London International Basketball Invitational Announced

The Great Britain basketball team will be one of the first competitive sports teams to see action at the Olympic Park as the London International Basketball Invitational, an Olympic warmup event will be held at the Basketball Arena in East London from 16 to 21 August 2011.

The tournament will pit Great Britain in a six-team pool played in a round-robin format against a world class line-up of Australia, China, Croatia, France and Serbia who will all be preparing for Olympic Games qualifying tournaments in the following months. It will serve as much needed preparation for Team GB’s European Championships in September-where they have been drawn in the toughest group of the competition.

The London International Basketball Invitational will also allow LOCOG to test key aspects of its operations in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games – from competition floors and scoreboards as well as new presentation graphics to accreditation and catering.

The event will feature three games per day, provisionally scheduled for 3.30pm, 6pm and 8.30pm. One-day tickets will be available, allowing spectators to take in all three games.

Great Britain’s provisional schedule is as follows;

Tuesday 16 August-Great Britain vs France 20:30
Wednesday 17 August-Great Britain vs Croatia 20:30
Thursday 18 August-Great Britain vs Serbia 20:30
Saturday 20 August-Great Britain vs China 18:00
Sunday 21 August-Great Britain vs Australia 18:00

You can view the full tournament schedule here.

Tickets are available exclusively from the Ticketmaster website from 10am on 26 May 2011. Prices range from £25 to £35, with special prices available for children aged 16 and under and adults aged 60 and over.

There will be a box office located on site and open every day of the tournament, from 1.30pm to 9pm.

Will you be attending the tournament? How do you think GB will do? Looking forward to it? Drop a comment and let us know!