Basketball: Leopards prepare for European Championships

15 July 2010

BARKING ABBEY Leopards' young guns are preparing to represent Great Britain and England in the European Championships.

The club's ladies team will have four players in the Great Britain under-20 women's team, with Ella Clark, Josephine Salmon, Mary Durojaye and Kashmere Joseph getting the call.

They start the tournament on Friday, and go into the competition on the back of a 3-0 series sweep against Bulgaria last weekend.

Forward Ryan Martin will be representing Great Britain's under-20 men as they look to gain promotion from Division B in their 11-day tournament, which starts in Austria on Wednesday.

Teddy Okereafor and Jesse Chuku will travel to Tel Aviv to play for England under-18s having contributed well in a series of warm-up games in south London last weekend. The tournament starts on July 22, with England facing a tough group, which includes hosts Israel.

David Akibo and Dominic Norton are included in the England under-16 squad who continue their preparations with a three-game series against Belgium in Kent this weekend.

They have to wait until early August to travel to Estonia for their tournament. Tyrell Isaacs, who has already started for England under-15s this summer is one of two reserves named in the squad.

Rosie Hynes, Maisie Elston, Christina Gaskin and Jamilla Thompson are all in the England under-18 women's squad who warmed up for their tournament with two victories in Hungary over the weekend.

There are also two Leopards in the England under-16 team, with Chantel Charles and Shequila Joseph travelling to Macedonia in mid-August.

To complete the set, former Leopard Joe Ikhinmwin is currently in France with the England senior team, while Dan Clark is expected to be a key part of the Great Britain squad who are looking to qualify for EuroBasket 2011 as they face eight qualifiers this summer.