GBR – Test event to further showcase London's growing love for game

LONDON (London Test Event) - From 16 to 21 August 2011, Great Britain’s Basketball team will welcome five of the world’s top international basketball countries to the newly completed Olympic Basketball Arena for a five-day round-robin tournament known as the London International Invitational.

The list of invitees includes Serbia, China and Australia, who are all ranked in the world’s top 10 teams, as well as France and Croatia, who also both have a solid basketball pedigree with rankings in the top 20.

These six teams will use this event to kick-start their preparations for London 2012. For all but the hosts, who alongside the USA are already qualified, this will include securing qualification through the Continental Zone Championships.

Although dates for the London International Invitational fall at a busy time in the sporting calendar, coinciding almost exactly with the beginning of the English Premier League football season, the event is expected to be sold-out.

With first ever NBA regular season games held on European soil selling out earlier this year, basketball popularity in London seems to be growing, which is good news in a city that isn't historically one of the game's strongholds.

And yet the city is young, fast-moving, dynamic, multicultural and at a hotspot for urban culture, traits it shares with the sport.

With GB more competitive than ever on the world stage, boasting a line-up that includes NBA stars Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, and in view of their certainty to take part in the Olympics, the test event and next year’s Olympic Basketball Tournament are key opportunities to further showcase basketball in one of the most sport-fanatic cities in the world.

FIBA