GBR/PUR - European glory for London-bound Pops

DEBRECEN (Olympics) - Great Britain truly missed their big man Pops Mensah-Bonsu at EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania when they won just two of their five games and came up short of Round 2.

A shoulder operation earlier in the year prevented the 28-year-old from suiting up for the national team.

With the Olympics less than four months away and Mensah-Bonsu competing in Turkey with Besiktas Milangaz, he looks as good as ever and that bodes well for a British team looking to reach the knockout stages of the London Games.

Mensah-Bonsu dominated from start to finish and led Besiktas to the club's first EuroChallenge title on Sunday in Debrecen, Hungary.

The London native had 26 points and 20 rebounds and was named the Final Four MVP.

"First and foremost, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the glory of God," Mensah-Bonsu said to FIBA Europe TV.

"I've had a tough couple of years and he's been gracious to me. I'm just happy to be here.

"The fact that we've been able to win the first Turkish Cup, the first European Cup for Besiktas, it's huge.

"I just came in today and tried to control the boards, be a presence inside and dominate."

Chalon's France international guard Steed Tchicamboud admitted that Mensah-Bonsu had carried his team to the top.

"The first objective of the game was to control the rebounds," Tchicamboud said, "and in the first actions of the game, Pops got like three in a row on offense.

"He was like that the whole game."

While Mensah-Bonsu knows he will be in London, his Besiktas point guard and Puerto Rico international Carlos Arroyo has some work to do if he is to play at an Olympics for the second time in his career.

Arroyo was one of the star attractions at the Athens Olympics in 2004 when his country stunned the United States on opening day and eventually reached the Quarter-Finals.

For Puerto Rico to make it to London, they have to claim one of three places at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Caracas, Venezuela.

And Arroyo, who was last week named in the country's preliminary squad, says he'll be there.

"Yes, I'll be playing with Puerto Rico in the qualifying tournament," he said.

Puerto Rico will play in Group A with Greece and Jordan.

They will need to win one of their games in Group A against Greece or Jordan and then beat either Lithuania, Nigeria or Venezuela in a Quarter-Final.

Should Arroyo & Co do that, they will play in a Semi-Final and winning that game would see them seal a place in London.

If Puerto Rico were to lose the Semi-Final, they could still advance to the Olympics with a victory against the side that falls in the other Semi-Final.

"It will be a tough tournament," Arroyo said.

"We're confident that we can compete with everybody but we have to show it on the court."

FIBA