British basketball players today told of their hopes that London 2012 can help make the sport as popular as football.
As the completed basketball arena was unveiled in the Olympic Park today - before the start of the London International Basketball Invitational tomorrow - Dan Clark and Joel Freeland said they hope the Games will inspire youngsters to take up the sport.
London 2012 will mark the first time that Great Britain has fielded a basketball team for the event since London hosted the Olympics in 1948.
This week's tournament, which concludes on Sunday, gives the 2012 organising committee a chance to test operations, will feature Australia, China, Croatia, France, Serbia and Great Britain.
Many will include stars of the USA's National Basketball Association, including Team GB star Luol Deng - who plays for the Chicago Bulls.
Clark, 22, who grew up in Greenwich and Chingford, said: "We're hoping the Olympics will give us a bit of a kick start in giving basketball a higher profile in this country.
It will be a very proud moment in our lives. My mum used to play for Great Britain and England and my dad was a coach so I only ever went in one direction."
Freeland, 24, from Farnham, Surrey, said: "With every sport it has to compete with football which overpowers everything else in this country. The thing is in England is that there's not a lot of exposure for basketball.
But once they see more about the game and how fun it is to watch there's going to be a lot of young kids getting interested."
Team GB play France tomorrow, Croatia on Wednesday, Serbia on Thursday, China on Saturday and Australia on Sunday.
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