Medway Park Crusaders – Kent’s leading basketball club have signed up to play in the inaugural London Summer League.

The Kent side will compete against some of the best teams in the country for the event that will be staged at SportsDock, London from the 16th to 18th July 2013.

Medway Park Crusaders are a semi-professional basketball club based in Medway, playing in the top tier of the England Basketball League. The team’s history dates back to the early 1990s and the club has a track record of giving opportunities to young emerging players.

Former players include NBA 1st Round Draft Pick Ryan Richards, Robbie Parker, Kalil Irving & Steve Vear.

Jesse Sazant, Director of Basketball at the Medway Park Crusaders said of the event: “We are really pleased to be invited to and involved with the London Summer League.”

“This will be a high profile event which will give our young players opportunities to develop and showcase their talents.”

London Summer League will bring the spirit of US College Basketball’s “March Madness” to the capital next summer with 8 leading clubs from the London region competing for the league title.

The schedule will be as follows:

* Game-night 1 (16th July): Opening Night – Quarter Finals
* Game-night 2 (17th July): Semi-Finals Night – Tournament & Plate
* Game-night 3 (18th July): Finals Night – Final and place games

London Summer League games last for 20 minutes with just two timeouts per team, leading to fast-paced basketball at 4th quarter intensity with all talent on display each night.

Mr. Stephen Garrett, Managing Director, Isthmian Basketball Ltd said: “We want the very best teams from the South East playing in London Summer League and so Crusaders, Kent’s leading team for over a decade, were a must-have club for us to sign-up.”

Medway Park Crusaders join London Lions – London’s only professional basketball club – as the second team confirmed for London Summer League, the remaining six teams will be announced over the coming weeks.