| Head coaches Julius Joseph and Stef Collins have selected their Great Britain squads for two FIBA 3×3 tournaments later this month. GB will take part in the Europe Cup qualifier in Romania and the U23 League of Nations event in Israel. Teams have been entered as part of a collaboration between Great Britain Basketball and Basketball England to help prepare Team England players for next year’s Commonwealth Games and set about improving the GB national teams’ 3×3 rankings. Selection follows a Team England training camp in Manchester earlier this month and sees some of the nation’s most prominent 5v5 players commit to the three-a-side version of the sport, which will feature at Birmingham 2022 as a Games first. GB co-captain Myles Hesson will line up alongside Jordan Williams (pictured above), Josh Ward-Hibbert and 2018 Commonwealth Games representative Orlan Jackman in the senior men’s squad. Experienced national team stars Temi Fagbenle (pictured below) and Chantelle Handy are in the women’s senior squad with Shanice Beckford-Norton and Shequila Joseph. The two groups will be led by Team England head coaches Julius Joseph and Collins respectively. |
| Young talent Some bright young talent features in the two U23 League of Nations squads. Barking Abbey duo Flynn Boardman-Raffet and Veron Eze plus US-based Eljay Morris (Emmanuel) and Tosan Evbuomwan (Princeton) make up the men’s squad with Krumesh Patel as coach. Abigail Lowe (Newcastle Eagles), Paige Robinson-Miller (BA London Lions), Loren Christie (University at Buffalo) and Katie Bennett (Durham Palatinates) form the women’s squad, led by Kenrick Liburd. GB Men’s squad for Europe Cup Qualifiers Jordan Williams #4, Worcester Wolves Myles Hesson #5, Elan Chalon, FRA Orlan Jackman #7, Team Solent Kestrels Josh Ward-Hibbert #9, London Lions Coach: Julius Joseph GB Women’s squad for Europe Cup Qualifiers Shanice Beckford-Norton #4, BA London Lions Chantelle Handy #6, Casademont Zaragoza, ESP Temi Fagbenle #8, Mersin, TUR Shequila Joseph #9, Leganes, ESP Coach: Stef Collins GB Men’s squad for U23 League of Nations Flynn Boardman-Raffet #4, Barking Abbey Veron Eze #5, Barking Abbey Eljay Morris #6, Emmanuel, USA Tosan Evbuomwan #7, Princeton University, USA Coach: Krumesh Patel GB Women’s squad for U23 League of Nations Abigail Lowe #4, Newcastle Eagles Paige Robinson-Miller #5, BA London Lions Loren Christie #6, University at Buffalo, USA Katie Bennett #7, Durham Palatinates Coach: Kenrick Liburd Julius Joseph said: “It has been incredibly challenging to select such small squads from so much talent that attended the first-ever 3×3 national team camp. We were privileged to have some of the best players our country has to offer and we had to make really tough decisions. “This is just the beginning of the 3×3 journey so there will be many more opportunities ahead this summer with Ball Out 3×3 and beyond. “The selected squad players are all tough, versatile and can guard multiple positions and score consistently in a variety of ways. We will need to play smart, with composure and adapt very quickly as we are playing against teams that have been together for years.” Stef Collins said: “The tournaments will be a great opportunity to see where we are as it is our first time entering teams into this competition and we will use this experience to continue to learn, adapt, and grow with 3×3. “Our ambition is to continue supporting our long list of players and others to take part in 3×3 this summer through the various Ball-Out tournaments as this will be an important part in identifying talent and further boost individual and federation ranking points.” Competition formats For the Europe Cup qualifier, in Constanta, Romania on 26 June, the GB men are in a group with Hungary, Ukraine and Kosovo, while the women are matched with Hungary and Slovakia. There are four tickets to the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup Finals in Paris available for both men and women. The teams are divided into four pools with the top two in each advancing to the knock-out round. The winners of each of four male and four female elimination games qualify. In the U23 League of Nations there will be three days of action (28-30 July) in Tel Aviv, Israel. GB are drawn in the same conference as Spain, France, Israel, Netherlands and USA in both men’s and women’s competitions. The three-day stay equates to three ‘stops’ on the League of Nations tour, played for COVID-19 safety reasons, in a ‘bubble’ to minimise travel. FIBA is planning two triple stops, with GB’s other in Israel. If a Nations League Final is played, the host will qualify directly along with the six conference winners and the next best ranked team across all conferences. |