Canada women set to take on defending World and Euro champion Netherlands in Toronto

The Canadian women’s national team takes on the Netherlands in an exhibition match in the lead up to the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima.

Canada is coming off two tournament victories (2e open feminin handibasket international and the Nations Cup) in France and Germany after a fifth place finish at the 2018 World Championships.

In that tournament, they lost to the eventual champion Netherlands in the group stage. The Netherlands are also reigning European Champions and will prepare to defend their title in this summer’s European Championship.

Canada will feature a mix of young and experienced players, including recently-named Wheelchair Basketball Canada and Grosso Hooper Law’s Female Athlete of the Year Arinn Young.

“We ran quite a few different lineups and different looks and we were really successful with it and I think that’s a really good step with our future for our program and with our athletes,” Young of the recent tournament victories in France and Germany.

“It’s cool to win two tournaments while running different lineups,” she added. “Not a lot of national teams can say they can do that and I think that’s one big strength for Canada.”

Their opponents on June 13 also present a formidable challenge, according to Young.

“Oh my gosh. What makes them so good? There’s so many things,” Young noted. “Their team cohesion is the best. You can’t even describe it.”

“It’s amazing seeing them work as a team and be able to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and that’s what I think really makes them successful is how good they are with each other,” she added.

Young said she thinks Canada has “improved and changed in a really positive way” since their last meeting in 2018 and is excited for the matchup to see how they match up against them.

The game is one of many in preparation for the Lima 2019 Parapan American games from August 23-September 1. Canada needs to finish in the top two to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The game is at 7:20 p.m. ET on June 13 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (875 Morningside Ave) in Toronto. Admission is free and everyone is encouraged to come. Fans will also be able to watch all of the action via the CBC Gem app and cbcgem.ca, as well as on WBC’s YouTube channel.

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