Last week I went to the Wheelchair Basketball Championships Final at the NIA in Birmingham.
The men’s and women’s finals were packed with drama, tension and moments of sheer brilliance. First up was the women’s final, USA v Germany and the two teams were neck and neck all the way in an exciting encounter, but USA came out on top when Natalie Schneider made her free throw with three seconds left. With just one second left on the clock however, Germany’s Gesche Schunemann attempted a three-point shot to win the game, but missed. USA’s Becca Murray was outstanding, and contributed 25 points to her team’s win. The score finished 53-55 to USA.
The men’s final wasn’t as close, with Australia imposing themselves on France early on and by half time were leading 45-29. France made a gallant effort after the break however and clawed their way back in to the match, to the delight of the crowd. At one point the scores were 60-69, but Australia always looked capable of scoring and remained out of reach for the French. The scores finished 69-79 to Australia.
For more info about Wheelchair Basketball visit www.gbwba.org.uk.
Filed under: August, Karen Patel, Sport
