ENGLAND NAME GOLD COAST 12s

England have named their men’s and women’s basketball squads for the Commonwealth Games.

Following delays in obtaining nationality clearances, men’s coach Andreas Kapoulas has confirmed ten of his men’s squad from the BBL with Australia-based Adam Thoseby and Spain-based Jamell Anderson making his line-up. However a knee injury to Newcastle centre Darius Defoe has created a late vacancy to be filled by Rob Gilchrist.

Chema Buceta’s women’s team is entirely comprised of the bulk of his most recent Great Britain squad with Azania Stewart, Rachael Vanderwal and Melita Emanuel-Carr returning from overseas. As expected, neither Jo Leedham or Temi Fagbenle were available to feature.

The Games begin on 4 April and basketball will be making its first appearance at the event since 2006, where Team England’s men and women both came away with a bronze medal.

Both basketball teams will compete in preliminary matches in Townsville before the semi-finals and medal matches take place on the Gold Coast.

England women are in the seeded group up against Australia, Canada and Mozambique. The men’s team are in the unseeded pool against Cameroon, India and initial opponents Scotland. The top two teams in each seeded group (Pool A) progress to the semi-finals whilst the bottom two play-off against the top two teams from the unseeded group (Pool B) for the two remaining semi-final spots.

Stef Collins said: “It’s always a great honour to represent your country and this is the first time that I will have represented England. It’s such a great achievement. It’s also fantastic that there has been a core group of us that have been playing together for so long.

“The majority of us play in the WBBL and it’s great to see some of the home-grown girls that have been based here for so long be able to go out to a big tournament like this on the world stage and see what we can do.”

Shane Walker said: “It’s just amazing to be part of it and it’s all starting to be real now. I’ve known the guys for a while and it’s going to be great to compete with them. I’ve grown up competing with these guys in the England Under 18s, 20s teams and it’s now going to be an amazing opportunity to compete with them on a global stage.”

 

Kapoulas said: “We have come a long way in our preparations within a short period of time. The October and February camps were valuable to the programme and a great opportunity to work with players and staff to develop our system. This has been an extremely competitive process and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the players and their Clubs for their efforts and commitment throughout this phase.

“We look forward to continuing our preparation in Australia so we can be ready for the challenges of the tournament. We have an exciting group of players with a lot of experience and talent and we just want to make sure we keep getting better every day that we are together.

Buceta said: “For all of us it is an honour to represent England in the Commonwealth Games, and we are looking forward to show on the court how much we appreciate this privilege. Players selected have shown high level of competence and remarkable commitment to English basketball, and they have my full trust. I am sure that all of them will do their best to achieve the best result.”

Women

Name

Date of Birth

Place of Birth

Club

Azania Stewart

13/03/1989

London

TTT Riga (LAT)

Chantelle Pressley

25/05/1990

Ipswich

Sevenoaks Suns

Dominique Allen

20/09/1989

Birmingham

Manchester Mystics

Eilidh Simpson

11/09/1992

Mount Waverly (AUS)

Cardiff Met Archers

Georgia Jones

03/04/1990

Manchester

Manchester Mystics

Hannah Shaw

22/09/1990

Stockport

Team Northumbria

Melita Emanuel-Carr

06/11/1994

Westminster

CABC Basket (FRA)

Mollie Campbell

28/02/1991

Manchester

Leicester Riders

Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee

14/04/1992

Manchester

Durham Palatinates

Rachael Vanderwal

27/06/1983

Burlington (CAN)

Ferrol (ESP)

Siobhan Prior

27/02/1987

Nottingham

Nottingham Wildcats

Stef Collins

30/12/1982

Upper Heyford

Cardiff Met Archers

 

Men

Name

Date of Birth

Place of Birth

Club

Adam Thoseby

25/11/1991

Melbourne (AUS)

Sydney Kings (AUS)

Andrew Lasker

20/11/1982

Hemstead (USA)

Newcastle

Andrew Thomson

29/05/1984

Crewe

Leicester Riders

Callum Jones

01/10/1985

Manchester

Manchester Giants

Daniel Edozie

11/10/1992

Greenwich

Bristol Flyers

Jamell Anderson

06/07/1990

Nottingham

 La Roda (ESP)

Joe Ikhinmwin

18/09/1987

London

London Lions

Kofi Josephs

13/09/1991

Birmingham

Glasgow Rocks

Mike Tuck

17/03/1983

Toronto (CAN)

Sheffield

Orlan Jackman

26/04/1988

Hackney

Cheshire Phoenix

Robert Gilchrist

14/10/1990

London

Worcester Wolves

Shane Walker

02/11/1987

Northampton

Leicester Riders

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