Mersey Tigers captain Drew Sullivan has expressed his excitement at the decision to allow Great Britain to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The FIBA announced at the weekend that both GB men’s and women’s basketball teams will be given automatic qualification to the Games and Sullivan can’t wait to be involved.
He said: “I’ve been buzzing since I found out and I keep telling everybody that I wish it was this summer!
“I’m really looking forward to getting the chance to actually walk the GB team out at the Olympics for the first time, especially with it being in front of our home nation – that makes it even more special for me.”
Sullivan was named MVP in Tigers’ recent BBL Trophy Final win over Guildford Heat at London’s O2 Arena, and he believes the Olympic buzz around the camp can help fire the club to glory, both on the court and off it.
He added: “From a commercial standpoint, I think it’s great for the club because we’ve got three guys who are GB internationals, another two who could possibly be involved at the training camp in July, so there’s a huge knock on effect for us and the club, but also more importantly for the league throughout.
“It’s good for the sport because the Olympics will push the domestic and international side of it, we’ve got a pretty decent domestic set-up but there’s a lot of people that don’t even know there’s a basketball league in this country so with our inclusion in the Olympics, it’s definitely going to help.”
Sullivan will lead his country in the EuroBasket later in the summer, with Great Britain facing a tough group which includes Spain, Turkey and Poland, as well as the hosts, Lithuania, who they face in their first game on August 31.
