Womblin' Free in Essex: London Olympics (part 3) Hottest ticket in town

If you were to ask most of the British public what their personal highlight of the London Olympics were, you'd get a multitude of answers. I sense the names Ennis, Wiggins, Farah, and Hoy would feature regularly. Of course the bulk of the British sports loving members of the public are not nuts about basketball.

In the second week of the Olympics the basketball tournaments moved from the Basketball Arena to what became the North Greenwich Arena. For three days I made journeys down to North Greenwich to watch some of the world's finest players.

Friday saw us witness the Spanish team produce a great second half comeback against Russia. On Saturday night, with a 9pm tip off, we saw the womens gold medal game between USA v France. Now when the tickets first went on sale this was my biggest catch. I must admit that the idea of seeing a gold medal presented, the flags rising, the anthem played, it all was part of the experience I had hoped for. France kept it close for 15 minutes but there was little doubt that the USA women would gradually wear them down, and they did.

Now just before the Games started I was told that more tickets were being released. I went online in desperation rather than hope. In a flash it appeared on screen, there was a ticket for the mens basketball funal. The only issue was the price, the ticket was near courtside, the most expensive ticket in the house. A quick conversation at home, ended with the statement "it's a once in a lifetime opportunity", and so I bought it. Needless to say it was the most expensive ticket that I've ever purchased.

On Sunday morning I'd arranged to meet some friends in the bar where the night before we had cheered Mo Farah to success in the 5000 metres. After a couple of beers chatting over the basketball tournament, it was a case of taking my seat. With my camera in hand I watched Knicks Carmelo Anthony & Tyson Chandler warm up, somewhat closer than when I watched them at Madison Square Garden in February.

Here was my chance to watch LeBron James and Kobe Bryant two genuine NBA all stars who I'd never watched live before. The game itself lived up to expectation, Spain kept it close and indeed went ahead in Pau Gasol they had one of the games outstanding performers. His brother Marc acquired fouls too quickly and his absence on court cost Spain dearly. Just as Spain got close in the 4th quarter Le Bron stepped up, my enduring memory will be of him driving to the basket and dunking the ball.