England to go places

Basketball

Laszlo Nemeth, the England coach, is preparing his team for Sunday's European Championship game against Germany in Sheffield and then a trip to Portugal with a series of friendlies, writes Duncan Hooper.

England play the Netherlands tomorrow and either Lithuania or Finland on Wednesday. They then travel to Antwerp to play Belgium on Thursday as Nemeth tries to harden his players to face Germany, the European champions in 1993.

Trevor Gordon, recalled to the team after missing last month's defeats by Latvia and Estonia while in dispute with Manchester Giants, scored 27 points for his new club Birmingham Bullets in their 127-98 win at Newcastle Comets. Gordon is an essential addition, as Nemeth's impasse with Martin Henlan continues to rob England of the 6ft 10in centre and Spencer Dunkley remains injured.