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Historic gold and silver for talented England
Team England took gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games 3x3 Finals as the men triumphed and the women finished runners-up.
A two-year journey of preparation and squad selection culminated in glory on the showcourt at the Smithfield Arena, Birmingham, with two medals the reward for months of graft and some magnificent performances on the big stage.
The Men's Final went to overtime, where Myles Hesson sealed victory over Australia with a clutch two-pointer.
The roster, coached by Julius Joseph, featured:
- Jamell Anderson
- Orlan Jackman
- Kayne Henry
- Myles Hesson
England Women were cruelly denied at the death, as Canada's Sarah Te-Biasu snatched a last-second winner.
The roster, coached by Stef Collins, featured:
- Shanice Beckford-Norton
- Cheridene Green
- Chantelle Handy
- Hannah Jump
How it happened
England Men 17-16 Australia (OT)
Home-town boy Hesson scored a dramatic overtime winner to seal gold for England.
Australia took the hosts to the extra period and scored the first point.
But Hesson was deadly from the corner, as England won the race to the two-point mark to grab a stunning victory.
It had been a physical battle to that point with both teams holding narrow leads but neither able to find the winner in regulation time.
Hesson led the England scoring with with six points, while Kayne Henry and Orlan Jackman hit four apiece and Jamell Anderson scored three as England showed typical defensive intensity to find a way when it mattered most.
England progressed to the final after topping their group - which included Australia - unbeaten, before seeing off Canada in the semis.
England Women 13-14 Canada
England were denied at the very last second in the Women's Final - just as the prospect of overtime loomed.
A Shanice Beckford-Norton two levelled the scores with 2.4 seconds remaining but danger-woman Te-Biasu managed to lay-up a late, late point to win it for Canada.
It was so late the officials reviewed the play to see if she got her shot off in time, but it was ruled she did.
England had grafted and held an early lead before Canada edged a narrow advantage, and though Beckford-Norton's shot gave them hope it wasn't to be.
She scored six in total, with Cheridene Green and Hannah Jump hitting three apiece and Chantelle Handy one.
England reached the final following a famous and convincing win over Australia in the semis. That came after they had finished second in their group and beaten Kenya in the quarter-finals.
The road to Birmingham
Following a talent sweep of current Great Britain players, those who represented Team England in 5v5 at the Melbourne 2018 Games and others, an initial camp was held in summer of 2021.
Teams, playing as Great Britain, were entered into the FIBA Europe Cup and the U23 Nations League, with the women reaching the the finals of the former.
GB's U23s finished a three-day trip to Tel Aviv during the same month with some wins and a great learning experience at the FIBA League of Nations.
Teams were entered as part of a collaboration between Great Britain Basketball and Basketball England to help prepare Team England players for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and set about improving the GB national teams’ 3x3 rankings.
Earlier in the summer of 2022, the coaches Julius Joseph and Stef Collins, appointed in May of 2021, convened another camp to start the selection process for the Games.
Then players attended the Europe Cup again as GB, groups of five and six attended camps and competitions in Serbia and France before final selections were made for Birmingham.
