It only took one victory, but it had to come at the right time. This is what the Canadian wheelchair basketball players achieved on Monday by winning 72-60 against the Italians to ensure their presence at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
A victory and the Canadian men’s team qualified for Paris. Otherwise, the Paralympic tournament, contested since 1968, would take place without her for the first time.
“We just needed to win one. To go for the only victory that matters, it feels so good! It’s hard to explain how we feel right now, but we do. We’re going to Paris,” Vincent Dallaire told Sportcom.
Eight nations divided into two groups took part in this last chance tournament in Antibes, France. The preliminary phase of three games served to determine the four decisive clashes on Monday, where the winners obtained their ticket to the City of Lights.
Defeated by the Dutch, the French and the Iranians over the weekend, Vincent Dallaire, Jonathan Vermette and their teammates met the Italians, undefeated in three games.
The difficult start to the tournament did not destabilize the Canadians, who took the lead early in the first quarter. Enough to give confidence to head coach Matteo Feriani’s squad, without allowing them to claim victory. The day before, the Italians trailed the Germans 37-23 at halftime, then won 72-63.
Trailing 34-20 after two quarters, they had every right to hope for a second comeback in a row. This is what they tried by reducing the gap to 7 points in the fourth quarter.
“Matteo said it during all the stoppages that they were going to come back strong! We had to continue playing and follow our game plan. We always knew we could score on offense and on defense, we were ready. We closed the door and that’s what made us win,” shared Vincent Dallaire, who played the entire 40 minutes of this duel.
Led by veteran Patrick Anderson, who had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, the Canadians were able to defend their lead.
Jonathan Vermette scored 6 points and had a rebound in 25 minutes of play. Vincent Dallaire recorded 11 points and 2 assists in the victory, in addition to recovering three rebounds.
“This is the first tournament where I really played the way I wanted to. If I have to play 40 minutes for us to win, I’m going to do it. If I have to stay on the bench and lose my voice, I’ll do that too! » mentioned Dallaire.
“We were nervous today, but it wasn’t the first time we played an important match. We have faced the Italians a lot in recent years, given that our coach comes from Italy. We had the advantage of knowing how to play them.”
Bronze medalists at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, the Canadians came very close to missing this last chance tournament last fall. They were surprised by the Colombians in the semi-final, then defeated the Argentines to win bronze and maintain their chances of qualifying for Paris.
The Netherlands, Germany and France are the other victorious countries which will be able to return to France this summer. They join Great Britain, Spain, the United States and Australia, already qualified.
Canadian players will try to imitate their compatriots in the coming days. Their qualifying tournament begins on Wednesday in Osaka, Japan, with a match against athletes from the host country. Quebecers Sofia Fassi-Fehri, Rosalie Lalonde, Cindy Ouellet and Élodie Tessier will be in action.
2024-04-15 21:05:23
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