Lions star named in 17-man squad for camp

London Lions forward Joe Ikhinmwin has been named in the Team England squad for a training camp in February ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year.

Having been named in the initial 23-man squad that met up for a four-day camp earlier this month, the 30-year-old made the grade after the group was cut to 17.

There will be another cull after February’s camp, cutting the squad to just 12 ahead of the tournament in the Australian city of Gold Coast in April.

“Moving from 23 players to 17 is by no means a narrowing down in the selection process,” said Vladan Dragosavac, Basketball England’s talent development and performance manager

“Players who aren’t on the list for February’s camp aren’t in any way excluded from final selection and we will continue to consider and observe every eligible player available between now and the end of February.

“This is just another step in the evaluation process of what remains a wide pool of very talented players as we seek to find the best 12 to take to the Commonwealth Games next April.”

While Ikhinmwin will have been pleased to be named in the squad for the Team England camp, his focus will now switch back to the Lions and their British Basketball League (BBL) campaign.

London head to Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday for the third of four successive away games in the league.

It will be a return to action for Lions, who have not played since a superb 67-63 win away to Bristol Flyers on November 17.

That victory made it four wins in succession for the Copper Box outfit, though their fine form will be tested at Cheshire, where they have already lost once this season.

When the sides met back in October, Lions slipped to tight 78-71 defeat against Phoenix and they will be doing all they can to avoid another disappointing trip to Cheshire.

However, with players like Ikhinmwin gaining national recognition, London certainly have the talent to perform.

And the Lions will hope that proves the case when they make the trip to Cheshire this weekend.