SAO PAULO, Brazil – Canada’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams are headed to the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships after qualifying at the Americas Cup this past weekend.
The worlds are November 16-27, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
On Monday morning, Canada defeated the U.S. for the gold 76-68 in the women's final and the men won the bronze defeating Brazil 56-46.
The Canadian women officially qualified with a 100-30 win over Argentina in the semifinals on Sunday.
“We started three months ago with this goal, so now that it’s done, it’s not that it was stressful, but now we can feel more relaxed,” said Marc Antoine Ducharme, head coach of the women’s team.
Arinn Young had a game-high 32 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists for Canada. Kady Dandeneau poured in 25 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, and Cindy Ouellet added 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the win.
A top-three finish was required in the women’s tournament to advance to Dubai.
The Canadian men punched their ticket to the worlds with a 77-73 win over Colombia in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
“It feels great to have that punched and have that step checked off on the path,” said Bo Hedges, who contributed six points in the win. “We came to this tournament to obviously accomplish that, but we also want to do more at this tournament.”
Nik Goncin paced Canada with a triple-double, scoring 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Colin Higgins added 19 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, while Lee Melymick chipped in 13 points and four rebounds in the victory.
The men’s squad then lost to Argentina Sunday in the semis 66-53 and will play for bronze against Brazil. A top-four position was needed to earn a spot at the 2022 world championships.
In the semifinals, Goncin had a game-high 26 points, six rebounds, and six assists in the loss, followed by Higgins with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
The Canadian women won gold at the last Americas Cup tournament in Cali, Colombia in 2017 while the men won silver.
Canada’s men’s and women’s games are streamed on the CBBC TV YouTube channel and the IWBF Facebook page.
Canada fourth in wheelchair rugby at World Games
In Birmingham, Alabama, Canada lost 44-30 to Germany on Sunday in the wheelchair rugby bronze medal match at the World Games, a multi-sport competition for non-Olympic sports.
Patrice Dagenais led Canada with 18 points, Trevor Hirschfield added 15, and Patrice Simard had 13.
The Canadians, who were coached by five-time Paralympian Mike Whitehead, earned two wins and three losses in the preliminary round. They dropped their first two games to Germany and Great Britain, then collected wins over Switzerland and USA before losing to Japan to advance to the third place game.
The wheelchair rugby tournament at the Games was for low point players, meaning players with less functional abilities.
With files from Wheelchair Basketball Canada
