GB warm up ahead of game v USA
Greg Popovich, coach of the USA basketball team, the San Antonio Spurs was quoted on social media today as saying, ‘The measure of who we are is how we react to something that doesn’t go our way’. I read this as I was considering our performance against the USA. If you have not picked that up yet then I must record that we lost 47-41. The score in no way reflects the closeness of the game. Having lost the tip off we fought a brilliant first quarter which ended 11-11 and arguably an even better 2nd quarter which also ended all square at 22-22. So it was a really strong first half where although we were under pressure, we used our time outs wisely and looked composed and comfortable. A change of line up and a number of errors at the start of Q3 set us back, but with Jim Roberts and Aaron Phipps playing well off each other we managed to go into the final quarter down by just 2 points at 34-32.
The US are a strong and very experienced team and in Q4 their pressure really began to tell and with no time outs left we had no way of relieving it. We began to chase the game and with that our error rate grew and we ended the match with a margin of loss which was tough for everyone who had given their all.
But this was a group match and we are far from ‘done’! It is now about mental resilience and that is where Mr Popovich’s reflection comes in – how will we react to the loss? Well we will not know until tomorrow when we take on Canada, currently ranked number 3 in the world but who have already lost to Poland and France in this tournament. We still very much have medals on our minds and a belief that we can do well in this tournament. We must now win our remaining matches – Canada, Colombia and France to ensure we keep our medal aspiration alive. So I believe we will react to that which did not go our way today by coming back stronger and even more determined. We are much better than our current world ranking of 5th and this tournament is an opportunity to prove that to ourselves and to those who support us. Keep watching and believing!
To continue on that positive note I am pleased to record that Stuart Robinson’s classification was confirmed as a 3.5 today which is fantastic news both for him and GB – the first Afghanistan veteran to come through our development system and to represent GB. And the second positive note was the fantastic support we had from those in the crowd today who have travelled over from the UK – thank you!
The rest of the day’s results:
Japan 56 – NZ 37
Denmark 56 – Ireland 47
Australia 71 – Sweden 38
Poland 45 – Canada 43
Denmark 55 – NZ 54
Ireland 47 – Sweden 52
David Pond
