The Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team suffered a defeat against Germany in the world championships held in Ottawa on Friday. With a final score of 89-73 at the Arena at TD Place, the Canadian team now holds a record of one win and one loss in the tournament. Leading the Canadian scorers was Nikola Goncin with 25 points, followed by Colin Higgins with 21 points and Reed De’aeth contributing 14 points off the bench. Goncin also recorded four rebounds and three assists, while Higgins secured eight rebounds and five assists.
Despite maintaining a lead of up to three points, Canada ended the game with 17 second-chance points and 24 points scored in the paint. The team had previously defeated Morocco 74-51 on Wednesday in their opening match but was set to face Iran on Saturday, which later withdrew from the tournament.
Goncin expressed his positive outlook on the team’s performance, stating, “It was an improvement by a wide margin from [Wednesday]. I know we lost, but it was a significantly more competitive team so that’s what we’re going to take from it. We’re going to take the positives.”
During the game, Canada scored 14 points in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to 76-53. They also demonstrated prowess on both offense and defense, accumulating 11 second-chance points and six fast-break points leading into the final quarter. Germany held the lead at 30-26 after the first quarter and extended it to 50-39 by halftime.
Looking ahead, the Canadian men’s team will engage in a crossover match on Monday. Simultaneously, the women’s team, with a 2-0 record, will face China on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, with the game accessible on CBC TV, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Gem.