BT Paralympic World Cup 2011: day one report
Great Britain's women got their 2011 BT Paralympic World Cup wheelchair basketball campaign off to a fantastic start with victory over Canada but their male counterparts had a frustrating opener with defeat at the hands of France.
Home win: Claire Strange of Great Britain shoots during the BT Paralympic World Cup Wheelchair Basketball event Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Gareth A Davies 10:09AM BST 24 May 2011
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The women had a storming opening game with a 47-43 victory; an important result against a team seeded three places above them in the world rankings.
Helen Freeman was the top scorer of the game by a significant margin with 29 points as the world number six seeded team took down a resilient Canadian squad in the last quarter.
It was an evenly matched contest throughout but it was GB’s determination that shone through and the home team go joint top of the table after the first day of the group stages.
Commenting on GB’s dream start Freeman said: “A win against Canada is amazing for us as we haven’t beaten them for a couple of years.
"It felt great to contribute 29 points to the final score. We are a young team and most of us are preparing for the Junior World Championships coming up so competing at the World Cup against such a senior team is invaluable to us.”
Head coach Garry Peel was thrilled by the team’s start and insisted his group of players have high hopes for the week ahead.
“We were really happy with the performance today. We started off nervous and were struggling to score but the defence were excellent and it was a great performance as the team gained their confidence throughout the match," he said.
"We were a bit flat last year but the hard work is really paying off and the team is really coming together,” he said.
The GB men’s team were looking to avenge their quarter final defeat by France at last year’s World Championships but despite a strong start which saw them lead by 16-11 after the first quarter, the French team proved too strong on the opening day, winning 68-53.
High scorers included Terry Bywater (14 points) and Simon Munn (10 points) and a strong third quarter saw hopes raised that GB could claw back a three point deficit but France’s offence was too strong for the home defence in the final quarter.
A philosophical Munn said: “The team underperformed today. We are always building however it is very disappointing that we did not bring the result home that we should have.
"This is the second time the French team has beaten us and that should not have happened. So hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for the GB team.”
The day began with Germany's women dominating their match against Japan, with a final score of 62-46, before the Canadian men made their stake for the title with a 55-48 win.
Canada’s Patrick Anderson scored 26 points, having recently returned to international competition ahead of London 2012 following a three-year break from the sport after retiring post-Beijing 2008.
Day two of the tournament will see the Wheelchair Basketball group stages continue, as the Canadian men’s team take on France, followed by GB’s women against Germany. The afternoon will then see Canada's women take on Japan, with the GB men finishing the day in a game in a must-win clash against Brazil.
Day 2 preview – Tues, May 24
Highlight: Great Britain continue in wheelchair basketball with the men up against Brazil and the women playing Germany.
How to follow: @C4Paralympics on Twitter with the #btpwc tag
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