PARIS – The Senior Men’s National Team wrapped up the 2024 Paralympic Games with a fourth place finish – its best result since winning gold at the 2012 Games in London.
Canada fell short 75-62 to Germany in a hard-fought bronze medal game on Saturday at Bercy Arena.
“We wanted to keep improving on our positioning, and so we did that,” said Bo Hedges. “Obviously, right now, we’re a little disappointed that we didn’t win this game, and we had the opportunity right there for us, but yeah, when we reflect on this, it’s progress as a program and as a group. Proud of the guys.”
Canada finished eighth at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo and was the 11th seed at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. The SMNT also placed sixth at the IWBF World Championships last year.
“Statistically speaking, we’ve been on a trajectory that keeps going up. Unfortunately, emotions have nothing to do with statistics,” said Nik Goncin. “It stings, nonetheless. I’m sure we’ll be able to soak it in in a little bit of time and appreciate the fact that we got this chance.
“It might pay dividends in the long term for some of these guys – being in the situation we were just in.”
Patrick Anderson paced Canada with a team-high 31 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Goncin added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Colin Higgins chipped in nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
“A bronze medal would’ve been the perfect ending to this run – not just this couple of weeks, but for me, coming back in 2017 and all of the ups and downs, but that’s not how life works,” said Anderson, who concluded his sixth Paralympic Games. “I’m still very proud to have gone on this journey with these guys. I’m really proud of them, and I look forward to seeing what they do going forward.”
Canada led by one, 48-47, through three quarters, but Germany opened the fourth on an 8-0 run and didn’t surrender the lead.
Team Canada finished shooting 26 of 62 from the field, while Germany shot 45 per cent.
“They landed on a lineup that they liked and started taking the game to us a bit more with the press, doubling me a little bit more, chasing me around,” Anderson explained. “They were kind of hedging in the first half, so I was letting it fly, and suddenly that air space closed, and we didn’t figure out how to use that against them as a team.”
Canada led 35-27 at halftime.
The SMNT weathered an early second period push. Germany opened the quarter on a 4-0 run to pull to within two, but Canada responded by out-scoring Germany 18-16 in the period.
Team Canada shot 15 of 32 through two quarters, while Germany was limited to 30 per cent shooting.
Anderson paced Canada with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists. Goncin had five points, five rebounds and four assists in the second quarter. Higgins and Hedges had four each.
Team Canada held a 17-11 advantage after one period.
Anderson had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Higgins added four points and five rebounds.
Complete stats from Saturday’s game can be found here.
Tournament schedule and results can be found on WBC’s website.
Images from the 2024 Paralympics can be found on the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s photo shelter here.
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Wheelchair Basketball Canada 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 a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games. For more information, please visit wheelchairbasketball.ca. Follow WBC on social media: Facebook , Instagram & X
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