Wheelchair Basketball Canada – (Montreal, Que.) – The Gladiateurs de Laval seized the national crown with a 80-71 victory against the previously undefeated BC Royals Sunday at the 2017 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) National Championship at the Université du Québec à Montréal. The Alberta Northern Lights defeated Variety Village 79-70 to secure bronze.

The win marked Laval’s return to the top of the podium since their previous championship title in 2013.

“I really like the fact that we’ve got some new players on the team and every year it seems like the core is there but we’ve always had new additions and it’s a different lineup than the last time we won. It’s really great to be able to bring different players and be able to win this as a club team,” said Gladiateurs player and Paralympian David Eng.

The Gladiateurs de Laval finished the tournament with a dominating performance against the BC Royals. Laval captured the lead early on in the first quarter due to some precision shooting, however the Royals were not going to relinquish their winning streak without a fight. Demonstrating the skill and teamwork that brought them to the gold medal match, BC maintained a press against the Laval team and rebounded in the second quarter to trail by only four points at the end of the first half. Read the full recap.

About the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League

The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) was founded in 1986 and has two primary divisions: the Open division and the Women’s division. The league features wheelchair basketball club teams from across Canada and culminates each season with a national championship for both the Open and Women’s divisions.

The league is fully integrated as both divisions welcome athletes with a disability as well as able-bodied athletes to play in the spirit of competition. It often features some of the country’s best wheelchair basketball players, including past, present and future members of Team Canada.

About Wheelchair Basketball Canada

Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sport governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games.