British basketballers braced for O2 action

The national team played at the arena last year and coach Chris Finch revealed they enjoyed it so much they now look on it as their very own "Wembley".

He said: "We're very much looking forward to it. We enjoyed playing there very much last year and it's become our spiritual home. We don't have a Wembley Stadium or a Twickenham so The O2 is the closest we can get to that.

"It's a fantastic arena and we are always made to feel really welcome. In fact, they went out of their way to accommodate us this year, carving out space in what would have been the middle of Michael Jackson's dates there. The court is a high standard and there was a real NBA style atmosphere there last year."

Great Britain face Poland, Israel and Turkey in the tournament, and they will provide a stern test for Finch's team before they head to Poland for the Eurobasket tournament in September.

Finch said: "It will be tough. We've got Israel, who have a unique style which suits them and their players. Poland are hosting Eurobasket so they will be throwing in every resource. They have a couple of NBA calibre guys, as do Turkey, so it should be a pretty good standard. This is a real showcase tournament."

One concern for Finch is a stress fracture suffered by star man Deng (pictured) but the coach is hopeful the Chicago Bulls forward will be fit to play.

He said: "I hope Luol will be fit. He had a couple of options with his injury and he took the smart, safe, slower one. He's started training and the only thing that will stop him is if he gets a no-go from the doctors.

"But we have plenty of good players. There's Robert Archibald, who is now playing in the Euro League, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu who spent last season at Toronto Raptors. And Ben Gordon is about to sign a contract with the Detroit Pistons and I hope he will be on board for us too.

"The unique thing about our team is we have a range of talent with players who play at the highest level. The disadvantage is we don't quite have that strength in depth at the moment but it is getting there.

"I can't change them as players because they learn the game with their clubs. It can be a challenge but this is a really great group of guys. Our success is based on them giving 100 per cent commitment, that's all we ask of them. Luckily they are fully into the idea of playing for Great Britain so there's no problems there."

Finch, a 39-year-old American, is now in his fourth year in charge of the national squad and he feels plenty of progress has been made since the basketball federations of England, Scotland and Wales put aside their differences and pooled their resources to form a Great Britain side in 2005.

He said: "Rugby was unified by England's World Cup success and the same is happening in basketball now. There's a more unified effort. We're getting co-operation from the federations because everyone has realised we need to look at the overall health of the game.

"Money has been put into the game in Britain. The professional game is growing in a positive direction and hopefully that will dovetail with the national team."The long-term aim is, of course, the 2012 Olympics and Finch believes Britain, not traditionally a strong basketball nation, could surprise a few people.

He said: "Medalling is not outside the realm of possibility now we've got players with experience at the top level of the sport.

"The Olympics will be the pinnacle of the sport's profile in the UK but basketball has to grow and be sustained after 2012. Other sports won't have the momentum we'll have and the national game needs to build on that.

"But we separate 2012 from everything else, so we're concentrating on this summer first. We'll try our best in Poland and learn lessons which we'll take forward. It'll stand us in good stead."

And will he have split loyalties if Britain draw the USA during the Olympic tournament?

He said: "I get asked that question a lot. I carved out my basketball career in the UK so I feel at home here but obviously I am American. If it happens it would be a huge day for lots of reasons, not least it would mean sharing a court with the world's best players. I'd certainly be proud to be coach of Great Britain if it happened."

For tickets to the Game On tournament visit theo2.co.uk.