Mixed fortunes for Great Britain’s Wheelchair Basketball Teams on second day
Great Britain's women suffered heartbreak for the second game in a row as they fell to a narrow defeat to Canada on day two of the defending World Championships.
After defeat to The Netherlands on Wednesday (7th July), Garry Peel's side were still confident of a positive result against the reigning World Champions. The first quarter was the ideal start for GB as they raced into a 14 - 9 lead with Helen Freeman and Laurie Williams performing well.
The second quarter saw the Canadians come back with Janet McLachlan leading the way as they went into the half time break with a slender three point lead. The second half continued to be a close affair as the lead changed hands several times, neither side was able to pull away and a one point lead for Canada at the end of the third quarter ensured a tense finish.
The match continued in the same vein and with just a minute remaining GB were leading the World Champions. The experience of the Canadians shone through in the end however with McLachlan shooting free throws to make the game safe for the Canadians. The final score of 54 - 49 was harsh on GB but another excellent performance should give Gary Peel's side confidence ahead of the clash with Australia on Saturday.
Louise Sugden will be disappointed after she was fouled out while Helen Turner top scored for GB with 13 points, Freeman and Williams both contributed well with 12 points each. McLachlan starred for Canada with an impressive 24 points and will be looking to take that form into her next match against The Netherlands on Friday.
For the GB men’s team who were also in action later in the day it, they suffered an early shock in their match against Japan but managed to come out on top to make it two wins out of two at the NIA in Birmingham.
A slow start for GB was taken advantage of by a spirited Japan side that saw the Japanese end the first quarter with a 10 point lead. However a much improved defensive display in the second quarter restricted Japan to just six points as GB came back to lead 27 - 26 at half time.
Notoriously difficult to beat, the Japanese continued give GB a tough time as Murray Treseder's side continued to push for some distance between the sides but the performance of Reo Fujimoto gave Japan hope of pulling off a win.
The final quarter however proved to be too much for Japan as Simon Munn in particular found plenty of gaps to increase the GB lead. The final score of 74 - 59 was a little unrepresentative of the closeness of the match but GB's hard work paid off and they eventually got the result that their hard work and persistence deserved.
Jon Pollock again starred for GB with 23 points and Simon Munn registered an impressive 20 but Fujimoto caught the eye for the Japanese with an impressive 28 point game.