AZUBUIKE 'GIVES UP' ON EUROBASKET
04/21/2009

NBA baller Kelenna Azubuike has given up his dream of playing for his homeland Great Britain in this summer's European Championships.

Despite being born in London, the Golden State Warriors starter has been refused a British passport.

British Basketball are currently trying to help Azubuike negotiate the red tape required to successfully complete the necessary paperwork.

But with Eurobasket looming in Poland in September, the 6'5" guard does not expect to make his GB debut in 2009.

He said: "Definitely not this summer. I have kind of given up on it.

"They haven't even told me they are close to getting a passport so it will be tough for this summer.

"I'm still trying to get it worked on and I'm not really sure what the timeline is because of the complication with the changes in the passport rules.

"I definitely still want to play for the British national team at some point but I'm not just sure when."

Azubuike, 25, truly established himself as an NBA regular this season, averaging over 32 minutes a game and scoring 14.4 points and 5 rebounds per outing.

His Warriors team mates Andris Biedrins (Latvia), Marco Belinelli (Italy) and Ronny Turiaf (France) could all be in action in this summer's Eurobasket.

And Oklahoma-raised Azubuike added: "I talk to Andris about it and he says he enjoys playing international ball, it's a great experience and I definitely should do it.

"And of course the 2012 Olympics are definitely attractive, it would be a dream. The Olympic Games are an amazing event so it would be a dream to be part of it."

Biedrins promises to be one of the major stars in Poland and believes his team mate has what it takes to make his mark in Europe.

Biedrins added: "He's an overall really good player who can do a lot of things - he's great offensively and can score and is pretty solid and works hard at the defensive end.

"Plus, he can run and jump, he's athletic so he won't have any problems in international basketball."

Azubuike's problems with his passport application relate to the status of his parents when he was born in London and the fact he missed an earlier cut off point to apply for his passport, having left the UK as a baby.