Great Britain - GB men and women to play Euro qualifying double-headers
From news.bbc.co.uk Download source here Great Britain's men's and women's teams will play two double-headers this summer as part of their European Championships qualifying campaigns. On 14 August the men will play Ukraine and the women will face Slovakia at the NIA in Birmingham. Twelve days later the men will face Bosnia & Hercegovina and ...
From news.bbc.co.uk
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Great Britain's men's and women's teams will play two double-headers this summer as part of their European Championships qualifying campaigns.
On 14 August the men will play Ukraine and the women will face Slovakia at the NIA in Birmingham.
Twelve days later the men will face Bosnia & Hercegovina and the women play Germany at Liverpool's Echo Arena.
The men's team will hope to include NBA stars Ben Gordon and Luol Deng as they target EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania.
Qualification would bolster their bid to qualify as hosts for the 2012 Olympics in London.
British Basketball performance director Chris Spice believes the events will attract huge public interest.
"This is something we have been considering for a number of years", he said.
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"Through the selection of these venues, we are providing a great platform for the teams to go out and perform on the court."
Great Britain men's team head coach Chris Finch added: "I am really looking forward to being at the NIA and the Echo Arena, which proved to be very positive experiences in the 2008 campaign, when we won both games.
"Myself and the extended coaching team are currently working hard to identify the correct players for the roster which will put us in a position whereby we are capable of qualifying for the 2011 EuroBasket Finals."
Full list of GB's European Championships qualifying fixtures:
Men
Hungary v GB, 2 August (venue tbc)
GB v Macedonia, 8 August at Northumbria University, Newcastle
Bosnia-Hercegovina v GB, 11 August (venue tbc)
GB v Ukraine, 14 August at Birmingham NIA
GB v Hungary, 17 August at Birmingham NIA
Macedonia v GB, 23 August (venue tbc)
GB v Bosnia-Hercegovina, 26 August at Liverpool Echo Arena
Ukraine v GB, 29 August (venue tbc)
Women
GB v Slovakia, 14 August at Birmingham NIA
Germany v GB, 17 August (venue tbc)
GB v Ukraine, 20 August at Surrey University
Slovakia v GB, 23 August (venue tbc)
GB v Germany, 26 August at Liverpool Echo Arena
Ukraine v GB, 29 August (venue, tbc)