Parapan Am Games: Canada's men's wheelchair basketball team earns Paralympic berth
Canadian women's squad locks up gold with win over the U.S.
Canada's men's wheelchair basketball team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with a 62-42 semifinal win over Colombia on Friday at the 2019 Lima Parapan Am Games.
Patrick Anderson, of Fergus, Ont., had a game-high 20 points and 16 rebounds while adding seven assists.
The Canadians are undefeated in Lima and rebounding nicely from a disappointing showing at the 2018 world championships, where Canada was defeated by Poland in the round of 16.
"I'm feeling proud of our program and the way that everybody has really improved since last summer after the disappointing result at worlds and everyone responded to the challenge to try and climb back up to one of the top teams in the world," Anderson said. "This was a big step for us, but we are not satisfied yet."
Regina's Nik Goncin finished with 14 points, while Bo Hedges of Wonowon, B.C., and Montreal's David Eng had 12 and 10 points respectively.
"It's a relief obviously," Goncin said. "Our job is not done, so I'm trying not to get too excited about it, but it's a big deal for our program."
Canada will face the United States in Saturday's gold-medal game.
Women take gold
Kady Dandeneau had a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team beat the United States 67-64 on Friday to capture gold.
Dandeneau, from Pender Island, B.C, went 9 for 16 from the field and was clutch at the free-throw line to record the triple-double. She knocked down 5-of-7 as the rest of the team shot 43 per cent from the line.
WATCH | Canada captures women's wheelchair basketball gold:
Arinn Young of Legal, Alta., helped lead the Canadian offence with 20 points and 10 assists. Rebecca Murray scored a team-high 22 points for the Americans.
The Canadians trailed for much of the contest — 26:37 combined minutes of the 40-minute tilt — but always kept the game within reach and went into the fourth quarter down 52-47 before coming back for the win.
Canada got the job done inside, overpowering its opponent to outscore the U.S. 40-14 in the paint.
The Canadians already punched their ticket to 2020 Tokyo Paralympics just by qualifying for the championship game.
Also, Brazil beat Argentina 69-44 for bronze.