But the Chicago Bulls superstar was outscored by Nate Reinking, who banked 22 points to help make up for his error which allowed Israel a second chance to win the opening game in overtime in Tel Aviv last Wednesday.

 

Pops Mensah-Bonsu added 13 points and taking a prodigious 16 rebounds, the highest haul of any British player in the last two seasons as Britain christened the venue that will host the finals of the Olympic basketball tournament in 2012.

 

Reinking and Joel Freeland hit three-pointers as Britain posted a 24-10 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes, including a period of five and half minutes when the visitors failed to score or look remotely dangerous.

 

The second quarter had to be played in two five-minute periods because of a scoreboard error.

 

It was not until 56 seconds from the end of the first half that Deng, scorer of 30 points against Israel, finally opened his account for the evening with a free throw.

 

Leading 37-24 at half-time, GB started poorly in the second half as the Czechs released Petr Benda three times on the break in an 8-2 streak that reduced the lead to single figures.

 

Deng then missed a pair of free throws but Reinking's three-pointer and a slam dunk by Deng off an exquisite lob from Flinder Boyd ignited the team and another Reinking three and a two from Richard Midgley established a 20-point lead for the first time with 75 seconds remaining.

 

Only in the final quarter was there any flow to the scoring, with the Czechs hitting three three-pointers and Britain five, three of them coming from Deng.

 

The win establishes GB as a force in the group and sends them into Wednesday's game against Bosnia at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham with renewed confidence in their ability to qualify for next year's Championships.