(CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) – Defending champion Alberta will meet Quebec, and B.C. will face Manitoba in the wheelchair basketball semifinals on Friday at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Manitoba’s quarterfinals victory on Thursday sets up a semifinal meeting with B.C. at 6:00 PM/AT on Friday. Alberta defeated Saskatchewan in the second quarterfinal game on Thursday and will face Quebec at 4:00 PM/AT on Friday.

Manitoba topped New Brunswick 61-54 at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on the campus of UPEI. Thomas Thevenot scored a team-high 27 points, and 14 rebounds, and Josh Brown added 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the victory.

“We’re looking to get better every day, and I think we’ve been doing that,” said Manitoba coach Bill Johnson. “If a victory comes as a side effect of that, that’s awesome.”

Reed De’Aeth’s triple-double paced Alberta in a 66-40 win over Saskatchewan on Thursday evening. De’Aeth led the way with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, while Hayes Cooke added 15 points in the win.

“It always feels really good when you come out and have a good warm-up and get right into it and execute the gameplan,” said Alberta coach Darrell Nordell. “We’re getting closer to who will take gold – there’s four good teams going through.”

In the consolation playoff round, New Brunswick will face Newfoundland at 11:00 AM/AT on Friday, while Saskatchewan will meet Ontario at 1:00 PM/AT.

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.