GB Men fall to Montenegro

Slovakia VS Great Britain

GB began their first of two fixtures in Pool A against Slovakia at 4:00 pm (BST) on 7 June.

Head Coach Afiz Olaniyan’s side got off to a quick start thanks to Ashley Hamilton’s neat footwork earned him two points inside. It was his tenacity which forced the loose ball, which Hafeez Abdul collected and slammed home to give GB a 1-3 lead. 

GB relied on their superior athleticism in this one, going to Hamilton or Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (DLO) in the low-post and relying on their speed and power to generate open looks at the basket. 4-9 GB. 

Slovakia responded with a flurry of scores forced by some high-paced ball movement, creating chaos in the GB defence.

With the game hinging on a slim 8-9 lead for GB, DLO took over. First, a tough drive for the reverse lay-up. Then a two-pointer from deep with a hand in his face. Four free throws and two more contested two-pointers later, GB had stormed out to a 12-20 lead thanks to a 10-point burst from DLO.

Another two-pointer from Hamilton completed an awesome scoring performance from GB and secured the 12-22 victory.

Lithuania VS Great Britain

After a quick turnaround, GB were set to face 5th-ranked Lithuania at 6:25 PM (BST).

Lithuania came out on fire, making their first two shots, both from behind the arc, and taking a five-point lead in the first minute.

Hitting his second two-pointer soon after, 6’9” sharpshooter Aurelijus Pukelis piled on the pressure for GB, whilst Evaldas Džiaugys, ranked 11th globally, killed GB with his backdoor cutting and soft touch off the glass. 10-2 Lithuania.

GB worked their way back into the game, again with DLO playing conductor. He converted a lay-up with his defender draped over him, and then placed a lofted pass in the path of Hamilton for him to bank in off the backboard. With Lithuania penalised for too many fouls, DLO hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 10-6 with 5 minutes remaining.

Using his agility and foot speed, DLO bagged two more points, battling against a poised and relentless Lithuanian offence.

Taking the opportunity, Hamilton got himself involved with an important two-pointer, following his make with a scorching drive and dunk to bring the score to 15-12.

Nevertheless, Lithuania remained in control, going to Džiaugys again and again to settle the offence and hit important shots, ultimately running away as 21-14 victors.

Montenegro VS Great Britain

With just one win in two, GB faced a deciding fixture with Montenegro on 8 June, with the winner qualifying for the Europe Cup. GB played a match of similar magnitude against Montenegro last month in the World Cup Qualifiers, falling 21-14, but ultimately securing qualification in a final fixture against Rwanda.

This time, there would be no second chance.

Again, GB’s opponents started quickly following a two-pointer from Nemanja Gavranic and some sweet ball movement to open up the lane for Marko Raicevic. 5-1 Montenegro after three minutes.

However, after the earlier scoring heroics of DLO and Hamilton, it was Abdul’s turn to take up the mantle. And he did so emphatically with back-to-back two-pointers, tying the game at five apiece.

Responding to another avalanche of scoring from Montenegro, GB showed why they are one of the most physical teams in the competition, with powerful drives from DLO and Hamilton.

GB kept in step, down by two points with two minutes to go. Even when Raicevic hit another two-pointer for Montenegro to give them the 16-11 lead, GB hit right back with a quick score from Hamilton and then a heave from deep by DLO, which banked in off the backboard.

With less than a minute to go and Montenegro up 17-14, there was still a chance, but Montenegro’s nous and experience saw them through, ultimately winning 20-15.

With that, GB Men narrowly failed to qualify for the Europe Cup this summer, despite inspiring performances across the board.