Great Britain’s National Basketball Team is set to play an in-form Latvia tonight at 17:30 GMT in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
Britain has already been eliminated from contention for qualification to the 2023 World Cup, but still has games to play, as they can still affect how the group ends up depending on how they perform.
Estonia is the only other country also eliminated from possible qualification.
Despite their qualification hopes having already been thoroughly crushed, the World Cup Qualifying stage still offers a spotlight and an opportunity for young players to shine.
✍️Men’s National Team Head Coach @steutel10 has named an unchanged 12-man roster for Monday night’s @FIBAWC Qualifier against Latvia.
— GB Basketball (@gbbasketball) November 13, 2022
👇Read more and find out how you can watch the game at 5:30pm GMT tomorrow night below.#BritishBasketball
GB’s Head Coach Marc Steutel sings nothing but praise for his rookies, when asked by Hoopsfix journalists about rookie Quinn Ellis he replied: “I am so enthused by Quinn. I think he’s obviously had a really big kinda rise, the last six months in particular.
“Quinn has been extremely professional. I think his confidence has grown each day. And that’s gonna be a part of this, and that’s why we wanted him to be in and to be around good, seasoned pros.
“We wanted him to be able to see it first hand and, and understand what it takes to be able to play at this level.
“But do I think that Quinn is gonna be a talisman of the national team for the next 10 years? Absolutely. The way he plays the game, he’s got an incredible poise for the game and he’s got a good feel, his decision making.
“I just think he’s gonna keep getting better and I’m so excited about him as a long term national team player.”
Despite the behemoth they face tonight, Steutel has elected to recycle the squad selected in their contentious battle with Serbia last Friday night at Newcastle’s Vertu Motors Arena.
Centre Gabe Olaseni will captain the side once again with the other eleven members as follows: Jamell Anderson, Quinn Ellis, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Aaron Menzies, Ben Mockford, Luke Nelson, Josh Sharma, Devon Van Oostrum, Carl Wheatle, Patrick Whelan and Jordan Williams.
Off the back of Latvia’s win which was 20 points clear over Greece on Friday, the squad will be a tough opponent for the British National side.
