(OTTAWA, ONT.) – Team Canada punched its ticket to the Under-23 World Championship with a 55-54 victory over Brazil in Friday’s semifinals at the IWBF Men’s U23 Americas Championship in Bogotá, Colombia.
Canada will play the United States in Saturday’s gold medal game at 4:15 p.m. EDT (stream here).
“It’s great, we’re on to Worlds now. We just made a big step for Wheelchair Basketball Canada again to be able to qualify for the Worlds again,” said head coach Darrell Nordell. “Going through the pandemic and the athletes not playing for a couple of years, for the guys to step up this week, there’s a lot of opportunity for some of these guys in the future with Team Canada. Proud of them all today.”
Brandon Louie paced Canada with a game-high 18 points and three rebounds. Ibrahim Odza added 13 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Broden Broden Nagle chipped in 10 points and three assists in the victory.
“Brandon Louie had the best game of the tournament today,” Nordell added. “He showed why he plays at a college level. He’s played in games like this in the past. We relied on his ability to control our offence and defence and be a calming demeanour.
“Ibrahim, what can you say, a 15-year-old kid, and it’s all lessons learned for him going into the future for Wheelchair Basketball Canada.”
The 2025 Men’s U23 World Championship will take place in São Paulo, Brazil, from June 12-20, 2025.
The tournament will feature the Top 12 U23 wheelchair basketball teams with all four IWBF zones represented.
The 2025 event is the eighth edition of the tournament. Canada finished 10th at the 2022 IWBF Men’s U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Phuket, Thailand.
Canada won Under-23 Worlds gold back-to-back in 1997 and 2001.
On Friday, Canada maintained a 45-36 lead heading into the fourth.
Team Canada held a 35-21 lead at halftime – outscoring Brazil 22-12 in the second period. Louie led the way with 14 points and three rebounds at the break. Odza had seven points, eight assists and five rebounds through two periods, while Bernard Rosello had six points each.
Canada’s U23 squad jumped out to a 13-9 lead after one period, shooting 42 per cent from the field while limiting Brazil to just 25 per cent shooting.
Nagle had six points and four rebounds, and Ozda added five points, three assists, and two rebounds.
Two World Championship qualification spots were up for grabs at the 2025 IWBF Men’s U23 Americas Championship.
Full stats from Friday’s game can be found here. Full tournament schedule and results can be found 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-
For more information, please contact:
Dhiren Mahiban
Communications & Digital Media Manager
Wheelchair Basketball Canada
C: 416-574-6682
dmahiban@wheelchairbasketball.ca