GB Men Come Up Short Against Canada

MBA led all GB scorers with 17 points

The Great Britain Senior Men’s basketball team started off their summer campaign losing a tight one to Canada 82-78 down at the ACS International School in Cobham, Surrey, last night.

After a strong start going up 26-12 after the first quarter, Canada regrouped to outscore GB 24-12 in the second quarter to pull within two 38-36 at the halftime break. After playing each other pretty even for the third quarter it was Canada that came through when it mattered most, hitting big shots in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

The team were without Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu who joined the team today, whilst Justin Robinson was in plain clothes on the bench.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning, making his Senior debut for GB, dropped 17 points, whilst Dan Clark joined him as the only other GB player in double figures with 12.

Random Thoughts/Notes

• People who say we don’t stand a chance come August due to all the withdrawals I think will be pleasantly surprised. Team GB played with the most energy and hustle I have ever seen from the Senior Men’s side. I think it’s a great thing all the young guys are getting a chance to shine (and proving they belong).
• Full scoring list: MBA 17, Dan Clark 12, Andrew Sullivan 9, Rob Yanders 8, Kieron Achara 7, Ogo Adegboye 7, Olu Babalola 6, Eric Boateng 5, Ashley Hamilton 3, Devon Van Oostrum 2, Nate Reinking 2, Devan Bailey 0, Tafari Toney 0, Flinder Boyd 0.
• Finch seemed to be very conscious about playing everyone. The entire roster saw court time, with only 1 player (Tafari Toney) seeing less than 6 minutes.
• Highlight of the game was a nasty Ogo Adegboye crossover and fancy finish in the lane.
• Most of the stands were busy, but there was no atmosphere whatsoever-most of the crowd seemed to be American or BPB corporate guests.
• Teen sensation Devon Van Oostrum saw 8 minutes on the court, finishing with 2 points, 1 rebound and 2 turnovers. A little shaky at times but his basket in particular (a lil crossover and floater in the lane) was nice.
• Olu Babalola is a monster and looks like he could rip your head off with his bare hands. Played well when he got on the court with a number of poke aways-showing nimble hands for a guy his size.
• Kieron Achara had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals…in 11 minutes 39 seconds!
• Matthew Bryan-Amaning, as you can see from his final point tally, put in work. He added 3 rebounds, 1 big block and 2 steals. Only played 14 and a half minutes too…could of had a lot more too, missed a lot of easy ones.