In his latest Guardian Blog Mark Woods adds a footnote (scroll right down to the end) that BPB and the NBA will team up to publicise their respective events at The O2.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/may/19/carmelo-anthony-denver-nuggets
Got to be great news and wouldn't be a surprise if that partnership went so far as ticket offers i.e. purchasing a ticket for the NBA Europe Live Bulls v Jazz game - http://www.nba.com/2009/news/03/24/europe.live/index.html - entitles you to a discounted ticket for one of the days of the Game On at The O2 event. http://www.gameongb.com/home.php
Game On at The O2 is going to be a great weekend of basketball but it is an ambitious event to stage at this point in the GB team's history. The Eurobasket qualifier against the Czech Republic drew just over 7,000 fans last year so it will be interesting to see if each day matches or exceeds that number - especially as lower tier seats have risen in price from £15 to £25.
A single game against a box office opponent - European Champions Russia for instance - would have been a bigger draw. Expect that The O2 owners AEG Europe were keen for a tournament event though, with a mix of supporters present, to give them some experience before they host the Euroleague Final 4 in 2010 or 2011.
The plan is clearly to choose opponents in Poland, Turkey and Israel who not only will provide strong opposition but also have large communities in London who will swell the crowd numbers. Really hope that British hoops fans and those from our opponents do turn out in force, as such games need to become a fixture on the British sports calendar.
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