The SMNT wrapped up group play with an 87-41 win, while the SWNT dropped a 68-64 decision
(Dubai, UAE) – The Senior Men’s National Team concluded group play at the IWBF World Championships with a commanding 87-41 victory over Egypt on Wednesday morning.
With the win, Canada finished second in Group B with a 2-1 record and will face Brazil on Thursday (4:15 a.m. ET) with a berth in the quarterfinals on the line.
“It’s awesome to have a win like this; that said, we have to bring it up a pretty big step for the next one,” said Nik Goncin. “We need to stick to our game plan no matter the outcome. We generally have a problem playing our game when the game is unorthodox – Egypt wasn’t playing defence the way Brazil will play defence – but we have to play our game regardless of what is going on the other side.”
Colin Higgins led the way Wednesday with a team-high 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Goncin added 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Blaise Mutware chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the win.
Canada finished shooting 39 of 67 from the field in the win while holding Egypt to just 36.5 per cent.
“It was nice to get back on the court after a couple of days off and get a victory where everybody got into the game, and everybody got some buckets, so that was great,” said Bo Hedges. “For us, this was the point where the tournament actually started – we needed to win this game, get rhythm, get going. Tomorrow is going to be a tougher game; the next day is a tougher game, so it’s just a progression – now we play every day.”
Complete stats from Wednesday’s win over Egypt can be found here.
On the women’s side, Canada fell 68-64 to Australia on Wednesday evening and sit at 2-2, tied with Australia, Spain and Great Britain in Group B. The Senior Women’s National Team concludes group play on Friday (2 a.m. ET) against undefeated China (4-0).
Australia opened a nine-point lead through three quarters, and despite Canada out-scoring Australia 20-15 in the fourth, the comeback fell short.
Australia finished shooting 31 of 68 from the field, while Canada was limited to just 38 per cent shooting in the loss.
“We battled hard; we left it all out there,” said head coach Marni Abbott-Peter. “Australia shot really well, and their fourth and fifth threats contributed offensively – that was the difference in the game.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win at the end, so we can be proud of that and hopefully carry that momentum into Friday.”
Kady Dandeneau had a team-high 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Cindy Ouellet added 23 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Heading into Friday’s contest against China, Abbott-Peter is confident in her group’s ability.
“We just have to go in with energy and have everybody do their job,” said Abbott-Peter. “China is going to be a tough team to beat, for sure, but I definitely think that we have the opportunity to do that if we play well and play together as a team.”
Complete stats from Wednesday’s game against Australia can be found here.