NEW YORK, August 17 -- On Tuesday, August 15, the lads from Hackney did the UK proud as they battled it out at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, New York. Joe White's crew of seven, who earned their trip to New York by winning the Budweiser Slam Tournament, showed the American fans that basketball is also a sport in the U.K. Despite dropping their game against Motown/Blackhand, 56-50, the Hackney team earnt the respect of both the N.Y. City crowd and their opponents.

The trip to New York was an unforgettable experience for the Hackney team. (NBAE Photos)

The trip began on Saturday when the team arrived at JFK airport and made their way to their Hotel in midtown Manhattan. On Sunday the team was meant to play their first game at Rucker but sadly rain prevented any play.

On Monday the entire team was a VIP special guest at a media conference at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue. The media conference focused on the history of the Rucker tournament and Joe White got to say a few words about how excited he and his team were to be playing in the tournament. After some personal shopping at the NBA Store, the team then went up to Rucker to take in the action which started at 6pm.

Early Tuesday morning the Hackney team was out at Rucker Park at 6-30am for a series of live TV crosses from Good Day New York, the leading morning television program in New York. After that it was off to NBA Entertainment for a tour of the NBA Studios where Inside Stuff and NBA.comTV are produced.

Finally, it was time to play. The weather cleared on Tuesday afternoon and the guys took the court at around 5pm to test their games against some of the best playground ballers in New York city. A crowd of around 1000 was watching from the stands and as you could imagine the crowd gave the British lads heaps throughout the match.

At half time the difference was only a few points and the Hannibal, the resident MC at the event, reminded the US team that they were representing the entire United States and that it would be unacceptable to lose to a team from Britain. This shows how close the match was and how tough the Hackney team played.

Errol Seamen's 16 points led a determined London squad that hung tough with the street stars from New York. Seamen's size helped him earn the nickname "Bench Press." Teammate Ben Smart also emerged from the game with a moniker of his own - "Power Ranger." Smart was tagged with this name because of his toughness and his refusal to be intimidated by the N.Y. ballers' style of play. Earning a nickname at the Rucker courts is an honor and players keep their new names for years.

Many of the Hackney players commented that the street style of play was different from what they were used to at home. They felt the game was more about being flashy and looking good rather than scoring points. Smart actually had a chance to show off a bit at the end of the game, slamming home an alley-oop dunk tossed to him by the Motown/Blackhand players.

Head coach Joe White was proud of his team's performance.

"My team played well and I feel that we have taken basketball in England to another level. We were not here to lay down and die," said White. "The best thing about this team is that there is no leader, it is more of a team-oriented club. They have been around each other for nine years, they all know each other very well"

A couple of NBA stars came to take in all the action at Rucker. Stephon Marbury and John Wallace, both New York natives, were on hand to watch Hackney hoop it up against the street stars. The duo actually played in another game for a team called the Loud/Terror Squad (coached by Fat Joe). Marbury netted 11 points and dished nine assists as his club downed a team coached by designer Karl Kani.

The game concluded Hackney's extended weekend in the Big Apple.