OTTAWA, ONT. (August 3, 2025) – Canada’s men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams both defeated Spain on Sunday to capture gold at the inaugural 2025 IWBF 3×3 Open World Championships in Sun City, South Africa.
The women topped Spain 17-12 to complete the 3×3 Open World Championships undefeated.
“Spain came out insanely physical, we knew they would. They were hitting chairs and, in our face – all over us,” said Kady Dandeneau. “I think we kept our composure and still competed with them and stuck to what we’ve been doing, which is playing our game.”
Dandeneau was named tournament MVP while teammate Élodie Tessier collected tournament All-Star honours.
“I think being any kind of world champion is pretty sweet,” Dandeneau added. “To do it for the first time – it’s history.”
Team Canada opened Sunday’s action with a 15-10 win over Great Britain, punching their ticket to the championship game.
On the men’s side, Canada rallied to a 14-9 win over Spain in a rematch of Friday’s Pool C clash, which saw Team Canada fall 18-12.
“Super cool experience,” said Colin Higgins. “We knew Spain was going to be tough; they beat us in pool play, so we knew we didn’t have much to lose. We came out, we hit a couple of shots and won the game.”
Colin Higgins was named tournament MVP for his performance throughout the 3×3 Open World Championships.
Canada earned its place in the gold medal game with a thrilling 13-12 semifinal win over Austria – a rematch of the tournament opener where they edged Austria 17-15 in overtime.
“My teammates are awesome,” Higgins added. “They worked so hard, it’s awesome to see them rewarded, hitting some buckets today and stealing us the victory.”
Hosted by Wheelchair Basketball South Africa, the 2025 IWBF 3×3 Open World Championships is the first-ever 3×3 wheelchair basketball world championship. The tournament celebrates the growth of 3×3 wheelchair basketball and offers smaller nations an opportunity to shine on the global stage.
This is the second 3×3 tournament for Canada’s wheelchair basketball teams. The women won gold and the men took silver at the sport’s debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Full schedule and results can be found here. Select photos from the 3×3 Open World Championships are available here.
About Wheelchair Basketball CanadaWheelchair Basketball Canada (WBC) is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization committed to excellence in developing, supporting, and promoting wheelchair basketball programs and services from grassroots to high performance for all Canadians. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem worldwide for winning six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal over the last nine Paralympic Games. WBC will host the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships from September 9-19, 2026.
For more information on WBC, please visit Wheelchairbasketball.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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Media contact:
Dhiren Mahiban
Communications & Digital Media Manager
Wheelchair Basketball Canada
C: 416-574-6682
dmahiban@wheelchairbasketball.ca