Canadian men conclude prelims with two wins and one loss at wheelchair basketball worlds

OTTAWA – In a rematch of the bronze medal game from the 2024 Paralympic Games, Germany defeated Canada 89-73 as both countries concluded their men’s preliminary round schedule at the wheelchair basketball world championships.

In Paris back in 2024, the Germans also beat the Canadians to take the bronze.

With Iran’s withdrawal from the worlds earlier this week, the Group D teams played only two preliminary games on court in Ottawa. Therefore each country’s forfeited game against Iran goes in the books as a win. Germany finished first at 3-0 while Canada finished 2-1 and Morocco 1-2.

All 15 teams in the men’s tournament advance to the playoffs which start Monday. The number-one seed gets a bye while the 14 others are matched for a one-game showdown for a quarterfinal berth.

Nik Goncin of Regina led the Canadian attack Friday with 25 points while Collin Higgins of Rothesay, N.B., added 21. Reed De’Aeth of Sherwood Park, Alta., added 14 and 17-year-old rookie Ibrahim Odza of Toronto chipped in 11 including three three-pointers.

Canada won the fourth quarter 20-13 but trailed 30-26 after a quarter, 50-39 at the half and 76-53 after three quarters.

‘’This is a tournament where you build towards the end and I feel we are close to being at the top of our game,’’ said veteran Tyler Miller, Canada’s busiest player with 35 minutes and 41 seconds on the floor.

‘’You always want to win every time out but what really matters is our next game which will be do, or die. There’s a lot of positive that came out of this game and it’s exciting to see what we are capable of.’’

Canada was originally scheduled to play Iran on Saturday, and head coach Matteo Feriani admits that match could have been useful in building towards the playoffs. But he is maintaining his sense of humour through it all.

‘’I would prefer a game tomorrow and have that consistent pressure,’’ he said. ‘’But I’m Italian so I can put the pressure easily on the guys in one way or the other. We are going to keep ourselves busy and come back fresh.

‘’With what I’ve seen from our first two games I’m very confident for Monday.’’

Canadian women set to face powerhouse China on Saturday

The Canadian women’s team, 2-0 so far, are back in action Saturday against China, 1-1, in a rematch of the bronze medal game at Paris 2024 which the Chinese won.

Game time is 3 p.m. at TD Place Arena.

‘’I want revenge for Paris,’’ said Canadian scoring star Kady Dandeneau about Saturday’s match. ‘’We are very excited about this game and personally I love playing against them.’’

The Chinese were upset Thursday by Great Britain 52-38.

Canada’s head coach Joey Johnson says his troops’ first two games show they are going to be hard to beat.

‘’Our approach is going to be the same against China,’’ said Johnson, a former men’s team star who took the helm in May. ‘’Our focus is on us, and I keep telling our players when we execute, we’re good.

‘’It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. You can put an all-star team out across from us: it’s about our execution and ability to stick to our game plan.’’