STEUTEL PRAISES COLLECTIVE EFFORT AGAINST PARIS-BOUND SOUTH SUDAN

Great Britain men’s coach March Steutel quickly praised the entire team following an enthralling clash with South Sudan on Thursday night as part of the Subway® Summer Slam series.

GB, displaying remarkable resilience, fought back from a 15-point deficit against their African counterparts, eventually tying the game at 77-77 with 3:05 remaining.

Still, they eventually suffered a heartbreaking 84-81 loss in front of a passionate crowd at the CopperBox, which included hundreds of energetic South Sudan supporters.

Myles Hesson and Dan Akin, the standout performers for GB, were lauded for their exceptional contributions, with Hesson scoring 28 points and Akin adding 21.

Steutel, however, chose to focus on the team’s collective effort and the depth of the squad.

Jelani Watson-Gayle was impressive with six points and six assists, with Ethan Price coming on in the second half and confidently hitting a triple for his five points off 2/4 shooting in little over 15 minutes on the court.

“Everyone looks at the offence, and Myles [Hesson] carried us, and Dan [Akin] carried us; Carl also contributed. But I think other role players more than played their part,” said Steutel.

“For instance, Josh Ward-Hibbert has been brilliant across three games and has shown us how comfortable he is at this level and how he can impact games at this level.

“Kiaye Cleary came into the game late on and contributed to the positive momentum swing; Jelani Watson-Gayle had and took his opportunity and has shown his ability to impact the game; Ethan Price has taken massive steps forward, which we’re really pleased with.

“I could name them all because they’ve done a wonderful job. We had contributions all around.”

The Subway® Summer Slam series was a perfect opportunity for Steutel to see how the younger players, plus the newcomers to the roster, shape up ahead of November’s FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifying games against Greece.

“It was looking at how these guys can contribute, what impact they have, and what influence they have on a team, and making sure that they are playing our way,” he said.

“Some would call them a supporting cast, but I prefer the sheer depth of our squad, and we definitely showed some positives moving forward.”