Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Australia wins gold in wheelchair basketball at Paralympic World Cup

From Perth Now. The Australian team also won gold in Beijing (pictured).

The Australian men's wheelchair basketball team have trounced the United States 69-48 to win gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.

The US got on top early with a three-point lead after five minutes but the Rollers won the game in the second and third quarters as they outscored the States 40-22, to set up a 20-point buffer heading into the final term.

The Australians lifted their game for the final, shooting 51 per cent from the field to just 32 per cent from the US.

The Rollers were also on top of the States on the boards - the Aussies won the rebound count 41-27, led by Justin Eveson with 14.

The Rollers' Beijing Paralympians dominated the scoreboard as Tristan Knowles put up a game high 16 points and seven assists, Brett Stibners posted 14 in support and Eveson tallied a double-double, adding 13 points to his 14 rebounds.

Brian Bell led the US with 15 points.