Canada and Australia to Meet in Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Gold Medal Match

Australia and Canada will collide for the Paralympic Games men’s wheelchair basketball gold medal for the third-straight time after defeating their respective semifinals opponents.

Reigning champions Australia will have a chance to capture back-to-back gold medals after hammering out a 72-63 win over USA on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2012 London men’s wheelchair basketball competition.

The Aussies had a strong start as they quickly took a ten-point lead after the first period, but USA came out more determined in the second period to trim the lead down to four at the half.

Despite the momentum favoring their opponents, Australia made life difficult for the Americans in the third period where they fully regained control again and never looked back en route to the final-seat clinching win.

On the other hand, Canada, who is having an impressive tournament, ended Great Britain’s hope as they dominated the host, 69-52, to earn a ticket to the gold-medal match.

Great Britain managed to stay within striking distance after the first two periods, but the six-point halftime deficit ballooned to 20 points heading into the final period after a sizzling performance from the Canadians, who never slowed down for the rest of the way.

Patrick Anderson continues to have an impressive tournament as he finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with nine assists, while Joey Johnson racked up 15 points and 14 rebounds for Canada.

With the win, Canada will have a chance to reclaim the title they won in Athens eight years ago and Australian veteran Brad Ness knows that they will be facing a tough challenge in the finals on Saturday.

“It will be tough – Canada has a wealth of experience,” Ness said. “Patrick Anderson is probably playing the best basketball at the tournament here. It’s a one man show, you’ve got to nullify him and hopefully he doesn’t control the tempo of the game.”

Both teams are undefeated in the tournament.