| Venue: Arena Botevgrad Date: Tuesday, 22 September Time: Stream from 14:20 BST |
| Coverage: Live on the BBC Sport website, app and connected TV |
London Lions are a “fairly major force” and are ready for the Champions League qualifiers, says coach Vince Razaq.
The Lions face Lithuania’s Neptunas Klaipeda in Bulgaria on Tuesday in the first of two potential ties as they try to secure a place in the last 32.
If they qualify, they would be the first BBL team to play in a top-flight European tournament for 17 years.
“Is this the biggest game in British basketball for a long while?” said Razaq. “I think it probably is.”
With the aid of foreign investors, the Lions have built a team designed to play in Europe.
They won a league and cup double in 2018-19 – the last season completed before the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since we arrived at the Copper Box in 2013, in six and a half very short seasons we’ve turned this team into a fairly major force across the board and a team that wants to go further,” said Razaq.
The Lions have selected a strong 12-man squad – limited by coronavirus restrictions – that includes recent signing Matthew Bryan-Amaning, a former Great Britain forward, and ex-NBA players DeAndre Liggins and Byron Mullens.
“We’ve watched Neptunas a lot,” said Razaq, whose team are underdogs for Tuesday’s tie.
“They’ve brought in a couple of seven-foot players, but our player Dirk Williams played with one of those guys at college so we’ve got the lowdown on him.”
Lions have been in camp since early August, playing friendlies in Belgium and Denmark as part of their preparations.
If they fail to win in Botevgrad, they will qualify for the group stages of the Europe Cup, which starts in January.
