OTTAWA, ONT. (August 16, 2025) – Team Canada earned its first win at the IWBF Americas Cup, rolling past Puerto Rico 67-29 on Saturday morning in Bogotá, Colombia.
Reed De’Aeth led the way with a game-high 22 points and three rebounds, while Colin Higgins added 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Blaise Mutware contributed eight points, seven rebounds, and two assists off the bench in the victory.
Lionel Tamoki, Broden Nagle, Kyrell Sopotyk and Nasif Chowdhury – each making their Senior Men’s National Team (SMNT) debut in Bogotá – recorded their first points with the Senior National Team in the victory.
“The game went well. It was the outcome we wanted,” said Nagle who finished with six points and six rebounds in the win. “For our game against Venezuela, we need to be harder on chairs and clean up some of the mistakes we had today.”
Team Canada shot 44 per cent from the field and capitalized on Puerto Rico’s mistakes, turning turnovers into 26 points. The Canadian bench outscored Puerto Rico 44-0, while the defence held their opponents to just 14-of-43 shooting.
Canada set the tone early, using a 10-0 run capped by a Chowdhury basket to build a 19-8 lead late in the first quarter before closing the frame ahead 19-10. Higgins paced the SMNT with six points in the opening period as Canada shot 47 per cent from the field while holding Puerto Rico to just 5-of-11 shooting.
At halftime, Canada led 25-18, led by Mutware’s eight points and seven rebounds. Ibrahim Odza chipped in four points, while the Canadian bench outscored Puerto Rico 15-0. Defensively, Canada forced eight points off turnovers and limited Puerto Rico to 12-of-36 shooting in the opening half.
Canada broke the game open in the third, outscoring Puerto Rico 19-11 in the period to extend its advantage to 44-29 heading into the fourth.
Team Canada wraps up Group A action at the IWBF Americas Cup on Sunday against Venezuela at 4:15 p.m. EDT/1:15 p.m. PDT.
The Americas Cup is a qualification tournament for the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, which will take place in Ottawa, Ont., from Sept. 9–19, 2026. The top three teams in the men’s division will earn direct qualification for Ottawa 2026, and the fourth- and fifth-place teams will advance to the Repechage.
As the host nation, Canada has already qualified for the 2026 World Championships. The SMNT won bronze at the 2022 IWBF Americas Cup in São Paulo, Brazil.
Complete statistics from Saturday’s game against Puerto Rico can be accessed here.
Select images from the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup are available through the IWBF here.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair 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.
-30-
Media Contact
Dhiren Mahiban
Communications & Digital Media Manager
Wheelchair Basketball Canada
C: 416-574-6682
dmahiban@wheelchairbasketball.ca