Deng delivers again as Great Britain stay unbeaten in EuroBasket

By Sportsbeat staff

CHICAGO Bulls star Luol Deng top scored with 28 points as Great Britain notched up their fourth straight EuroBasket qualifying win against Ukraine.

ON TARGET: Luol Deng contributed 28 points as Great Britain beat Ukraine 90-76 in Birmingham (British Basketball)

Deng, who also claimed seven rebounds and provided four assists, played the key role in the 90-76 victory, while former NBA player Pops Mensah-Bonsu finished with 15 points.

Five British players claimed double figure points hauls - Nate Reinking, Dan Clark and Ogo Adegboye all impressing.

“It was really similar to all of our performances and we’re in an excellent position as we’re unbeaten in four now," said coach Chris Finch. 

"But as I said to the guys it’s important to keep it in context, we’re winning the games in the last four minutes and there’s not much margin for error.

“I’m really proud of the guys, they’re out there giving 100 percent, playing a lot of minutes and making the big plays down the stretch. We dug deep, and the guys stepped up in the final minutes.

It was another impressive performance from 21-year old Clark, who plays for Spanish side Estudiantes.

After scoring 23 points against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finch believes he is slowly making himself invaluable to the cause.

“Dan Clark’s been hugely instrumental in our success to date. He doesn’t draw a lot of attention but he’s got a great basketball IQ, he passes well, rebounds well and made huge step forward from last year," he added.

"This team suits him a little better than last year, and he’s seized the opportunity.” 

 

However, Great Britain's women lost their EuroBasket qualifying opener - going down 76-67 to the Slovak Republic.

"We showed we were competitive, but we had one really bad part where we fell apart," said coach Tom Maher.

"We just didn’t play in that spell, and that was the killer. We got a lot of foul shots, but we didn’t make enough from the floor, if you miss the shot you have to run back and play defence, not worry about the shot.

"We have to learn to play together a bit more, we have a lot of players who are stars in their team. 

"We have to learn to share the ball a bit more, they’re not selfish we just have to stop trying to hit home runs all of the time."