the deficit slightly at 44-33 by half-time thanks to successive three-pointers by Krisztian Wittmann and Akos Horvath.
However, Hungary couldn’t follow it up in the third period and were still down by 12 points when the final quarter arrived.
They threatened to get themselves back into the contest and force an interesting finish when they got to within six points at 65-59 with a little over five minutes to play but Bosnia and Herzegovina stepped it up in the closing stages to ease away again.
Kenan Bajramovic top scored for the home team with 19 points. Marton Fodor and Adam Hanga were the only players to reach double digits for Hungary with 14 and 11 respectively.
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