Basketball: Williams stands defiant

A defiant Yorick Williams scored 24 points to lead England's rearguard action in Moscow last night, where a threadbare squad lost 94-42 to Russia in their penultimate Group E fixture in the European Championships.

England were let down by their governing body, England Basketball, who failed to organise visas for four leading players, Andy Betts, Mike Bernard, Julius Joseph and Tony Dorsey. The England coach Laszlo Nemeth was left with just seven players, three below the minimum and EB face a fine from the international governing body (FIBA).

The seven who took to the floor in the CSKA stadium fought to the end, being outscored only 15-12 in the final quarter to prevent the Russians from reaching 100 points.

Williams played with an injured hand but still produced seven three-pointers to score over half England's points. Apart from the Essex Leopards' player, no one else reached double figures, with Steve Hansell next highest scorer on seven.