Canada Earns Gold and Silver in Colombia

Canadians shine at the 2017 Americas Cup and earn berths to 2018 World Championships

members of the Canadian Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team pose for a photo on the court while holding the tournament trophy and Canadian flags

The Canadian Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team claimed gold at the 2017 Americas Cup qualifier in Cali, Colombia with a decisive 82-56 victory against the United States. Meanwhile, the Canadian men ended the tournament with a silver medal after a tough 50-54 loss to the US, reigning Americas Cmembers of the Canadian men's wheelchair basketball team pose for a group photo wearing their silver medalsup and Paralympic Champions. By advancing to the semi-finals earlier in the event, both Canadian teams had already qualified for the 2018 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

The women were undoubtedly the team to beat in the tournament going undefeated in all their games and outscoring their opponents by a total of 363-205. The men went 6-1 and earned an average 74.14 points per game.

Ontario athletes Melanie Hawtin (left), Tamara Steeves (center), and Sara Black (right) pose with their gold medals and the tournament trophyOntario was well-represented in Colombia as six athletes – a mix of rookies and veterans – were selected to wear the red and white. Having previously represented Team Canada at the 2015 Women’s U25 World Championship in Beijing, China, Sara Black (Toronto, ON) made her Senior Women’s National Team debut at the 2017 Americas Cup. Alongside Black were her Team Ontario teammates and Team Canada veterans Melanie Hawtin (Oakville, ON) and Tamara Steeves (Mississauga, ON).

On the men’s roster, 17-year old Adel Akhmed (Toronto, ON), who recently made his first international wheelchair basketball appearance at the 2017 Men’s U23 World Championship, quickly made the jump to the Senior squad. His teammates include Tyler Miller (Kitchener, ON) as well as one of his sport idols Patrick Anderson (Fergus, ON), who himself made his return to the international stage after a five-year absence following the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Final Standings

Men

  1. United States
  2. Canada
  3. Argentina
  4. Brazil
  5. Mexico
  6. Puerto Rico
  7. Colombia
  8. Venezuela
  9. Uruguay
  10. Costa Rica

Women

  1. Canada
  2. United States
  3. Brazil
  4. Argentina
  5. Colombia

Canadian athletes Cindy Ouellet and Patrick Anderson were named as the 2017 Americas Cup Most Valuable Players. Anderson averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds & 5 assists per game while women’s team captain Ouellet averaged 16 points and 3 assists per game.