OTTAWA, ONT. (August 15, 2025) – Canada opened men’s division play at the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup with a gritty 63-47 loss to Argentina on Friday morning in Bogotá, Colombia.
Garrett Ostepchuk led the Senior Men’s National Team (SMNT) with 13 points and four assists, while Colin Higgins contributed nine points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Lee Melymick added eight points and two assists in Canada’s tournament opener.
“I think the game went well today,” said Vincent Dallaire, who finished with four points and four rebounds. “I think starting against Argentina was tough, but I think we played well. We knew what we wanted on offence and we executed it. Just need a couple more shots to fall in.”
Canada clawed back from an early 4-0 hole with six unanswered points – their biggest run of the first – to grab a 15-14 lead after the opening quarter. Canada was led offensively by Melymick and Reed De’Aeth.
Ibrahim Odza scored his first career SMNT points in the second quarter, briefly putting Canada ahead 17-16, but Argentina went on an 8-4 run in the period to take a 22-19 edge into the break.
Ostepchuk, Melymick, De’Aeth and Odza each had four points at halftime.
Argentina extended its lead to nine, 41-32, after three quarters.
“I think we still have to get used to 9 a.m. game times,” Dallaire added. “We’re not a good morning team, but I think it’s a good start to the tournament. We’ll go up against Puerto Rico tomorrow – Game 1 today was pretty good.”
Team Canada returns to action on Saturday morning when they face Puerto Rico at 10:00 a.m. EDT/7:00 a.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 Friday’s game against Argentina 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.
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