Everything at stake for England

Three days after the fourth heaviest defeat in the nation's basketball history, the 97-39 thrashing by Italy, England take on Slovenia today knowing that more than just a trip to the European championship finals in Sweden next August may be at stake.

While a win would give England every chance of qualifying as one of the best third-placed teams, defeat would leave them scrabbling to avoid one of the bottom two spots in Group E, which would mean they would have to pre-qualify in order to return to the stage they are at now.

The match could not be tougher. Slovenia are still smarting from the three-point defeat they suffered at Coventry last season, a result which has put their own qualification in jeopardy. Slovenia have never failed to qualify for the finals since independence in 1991.

"It's a basketball nation," said England coach Laszlo Nemeth. "When their soccer team made the World Cup last year their players were saying that at last people would be reading about them instead of just basketball. Can you imagine that happening in England?"

At the back of Nemeth's mind is the worry that a defeat might even prompt the English Basketball Association, now in serious financial difficulties, to close the senior programme down as a cost-saving measure.

"That would be a tragedy," said Nemeth. "I don't think it's wise to close down programmes at any level." Ronnie Baker will set a new caps record for his country when he plays his 132nd international today.