Canadian men defeat Thailand at wheelchair basketball worlds after opening loss
'That was a no-lose situation,' Goncin says; Women aim for 2nd win Monday vs. Spain
The Canadian men's team cruised to an 83-55 victory over Thailand on Sunday to improve to 1-1 in Group B play of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) world championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Fresh off a 65-52 loss against Germany on Saturday, Canada was hoping to carry over a stronger performance from the second half.
It started quickly, jumping out to an 18-14 lead, but a subsequent 7-0 run by Thailand flipped the script heading into the second quarter.
Thailand, which defeated Egypt 72-38 on Saturday, was overwhelmed by Canada in the second quarter, getting outscored 22-10 to trail by nine at the half, with Edmonton's Patrick Anderson matching Thailand's point total in the quarter by himself.
Canada didn't look back, with Regina's Nikola Goncin pouring in 16 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter to extend the lead to 22.
"That was a no-lose situation tonight. We had to win that game," Goncin, who added a team-high eight rebounds and five assists, told Wheelchair Basketball Canada. "We knew Thailand was going to come out firing, and they played really well in the first quarter, but it was a matter of sustainability — we weren't sure they could do that for four quarters.
"The big thing was continuing to do what we were doing and not to worry about the score early on."
WATCH | Goncin, Anderson lead Canada over Thailand:
Anderson added 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Colin Higgins of Rothesay, N.B., chipped in with seven points, six assists and three steals.
Canada's placing in Group B will be determined in the final round-robin game on Wednesday against Egypt, which suffered a 113-23 drubbing by Germany on Sunday. On Wednesday, the Germans will try to clinch first place in the group when they face Thailand.
WATCH | Canadian men finish strong Saturday but fall short vs. Germany:
All 16 teams participating in the men's tournament will be guaranteed a spot in the men's Final 16 playoff bracket, which begins Thursday.
The Canadian women, coming off a 61-56 win over Brazil on Saturday in the tournament opener, will be back in action on Monday at 11 a.m. ET against Spain in the second of five round-robin games.
WATCH | Dandeneau tops Canadian women with 31 points against Spain:
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.
Action continues through to June 20. Watch live coverage of all Canada games on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
