Canadian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams are not chasing world medals in Dubai
Patrick Anderson clearly didn’t like how he or Canada’s men’s wheelchair basketball team performed against Australia, so he decided to let his game speak for itself.
Canada was beaten 17-9 in the second quarter of Saturday’s 5-8 crossover game at the world championships as Anderson brought in 17 of the team’s 22 points in the third quarter for a 49-47 lead going into the the last 10 minutes.
Although the 43-year-old shooting guard from Fergus, Ont., didn’t score in the fourth quarter of Canada’s 62-57 victory, he outscored all players with 26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
The Canadians, who improved their record to 3-3 in Dubai, will face Italy in Monday’s game for fifth place, while Australia (4-2) meet Germany in the 7-8 game after a second straight loss.
Earlier Saturday, the Canadian women dropped a 66-47 decision in the semifinals for the Netherlands.
Robert Hedges and Garrett Ostepchuk each had eight points for the Canadian men on Saturday, with the latter scoring six in the first quarter. Colin Higgins added nine rebounds and seven assists.
LOOK | Full Coverage of Men’s 5-8 Match – Canada vs. Australia:
Watch the Canadian men take on Australia in the 5-8 seeding match at the IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Dubai.
“We want to finish better than our eighth place in the standings [2020] Paralympic Games in Tokyo,” Hedges said on Friday.
The Australians were led by captain Tristan Knowles’ 15 points, while Bill Latham had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Anderson steps up
Canada, who lost 68-53 to the Netherlands in Friday’s quarterfinals, led by a whopping six points in the final quarter and the Aussies couldn’t get any closer, missing a pair of three-point attempts in the final minute.
Australia increased its lead to eight points at 43-35 with 6:09 left in the third quarter as Anderson went to work. Canada cut the deficit to two with 1:58 remaining to tie on an Anderson basket with 77 seconds on the clock.
His 26th point of the game gave the Canadians a 49–47 lead with 24 seconds left in the quarter. At that point they had scored 14 points on turnover compared to six by Australia.
The Australians started their impressive run trailing 18-15 in the final minute of the first quarter, which ended 18-18.
Australia scored the next seven points, capped by a three-pointer from point guard Shaun Norris, who scored nine of his club’s twenty points off the bench while adding four rebounds and three assists.
Anderson converted a three-point shot, but Australia charged him for an unsportsmanlike foul, with Norris leaking two foul shots. The Australians led 10 late in the quarter and six ahead of the fourth.
Women won world gold in 2014
Canada was seeking its first medal in the men’s tournament since winning gold in 2006, capping a six-year world championship record. The team has now missed the podium in the past four editions.
Meanwhile, the Canadian women have won seven World Cup medals since the inaugural edition in 1990, most recently gold on home soil in 2014.
Kady Dandeneau and Arrin Young each had 15 points in Saturday’s loss, while Cindy Ouellet added 11.
The world championships determine the number of places each zone will receive for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The four zones in the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) are Africa, Americas, Asia, Oceania and Europe.
Canada’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams will also compete in the 2023 Parapan American Games (November 17-26), which will serve as the US zone qualifying tournament for the Paris Games.
LOOK | Full coverage of the Women’s Quarterfinals – Canada vs. The Netherlands:
Watch the Canadian women take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Dubai.
