Mixed Fortunes as Australia’s Wheelchair Basketball Teams Commence World Champs
Australia’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams have commenced competition at the 2018 IWBF World Championships in Hamburg.
The Rollers have won both of their opening fixtures, whilst the Gliders have dropped two matches after winning their first clash on Friday.
Defending their world crown, the Rollers opened with a comfortable 19-point victory over Argentina after posting a 74-55 win over the South Americans.
Shaun Norris hit 14 points as the Australians shot at 43% from the field, bolstered by two of six attempts from beyond the arc.
They backed that up with an excellent 10 point win over Rio Paralympic silver medallists Spain, courtesy of a 66-56 win, led by a superb all-round performance from Norris, who hit a match high 22-points to go with seven rebounds and five assists.
The win helped erase some of the painful memories from Australia’s loss to Spain at the 2016 Paralympics, where a much fancied Rollers outfit missed the podium in sixth place.
They next face the Netherlands on Monday night (8.30pm Perth time) in their final group stage match. A win will secure Australia top spot and highest seeding from their pool heading into the cross-overs.
The Gliders were forced to fight hard to secure a victory over Brazil in their opening group match last Friday, eventually overcoming a half-time deficit to win 61-44.
Down by six at the break, the Australians rallied to outscore their opponent by 23 points in the second half to win 61-44. Amber Merritt starred with 22 points, with Clare Nott adding six.
The Gliders however, were handed a reality check in their second match against international powerhouse the Netherlands. The Dutch handed the Aussies a 33-point drubbing, which included a negative 29-point differential across the second half.
The Netherlands were particularly effective in quelling Merritt’s influence, limiting the London Paralympian to five points from her 30 minutes of court time. Sarah Vinci was outstanding at both ends for the Gliders, producing eight points in a sharp return for the one-pointer.
Clearly some of the lessons learned were implemented by the Gliders in their third match, which produced a thriller – with Canada edging the Australians in overtime.
Both nations showed plenty in attack, with Merritt responding brilliantly with 18 points as the Gliders shared the workload at the offensive end.
Down by five at the main break, they outscored Canada by the same margin in the final quarter, before losing momentum in overtime to slip to an eight point defeat, 82-74.
The Gliders play an undefeated Great Britain outfit in their next match on Monday night (2.15am Tuesday Perth time) before rounding out their group phase with a clash against Spain.
Photo: Basketball Australia