BASKETBALL. Drummondville resident Gabriel Giguère and the Canadian men’s team ended the World Under-23 Wheelchair Basketball Championship on a false note. The competition was contested in Phuket, Thailand.
Opposed to France in the game for ninth place on Thursday, the Canadians suffered a 62-33 loss. This failure relegates the Maple Leaf formation to tenth position among the 12 countries participating in the tournament.
By half-time, France had built a 33-14 lead. By winning, the French avenged the 58-56 loss in overtime against the Canadians in the last match of the round robin.
“France wanted to win and played hard,” said Canadian team head coach Darrell Nordell. They executed their game plan and we didn’t execute ours. This starts with preparation. That’s why we have junior events like this, so our athletes can learn how to prepare, when it comes to sleep, hydration, nutrition and mental preparation.”
The day before, the Canadian team had started the round of relegation by signing a victory of 71-30 against South Africa. In the preliminary round, the Canadians suffered defeats of 59-39 against Brazil, 83-38 against Spain, 69-38 against Japan and 82-40 against Turkey before defeating France 58-56 in overtime. By finishing fifth in its group, the team could not qualify for the medal round.
“It was a really well organized tournament,” said Darrell Nordell. I’m glad we came. Chances like this only come around every four years. We just need to find more opportunities for our athletes to practice.”
21-year-old Gabriel Giguère has spastic paraparesis, a hereditary disease that forces him to use a wheelchair. The Drummondville native discovered basketball with the Centre-du-Québec Vikings club.
