Team GB's basketball players celebrate first win (From Your Local Guardian)

Team GB's basketball players celebrate first win

7:05pm Monday 6th August 2012 in Sport By Mark Chandler

British basketball players finally had something to celebrate in their last match, winning their first Olympic game.

Quality of passing proved the key against China as the Brits, with a new look which saw Croydon's Luol Deng spending large portions of the game on the bench, stormed to a 27-15 lead in the first quarter.

Kieron Achara had a huge game for the team, nailing basket after basket as Team GB racked up the points to finish the second quarter 46-31.

Greenwich's Dan Clark was also involved, helping out on defence when required with some vital blocks.

The team had up to that point in the tournament failed to close out games, collapsing when results were in their grasp.

And the early signs in the third quarter were not good, with defensive lapses allowing the Chinese to score some cheap points.

But Great Britain rallied, regaining their early rhythm and energy against what looked like a jaded Chinese side, increasing their lead to 24 points with one quarter remaining.

This time there was no losing it for Team GB, and they finished the game with a final score of 90-58 and perhaps more hope for the future.