Paralympian battle decided on last shot at 30th Canadian Boccia Championships

A marquee match-up didn’t disappoint at the 30th Canadian Boccia Championships which got underway Thursday at the RA Centre in Ottawa.

Iulian Ciobanu defeated Alison Levine 5-3 in the BC4 category round robin which pitted the two top-10 world ranked players from Montreal.

With the win, Ciobanu is tied for top spot at two wins and no losses with veteran Marco Dispaltro, a Paralympic medallist in 2012. Levine lost her opener to Dispaltro on Thursday morning.

‘’I was really excited about playing these championships because we have a bigger field than usual for our category,’’ said Ciobanu, a three-time Paralympian, vying for a second career national crown.

‘’Yesterday in training I threw about 120 balls to get a feel for the court and work on my precision and it paid off.’’

Ciobanu, ranked 10th in the world, grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first end but Levine battled back to 4-2 in the second and then 4-3 in the third. In the fourth and final end Levine was sitting point ball but Ciobanu dislodged her on his last throw.

‘’Against Iulian you always have to bring your A game,’’ said Levine, who finished fourth at her third Paralympics in Paris. ‘’I knew he would be tough to beat but I’m happy that I was able to keep fighting and make it close.’’

The BC4, BC5 and Open divisions are straight round robins and will be decided Friday. The BC1, BC2 and BC3 categories are split in two groups and include a playoff round that concludes Saturday morning.

In BC1, the division leaders are Lance Cryderman of Sudbury, Ont., and Hanif Mawji of Burnaby, B.C.; in BC2, Danik Allard of Bois-des-Filion, Que., and Olivier Roy of Quebec City; in BC3 Marylou Martineau of Quebec City and Alexandre Lemaire of Kingsey Falls, Que. Zosia Ettenberg of Langley, B.C. leads the Open category.

National team head coach César Nicolai says the first nationals after a Paralympic Games is a golden opportunity to scan for talent for the national program.

‘’It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this many new players at a Canadian championships,’’ said Nicolai. ‘’It’s refreshing and exciting. We’re also keeping an eye on the players who are still developing and seeing how they’ve improved.

‘’We’re looking for players who are motivated, love the game and we also keep an eye on their attitude and see how they react to certain situations.’’

Competition continues through to Sunday with matches starting at 9 a.m. each day.

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For tournament information visit here