Deng tells PM: "I refuse to sit back and let legacy be demolished."

Luol Deng has written to David Cameron after British Basketball discovered last month it will receive zero funding in the run-up to the Rio 2016 Olympics; a cut of £8.5 million compared to the London 2012 cycle.

British Basketball will meet funding quango UK Sport on Wednesday to ask for it to reconsider, and has attracted top-level support from 27 year old Deng, who started his career in Brixton and now plays for the Chicago Bulls. His letter reads:

"We all heard about the 'legacy' that London 2012 was going to bring to sport in the UK and I refuse to sit back and let that legacy be completely demolished for basketball. I, along with other people involved in the game, have put too much in and care too greatly to let this happen."

"The sport of basketball is a pathway, a pathway that teaches so many valuable lessons on and off the court, how are we supposed to motivate these kids to carry along their journey when there's now nothing at the end. No Team GB, no Olympic dream, no goal."