Canada shoots 46 per cent from the field and forces 25 turnovers to power past Brazil in its Youth Parapan opener
OTTAWA, ONT. – Team Canada cruised to a 76-34 win over Brazil to open the men’s wheelchair basketball competition at the 2025 Youth Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday.
Ibrahim Odza led all scorers with 28 points on 52 per cent shooting and added six assists and five rebounds in the win. Nasif Chowdhury contributed 22 points and eight rebounds, while Brandon Louie chipped in 12 points and six assists.
“I think our team showed great effort, we’re learning to work together again, and I think we have a lot of room to grow,” said Louie. “I feel like our defence was effective. The press generated a lot of points in transition, and keeping our line nice and high was able to stop them from getting any good open looks.”
Team Canada led in nearly every statistical category, including points in the paint (50) and points off turnovers (32).
Saturday was the fourth meeting this year between Canada and Brazil at the Men’s Under-23 level.
Canada and Brazil split a pair of games at the 2025 IWBF Men’s U23 Americas Championship. At the 2025 IWBF Men’s U23 World Championship, Brazil topped Canada 63-53 in round robin action.
“We’re kind of more familiar with them now,” Louie added. “We know their threats, we were able to shut them down a little bit better and play to our strengths and take advantage of their weaknesses.”
Canada out-scored Brazil 22-12 in the third quarter and stretched its lead to 65-24 entering the fourth.
Team Canada carried a 43–12 lead over Brazil into halftime.
Canada shot 52 per cent from the field, while holding Brazil to 6-for-27 shooting. Team Canada capitalized on 21 points off turnovers and controlled the interior with 30 points in the paint.
Odza led all scorers with 15 points, five assists, and three rebounds, while Louie added 12 points on 6-for-12 shooting.
Chowdhury chipped in eight points and five rebounds, and Thai Milton provided four points off the bench.
Canada built a commanding 24–6 lead in the first quarter.
Canada shot 57 per cent from the field and scored 14 points off 10 Brazilian turnovers in the first.
Odza and Louie had eight points each, while Chowdhury added two points and four assists to pace the offence.
Canada went on a 10-0 run to open a 16-4 lead with two minutes remaining in the opening period.
Approximately 3,800 athletes, aged 12 to 23, from 20 countries, are competing in 12 sports at the 2025 Youth Parapan American Games.
The 2025 Games are the sixth edition of the event, which was first held in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, in 2005. Subsequent editions took place in Bogotá (2009), Buenos Aires (2013), and Bogotá (2023), following the postponement of the 2021 Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Up next, Canada plays Mexico in men’s 5-on-5 action on Sunday at 11:30 AM EDT. In the 3×3 competition, the women open against Mexico at 3:50 PM EDT on Sunday.
The complete schedule and results from the 2025 Youth Parapan American Games can be found here.
Full statistics from Saturday’s game against Brazil can be found here.