(Montreal) The Canadian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams had very different fates on Wednesday at the world championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Canadians defeated the Egyptians 87-41 to finish second in Group B with a 2-1 record. As for the Canadians, they were defeated by the Australians 68-64.
Colin Higgins led the offensive fest for Canadian coach Matteo Feriani’s squad with 21 points, closely followed by Nikola Goncin, who scored 17. Up 21-9 after the first quarter, the tone was set for the Canadians who have stayed in the saddle.
Quebecers Jonathan Vermette and Vincent Dallaire respectively played 13 min 40 s and 12 min 45 s in the game, but they did not score points.
“It was a great win today against Egypt. It’s a team that is a little weaker, so it’s always a trap, admitted Vermette. We wanted to prepare well for the next games and we are proud of how we responded. We have made some adjustments and from now on the competition will be tougher and tougher. »
The Canadians’ next game is Thursday against Brazil.
“It will be a lot more difficult, but we continue to improve and we hope to do well for the next game,” said Vermette, a native of Sherbrooke.
The result of the match between the Canadians and the Australians was a reflection of the match: a close score in favor of the Australians. Canada trailed 20-17 after the first quarter and narrowed the gap to one point, 34-33, at halftime.
The Australians gave themselves a 12-point lead in the third quarter, except Marni Abbott-Peter’s proteges didn’t give up and they had a nice push in the fourth quarter, closing the gap to 4 points (65 -61) following a basket from Cindy Ouellet, on a pass from Élodie Tessier.
However, it was too little too late and the Australians took advantage of free throws to consolidate their lead and sign their second win of the tournament.
Ouellet (23 points) was Canada’s second-leading scorer behind Kady Dandeneau (24 points). Quebecers Sandrine Bérubé and Sofia Fassi-Fehri did not play in this match.
“What made the difference was that we were less successful in countering their first threat (Amber Merritt) who scored 33 points. They had a lot of easy little lay-ups, so it was a little more difficult for us on that side,” admitted Élodie Tessier, who was on the court for 40 minutes.
“All teams are expected to be good and we need to show up and execute our game plan well. If we are not able to do that, we have a result like today (Wednesday). »
Friday, the Canadians will face the Chinese who are still undefeated in four games.
“We’re keeping our spirits up and it’s not the end of the world […] I’m confident and we’ll prepare hard for the game against China. We will have to move the ball as quickly as possible, shoot well and execute our game plan well to work as a team. »