(CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) – Alberta, New Brunswick, Quebec and B.C. all found the win column on Day 1 of the wheelchair basketball competition at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
In a rematch of the 2019 Gold Medal game, Alberta defeated Ontario 73-43 to open the wheelchair basketball competition at the Canada Winter Games. Alberta was led by Jayna Doll, who scored 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Reed De’Aeth added 22 points and eight rebounds.
“It was an opportunity for us to play against the 2019 silver medalists in Ontario, so it was nice to get out there and get the win,” said Team Alberta coach Darrell Nordell. “There are certainly things that we’ve got to work on. It’s going to be tough going forward. There is no easy team here.”
Brandon Gillis had a game-high 22 points, and six rebounds as New Brunswick defeated Newfoundland 59-29 on Monday afternoon. Logan Aalders added 15 points and seven rounds in the victory. Jack Kennedy paced Newfoundland with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Team Quebec opened its preliminary round schedule with a 64-41 victory over Saskatchewan at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on the campus of UPEI. Collin Lalonde led all Quebec scorers with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Alex Bougie, Kevin Giguére and Aurélie Jacob-Verreault each contributed 11 points in the win.
“That was our first game; we wanted to get everybody involved. I’m happy with the result, but it’s on to the next game,” said Quebec coach Nicolas Palmer. “It’s nice to start the Canada Games with a win, but we’re here to do bigger things.”
Monday’s slate of games concluded with B.C. defeating Manitoba 66-26. Nicholas van Bakel led all scorers with 22 points and six rebounds. Ben Hagkull and Gabe Harrison each added 12 points in the win.
“We’re happy to start with a win, of course, that’s what we came here to do,” said Team BC coach Simon Cass. “We were a little shaky on both sides of the ball. There were a few nerves in the big gym, a big moment, but we settled down and started playing the way we wanted to play.”
The preliminary round continues on Tuesday when Newfoundland and Quebec tip off at 11:00 AM, followed by B.C. and Ontario at 1:00 PM. Saskatchewan battles New Brunswick at 4:00 PM, and Manitoba faces Alberta at 6:00 PM to conclude the day’s games. All times are listed in Atlantic Time.
The Canada Games are a milestone in the continued development of the next generation of Canadian national, world and Paralympic champions in wheelchair basketball. The competition features current and future members of the Canadian National Team program, including hopefuls to represent Canada at the IWBF World Championships and the Parapan American Games.
The complete tournament schedule and results are available here. Photos from games can be found here. Games are streamed through the official Canada Games web portal. Join the conversation on social media with the hashtag #CGwheelchairbball.