Commonwealth Games: Lambeth’s Green defiant as England basketball team on wrong end of nail-biting finish
BY MAX HALL
Lambeth’s Cheridene Green was defiant after England women’s 3×3 basketball team were denied in a nail-biting finish against New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Green scored six points in a game which New Zealand won 15-14 with a basket in the last action of the 15-minute match.
The 26-year-old insisted the result was just a “bump”. Commenting on the lift a noisy home crowd gave her and her team-mates in Birmingham’s Smithfield Market, and on the scheduled date of the gold medal match, Green said: “We need more of that in the games all the way until Tuesday because we intend to be here until Tuesday.”
Green played a pivotal role, opening her account with her side’s second point and continuing to keep the hosts within touching distance after New Zealand found their rhythm.
A dramatic finish saw Green level the scores at 12-12 with 35 seconds on the clock, New Zealand land a two-pointer and then Chantelle Handy level with a similar effort from outside the D for 14-14 only for the visitors to strike right at the death.
“Honestly it hurts,” Green told the South London Press. “In the final seconds when we’ve been preparing all summer but we can definitely learn from that and improve in the games going forward.”
Asked England’s ambition at the games, the 26-year-old replied: “To keep winning. Yes, we’ve fallen short in the first game but we just have to keep our focus going forward. This was just a hump, a bump in the long run so we’re just trying to keep winning to go to the end.”
In terms of popularising the relatively young version of basketball – played on a half court either to 1 minutes or 21 points – Green said she and her team-mates had a role to play as ambassadors.
“I think it’s important for the young ones coming up who may feel like they come from an area where they can’t go anywhere,” said the court ace. “We can just show them, find out what you enjoy doing and I’m pretty sure it will pay off.”
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