World champs

LONDON

Led by Fergus native Patrick Anderson, the Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team won its third gold medal in four Paralympic Games on Sept. 8, beating defending champions Australia 64-58.

Canada ended the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record, solidifying its dominance on the world’s biggest stage.

Anderson also re-established himself as perhaps the best player in the world, scoring a game-high 34 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists for Canada in the final game last Saturday.

“It feels like I have never won anything in my life. I feel like a little kid,” Anderson said in a press release after the gold medal victory.

“(Australia) are a fantastic team and they make you scrap for 40 minutes. It was a great final.”

Anderson, 33, finished the Paralympic tournament on top, or near the top, of every offensive category. He averaged better than a double-double per game and in eight games totaled a tournament leading 200 points (25 points per game), 88 rebounds (11 rebounds per game) and 64 assists (8 assists per game).

In the final game versus Australia, Canada got off to a slow start and had trouble hitting buckets early on. They took their first lead at 4:12 of the second quarter and were shooting just 41% from the field.

Similar to their semi-final victory over Great Britain, the third quarter proved to be Canada’s best. They outscored Australia 20-15 in the third frame, before sealing the victory with stout defending late in the fourth quarter.

Following success at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Team, Canada had its shares of ups and downs on the road to London.

They had a disappointing seventh place finish at the 2010 World Championships and failed to meet expectations for a top-two finish in Guadalajara for the 2011 Parapan American Games - they settled for bronze and narrowly qualified for the 2012 Paralympics.

Team Canada head coach Jerry Tonello said the key to Canada’s success was getting players to trust their abilities.

“The inner champion that was there a few years ago, we may have lost in the four-year cycle, but the inner champion came out and they believed they could do it again,” said Tonello.

“We have had variable results over the last four years. To be able to put that in the back of their minds and reach a peak performance at this time is incredible.”

The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team exited the tournament in sixth place after a 73-70 loss to China on Sept. 7.

September 14, 2012