Great Britain Men’s Head Coach Tony Garbelotto is looking forward to the challenge of road games in Israel and Greece after confirmation of the roster for the second window of the FIBA World Cup 2019 Qualifiers.
Having been pipped by Greece and Estonia in his first two outings at the helm, the play-caller is confident his players have what it takes to bounce back. Scotland duo Kieron Achara and Gareth Murray have both been selected for the latest games which will see Great Britain face Israel on Friday 23rd February in Tel Aviv and then Greece in Heraklion on Sunday 25th February.
“We were pleased with how we competed in those first games in the last window, but we were obviously disappointed to have ended up dropping two games that we could have won,” stated Garbelotto.
“Our main aim coming out of that opening window was to consolidate and strengthen in terms of our roster and I think we have now done that with the likes of Gabe Olaseni and Justin [Robinson] coming in.
“Even with the disappointment of Myles Hesson missing out through injury, I feel very strongly that this is one of the better groups we have assembled since London 2012.
“I’m excited, since I think that as a group, we have the capacity to really challenge Israel and Greece. We can’t wait for the games to come.”
The team will be boosted by the return of Gabe Olaseni, who had an outstanding tournament at EuroBasket 2017. Meanwhile Ovie Soko will be looking to continue the hot form of the first window when he led the way in points, rebounds and efficiency.
GB Roster for FIBA World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers
Kieron Achara – Glasgow Rocks
Gareth Murray – Glasgow Rocks
Eric Boateng – Saint Vallier (France)
Dan Clark – Delteco Gipuzkoa BC (Spain)
Andrew Lawrence – Givova Scafati (Italy)
Luke Nelson – Real Betis Energia Plus (Spain)
Teddy Okereafor – Kymis (Greece)
Gabe Olaseni – Montakit Fuenlabrada (Spain)
Tarik Phillip – Unattached
Justin Robinson – London Lions
Will Saunders – Cambados (Spain)
Ovie Soko – UCAM Murcia (Spain)
To keep up to date on all of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers action, make sure you follow @FIBAWC on Twitter and track the hashtags #FIBAWC and #BritishBasketball.
