Canada's women top Brazil to open wheelchair basketball world championships
Canadian men fail to overcome slow start, drop 65-52 decision to Germany in opener
The Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team's road back to the medal podium at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) world championships began with a 61-56 win over Brazil on Saturday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Kady Dandeneau of Pender Island, B.C., was sensational in the victory, pouring in 31 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.
The 33-year-old headlines a team led by new head coach Marni Abbott-Peter, who takes over a team that won gold at the 2022 Americas Cup in July, but is looking to get back onto the world championship podium after missing out for the first time in 2018.
"I think we started a little tight, but it was the first game of the world championships, a big tournament," Abbott-Peter said in a release. "As the game went on, we stuck to our gameplan, and Brazil played a great game; they shot well, but we were able to come out on top. We're happy with the win."
WATCH | Dandeneau paces Canadian attack with 31 points, 17 rebounds:
Brazil held the lead through the majority of the first half before Dandeneau recorded 17 points in a third quarter that saw Canada outscore its opponent 19-10 to take a five-point advantage into the final frame.
Quebec City's Cindy Ouellet scored Canada's go-ahead basket three minutes into the second half to make it 37-36, with the Canadians never trailing again for the rest of the game.
Ouellet finished just short of a double-double with nine points and nine assists, to go along with five rebounds and a steal.
Elodie Tessier of St-Germain de Grantham, Que., chipped in 10 points, while Arinn Young of St. Albert, Alta., finished with seven points and three assists.
Perla Assuncao led Brazil with 16 points.
Canada faces Spain on Monday in the second game of a five-game round-robin in Group B. The Canadian women will also play Great Britain, Australia and China throughout the week.
Originally scheduled for November of 2022, the tournament was postponed to June as to not clash with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 12 countries are represented in the women's event.
Canada has won five gold medals and two bronze medals at the tournament, which has occurred every four years dating to 1990. Canada's last gold medal was in 2014 on home soil in Toronto.
Canadian men drop opener to Germany
In men's action, Canada struggled in the first half against Germany and weren't able to close the gap in the second half, falling 65-52.
Germany led 36-21 at half, although Canada narrowly edged the Germans 31-29 in the second half to bounce back from a slow start.
The Canadian men struggled in the second quarter in particular, shooting 3-for-18 from the field en route to just six points in the frame.
WATCH | Canadian men finish strong but come up short against Germany:
Edmonton's Patrick Anderson was Canada's best player in the game, tallying 17 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The 43-year-old Canadian basketball legend leads a squad coming off a bronze-medal performance at the 2022 Americas Cup in July.
The three-time Paralympic champion hasn't seen Canada get on the podium at the world championships since winning gold in the Netherlands in 2006, which capped a run of six straight podium finishes at the event between 1986 and 2006.
Colin Higgins of Rothesay, N.B., finished with 12 points and four assists while Regina's Garrett Ostepchuk added nine points and five rebounds.
"Obviously, it didn't go how we wanted," Higgins said. "We came out and matched Germany at the start, but then they were able to keep their foot on the gas for a while. We weren't able to respond. On a positive note, we won the second half, and we showed good fight. We have another game on Sunday, so we can't hang our heads too long."
Germany was led in scoring by Thomas Böhme (22 points) and Matthias Güntner (17 points).
Canada battles Thailand on Sunday and Egypt on Wednesday. Thailand topped Egypt 72-38 in other Group B play on Saturday.
The tournament is comprised of 16 nations divided into four groups in the round-robin stage of the event.
