Wheelchair Basketball at the 2008 Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games begin on September 6th in Beijing. Twelve teams will compete in both men’s and women’s events. Pool preliminaries will eliminate teams before the main tournament. The games will end on the September 17th. Wheelchair basketball will take place from September 7-16.
MEN:
Group A:
o Germany
o South Africa
o Japan
o Canada
o Sweden
o Iran
Group B:
o Israel
o Brazil
o China
o United States
o Great Britain
o Australia
WOMEN:
Group A:
o Germany
o United States
o Australia
o Brazil
o Great Britain
Group B:
o China
o Canada
o Japan
o Mexico
o Netherlands
Recent history favors Canada in the men’s competition. Canada will once again be led by their star forward David Durepos, who, at 39, might be making his last appearance for the National Team. Team Canada won the Gold in Sydney and Athens, and won the 2006 World Championship in the Netherlands. They also won the pre-Paralympic Tournament in Beijing, but not without a fight from Australia, who beat them in pool play and played them to 6 points in the championship game. Because the past decade has be
en dominated by the Canadians, other teams are struggling to close the gap. Team USA thinks they have the solution: they will bring eight young members of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater’s basketball squad to compete. This, they hope, will be an advantage over the experienced but aging Team Canada.
On the women’s side, Canada, Australia, and the US figure to be the favorites, although the Germans fought well against the Canadians in the pre-Paralympic Tournament. In the tournament, Canada’s 44-year-old forward Misty Thomas averaged 12.8 points.
Fans can start watching the games live on the internet, starting at 9:00 Sunday on http://www.paralympicsport.tv/ you can also find more information on the Wikipedia entry for the 2008 Paralympic Games. The Men’s Gold Medal game will take place at 19:30 on Sunday the 16th. The Women’s Gold Medal game will take place at 21:30 on Saturday the 15th. If you would like to discuss or find more information about Wheelchair Basketball, check out our Paralympic Games basketball thread in our discussion forum.
