Congratulations Rollers and Gliders!
Wednesday, 17th September, 2008
The journey to Beijing proved to be very successful for our national wheelchair basketball teams. Gold to the Boomers and bronze to the Gliders!
A full report on the Rollers' fantastic campaign can be seen at http://www.basketball.net.au/fs_newsitem.asp?id=81410&orgID=1&Oname=BA&O1c=8&O10c=3
Gerry Hewson's Gliders were on a roll after beating arch-rivals of the last decade, Canada, in the quarter-finals. However, the USA proved too strong and experienced in the semi-final and the Gliders had to quickly regroup to take on Japan in the bronze medal match. In a thriller, the Gliders were leading by just 2 points with 3 minutes remaining. Hitting some nice shots and playing tough defence down the stretch saw Gerry's team pull away for a 53-47 win.
Our WheelKings girls had a great tournament led by Gliders captain Liesl Tesch. She had 16 points and 14 rebounds in the bronze medal victory, and was playing at her fifth Paralympics. Liesl now wants to reach her sixth. “It means I can’t retire because I’ve got two silver and a bronze and I need one of that other colour still,’’ she said. “So back in the wheelchair this old horse will go.’’
Liesl praised her team-mates for turning themselves around after the loss to the USA, “To drag ourselves back here and go out there and do the job was just awesome.’’
WheelKings and Gliders guard Tina McKenzie said the bronze was still a bonus because seven other teams in Beijing would go home without a medal. “We’re pretty happy to have medaled. Unfortunately, it’s not the colour we wanted, but to have a bronze and be top three in the world is pretty special,’’ she said. “Now we can celebrate and reward ourselves. I’m so excited for the whole team. We are 12 deep and that’s been our motto all along.’’
The third WheelKings player in the Gliders team, Kylie Gauci, was also jubilant. "it's great to head home with a medal after we were so devastated to lose the semi. Our team really hung together to fight out the win for the bronze. It was a good feeling."
A full report on the Gliders can be seen at http://www.basketball.net.au/fs_newsitem.asp?id=81207&orgID=1&Oname=BA&O1c=8&O10c=3
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