A silver in the basket

ENGLAND achieved their best-ever Commonwealth basketball finish with a silver medal.

The cash-strapped men’s and women teams had come to Australia intent on proving they deserved Lottery funding.

And while the men came up short, the women reached the final before going down 99-55 to Australia.

“We can hold our heads high. We challenged them and I’m ecstatic about the win and the silver medal,” said captain Stef Collins.