GBR - Great Britain still on right track despite loss to France

LONDON (Olympic Test Event/Olympic Games) - Great Britain on Tuesday night were left to rue the missed opportunity of pushing France to a shock defeat at the Olympic Test Event, but the players are very optimistic they are heading in the right direction as they continue their preparations for next year's Olympic Games.

A fourth quarter collapse saw the host nation fall to an 82-60 defeat against the French at the Olympic Basketball Arena. In spite of this, Joel Freeland was confident about the team's progress in a short period of time.

"Looking at us now, we've only been together for two or three weeks and we've gelled really well," said the 2.08m centre, who led his team with 16 points against France.

"We didn't do so well in the last quarter (against France), but we fought the first three quarters and really gave them a challenge in that time."

Great Britain were without star players Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Deng is expected to join the team in time for this weekend's games at the Olympic Test Event and will play a leading role at EuroBasket in Lithuania.

Gordon and Deng won't feature this summer because of an insurance issue and a shoulder injury respectively.

As a result of that, Great Britain will have to wait until next year to figure out how the three players will mesh in and impact the team overall.

Freeland, for one, is not at all concerned about this.

"Going into next year, we have the base (of our team) and we will be adding Luol, Ben and Pops who are all very experienced and high-profile players.

"They can come into the team, fit right in and add something right away.

"It will be a huge benefit to have them. It will help us out tenfold," he added.

"They can help all the younger players such as myself and those coming through with great talent and show them how to be a great team and win games."

Great Britain are the only team at this week's event in the Olympic Park that is guaranteed its place next year's Olympics.

The other five - along with countries from all around the world - will look to qualify over the coming weeks in their respective championships.

With their place booked, the hosts are finding their own source of motivation to keep improving between now and next summer.

Veteran guard Nate Reinking believes the team has to prove the doubters wrong.

"We're still trying to gain respect and just show the world that we belong (in the Olympic Basketball Tournament) if we did qualify, if we didn't qualify," he said.

"We want to show that we belong in that elite group of teams that's going to be here next year."

As hosts of the Olympic Games, Great Britain will play at home, in front of their fans.

This privilege is not lost on Freeland.

"It's a huge advantage (to play at home). We have our friends and family giving us a boost to play as well as we can," he said.

"Against France, it was a nice atmosphere with 3,000 people. We can only imagine what it will be like when it's packed with 12,000 screaming fans behind us, pulling for us to win.

However, he cautions that with that advantage will come some expectations.

"It will be a huge advantage for us and there will be pressure on us but we need it to push ourselves forward. So I'm really excited."

In light of that, this week's tournament serves as the perfect preparation.

"We're going up against teams we've never played. It's a great experience for us. It's great to see what we can do against these world class players," Freeland argued.
 
"This is why this event is so important. It's going to really prepare us for what is going to happen in a year's time."

FIBA