Women perfect at 2-0, while men 2-1 to close out Friday
The Canadian women tipped off the inaugural IWBF 3×3 Open World Championships with back-to-back wins on Friday in Sun City, South Africa.
They opened the tournament with a 14–7 victory over Spain, a game captain Kady Dandeneau called an early adjustment period.
“We got the win, but it was a bit of a slow start, finding our bearings in the 3×3 game. It was good to get that first one under our belt. We managed to pull through,” Dandeneau explained.
“I think there are a bunch of little things that we can do that are going to clean up our game and make it a lot smoother for us. We’re going to work on our transition, making sure that’s a bit faster and identifying threats.”
Canada kept the momentum going with a commanding 21–0 win over Kenya.
“It’s a good start, we were able to work on what we needed to work on to get ready for Saturday’s game,” said Tamara Steeves. “We’re continuing to build on what we need to work on.”
The women wrap up pool play on Saturday morning against South Africa 2 at 7:35 a.m. EDT/4:30 a.m. PDT.
On the men’s side, Canada holds a 2–1 record following Friday’s action at the 3×3 Open World Championships.
Canada opened the tournament with a thrilling 17–15 overtime win against Austria, with Colin Higgins sealing the victory by scoring both points in the extra frame.
“It was tight, but it was a good win, a good start,” said Garrett Ostepchuk. “I think offensively we were confident, but defensively we needed to be a little bit more reactive and ready.”
Team Canada ran into foul trouble in their second game of the day, falling 18–12 to Spain.
“We need to keep our composure,” Lee Melymick said. “We got into foul trouble quite early, got a couple of technical fouls, giving Spain free throws. We need to keep our composure under the pressure, even if it’s a physical game.”
Canada closed out Friday’s action with a commanding 19–7 win over Portugal, securing second place in Pool C.
“Honestly, it was a bit of a tough start for us, but we were able to get to our spots and hit our shots,” said Higgins. “It was our intensity on defence, we made it uncomfortable for them, and it was good to get the win.”
The men resume action in the Round of 16 on Saturday at 8:50 a.m. EDT/5:50 a.m. PDT.
Hosted by Wheelchair Basketball South Africa, the 2025 IWBF 3×3 Open World Championships is the first-ever 3×3 wheelchair basketball world championship. The tournament celebrates the growth of 3×3 wheelchair basketball and offers smaller nations an opportunity to shine on the global stage.
This is the second 3×3 tournament for Canada’s wheelchair basketball teams. The women won gold and the men took silver at the sport’s debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Full schedule and results can be found here. Select photos from the 3×3 Open World Championships are available here.