We attended the last warm up game last August, before the players flew off to Turkey on their mission at the Eurobasket. The Copper Box, part of the Olympic Park was filled to the rafters with people of all ages to support the boys. The crowd were loud, and certainly entertained throughout by the game, which saw the experienced Greece side pip the hard working Team GB to the win. There were many positives from Team GB, and with the likes of Dan Clark and Myles Hesson in the ranks, the future looked bright. It was a frustrating 7 games for Team GB at the Eurobasket, as they didn't manage to win any of their games. Their were some notable performances though, including a tough 70 - 84 loss to hosts Turkey and 97 -92 loss to Latvia, who were led by New York Knocks star man Kristaps Porzingis.
It seems like last years Eurobasket, may well be the last time we see a Team GB team compete in the competition after the announcement of funding cuts to the game. It also comes at a time when the Team GB women's team have been putting in some fine performances in the Eurobasket qualifiers, which saw them beat Israel and lose to Greece by just 3 points. The funding cuts, which has also been discussed in parliament comes in the wake of the Winter Olympics and the relative success of Team GB, as well as the board deciding their is little chance of the sport winning medals in the next Olympics. Winning medals is a major driver in the criteria for funding in the this country, and with the lack of success in terms of medals playing a major part in the struggles for Basketball to get the backing compared to sports like Cycling and Athletics. What Basketball fans do find frustrating, is the interest within the country for Basketball is high amongst young people in deprived areas. For a sport played so much by young people in this country; and being a team game giving youngsters experience in teamwork, leadership and staying active, why is Basketball so unloved byu the powers that be?
So the future looks bleak for Basketball; and with British Basketball CEO Lisa Wainwright claiming that the teams of all age groups will be forced to withdraw from competition due to the cuts further highlights the bleak situation.
