GB Mens

Great Britain Men beat Italy for the second time in the European Championships, this time in the semi-final.

Despite falling behind after 30 seconds, Kyle Marsh asserted his quality with a wonderful 3-pointer to instantly put Great Britain into the lead. The team never looked back and quickly grew in confidence, adding further baskets from the likes of Lee Manning and Simon Brown helping stretch their advantage.

It was a scrappy end to the first quarter with a mixture of fouls and missed opportunities – but Great Britain continued in charge up until halftime, holding onto that 8-point advantage with the score standing at 33-25.

By that halfway period Gregg Warburton had already registered 5 assists, and after just 50 seconds into the third quarter he was providing for his teammates once again, steering the ball to Lee Manning who made no mistake.

Manning was in outstanding form in attack, and in the third quarter scooped a slightly wayward pass from the clutches of converging Italy players and, despite missing with his first attempt, remarkably retained the ball and casually flicked in the rebound.

With just over 1 minute left in the third quarter, Simon Brown was fouled and fell heavily – unable to convert his free-throws but who else but Lee Manning was first to the rebound to score.

Leading 48-35 going into the last ten minutes, Great Britain looked to get stronger as the game went on, Kyle Marsh working well in both defence and attack. In the end they were too much for the Italians to cope with, finishing the game 65 – 43 winners.

Great Britain’s Men got through their sternest test of the European Championships to date with a hard-fought victory over Austria.

Despite starting well and approaching the second quarter with a 19-7 lead, Great Britain felt a strong response from Austria and went into half time narrowly in front.

Terry Bywater then scored 9 points in the third quarter to help Great Britain regain control of the game, ending the game second top scorer overall on 17 points, and also contributing 4 assists. Gaz Choudhry was the only player to better Bywater, netting 19. The game featured a number of strong challenges and a competitive atmosphere as Austria tried to put the GB team under as much pressure as possible.

Great Britain kept their cool throughout and put in a fantastically professional performance, able to capitalise on turnovers as Austria pressed high in attack – scoring 4 fast break points to Austria’s zero.

With a somewhat comfortable lead, it was five changes going into the final quarter of the game, and one substitute Kyle Marsh made an instant impact on proceedings, finding the net after just 13 seconds.

Great Britain remained strong until the last, racking up 13 points without reply until Austria opted to call a timeout in an effort to slow down the momentum of their opponents. Another win on the board from Great Britain who finished the game as 99 – 51 winners.

Later in the afternoon, GB Men were also in action and recorded their second victory of the competition, winning out over the Netherlands 45-69.

Lee Manning shone from the very start, winning the ball to start the game – and this set the tone for a strong performance from the captain.

From starting the game off winning possession, to sinking a shot with 6 seconds left on the clock to end the first quarter, giving Great Britain a 10-21 lead as reward for their fast start.

The high quality continued to half time, with Phillip Pratt and Simon Brown entering mid-way through the second quarter to help shore up the game and fully assert Great Britain’s control. A successful switch, as the team extended their lead to 16-37.

Lee Manning scored a remarkable 18 points across the game, and also turned provider on a number of occasions, registering 2 assists.

The Netherlands were competitive until the very last, and finished the game strongly with a 20 point final quarter – but Great Britain were able to hold their advantage, eventually ending the game 45-69 winners.

Both teams are in action again today, with GB Women taking on Turkey at 13:30 GMT, and GB Men facing off against Austria at 16:45

Great Britain Men defeated France to advance to the European Championship semi-finals.

Now in the knockout stages, both teams started strongly, not wanting to fall too far behind and risk struggling to overcome a deficit. Great Britain nudged in front with a smart fast break layup from Lee Manning, but France soon pegged them back and snuck into a slender lead. The two teams then demonstrated some wonderful longer-range shooting, taking no time at all to warm up.

Gaz Choudhry showed class with a sumptuous 3-pointer to tie the game at 9-9, and then the introduction of Phillip Pratt and Simon Brown helped Great Britain make it to the end of the first quarter narrowly in front.

From there, the men only grew in confidence and 2.5 player Harry Brown impressed offensively, finding the net frequently to keep the game out of reach from the French. Brown ended up with 9 points, and was perhaps unlucky not to add to his tally. Just before the halfway point, Lee Manning aptly dispatched a pair of free-throws, and immediately followed this up with another driving layup assisted by Simon Brown. Brown then turned scorer to put Great Britain firmly in control, the score at 32-23.

An assertive second quarter did most of the work for Great Britain, and despite being pressurised by France, they entered the final stages with a 12-point advantage and an almost unassailable lead. As France tired, Great Britain did not slow their efforts, Kyle Marsh making consecutive 2-pointers before going one better with a wonder 3-point effort.

A final score of 81-56 saw Great Britain Men make it through comfortably to the semi-finals, and will believe in this form they can go all the way and add to their previous European titles.