By Tom Degun

Tony_Parker_of_France_R_vies_with_Ogo_Adegboye_of_Great_Britain_L_during_the_London_International_Basketball_Invitational_02-08-11August 21 - The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have described the London International Basketball Invitational, which was the London 2012 test event, as an "excellent event" as France claimed victory in the six-day competition that saw competitive sport take place at the Olympic Park for the first time.


The event saw six teams in action with Australia, China, Croatia, France, Great Britain and Serbia all competing in a round-robin competition but it was France, led by NBA star Tony Parker (pictured), who came out on top.

On the final day of the competition, the French squad beat Serbia 80-77 to secure the title and confirm their status as strong medal prospects for the London 2012 Olympics next year.

Australia who took second place as they beat Britain 91-90 on the final day, as the hosts finished in fifth place.

Croatia beat China 83-53 to finish in third, just ahead of fourth-placed Serbia, while China finished in sixth after failing to win a game.

The sell-out tournament saw 3,000 spectators attend each day, with 12,000 set to be present at the Olympics next year, and the event was praised by both players and FIBA officials who said that it was "an excellent event with strong support from spectators".

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Debbie Jevans, director of sport at London 2012, said: "It has been so fantastic to see competitive sport played in the Olympic Park for the first time and see spectators soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying world class sport within the Basketball Arena.

"We will now sit down with FIBA as well as working with the athletes in order to do a full debrief which will aid our planning for next year."

Nate Reinking from Great Britain said: "It's a great venue, it does Britain proud.

"The set-up is very nice, well organised.

"It's a good taster for next year."

Robert Archibald, a veteran of the Great Britain squad, added: "I was pleasantly surprised this week.

"Three thousand tickets were all snatched up and the sport this week has been great."

The event at the £42 million ($69 million/€48 million) temporary venue gave London 2012 organisers the chance to test parts of its operations including the court, the results, timing and scoring systems, the workforce and the flow of spectators.

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