FIBA/IWBF – Ness, Australia shock Brazil in Wheelchair Basketball Comeback

BEIJING (Paralympic Game) - Australia’s Brad Ness scored four late points to lift Australia to a 73-72 come-from-behind win over Brazil.

The Aussie Group B triumph was the most dramatic of all on the opening day’s play at the Paralympic Games here in Beijing.

Defending champions Canada edged a 62-59 win over Germany and hosts China slumped to a heavy defeat to Great Britain in two of the other games.

Here is a complete look at Sunday’s action.

Australia 73 Brazil 72

Trailing by 17 points at halftime, Australia fought back to claim a last-minute 73-72 victory over Brazil in a pool B preliminary game held on Sundayat the National Indoor Stadium.

Australia's first two quarters of play lacked shooting accuracy, and the team had six turnovers. After halftime the Aussies returned with a more coordinated offense and pulled to within five points of Brazil after three quarters.

Benefiting from a foul against him with less than 40 seconds left in the game, Australian center Brad Ness made one of two free throws to bring the score to within one point, 72-71 in Brazil's favor.

Australia quickly regained possession of the ball, and with five seconds left, Ness sunk a two-pointer to give Australia the victory. Of Australia's 73 points, 48 were scored in the paint.

"For us it was important to get out and play. We haven't come from a warm-up tournament and we haven't played a game for about three months. We knew it was going to be tough, but we didn't expect it was going to be that tough," Australian coach Benjamin James Ettridge commented after the match.

"At halftime we reset our goals and came out with a newfound intensity. It was pleasing to me that the players could come out and turn it around. It showed a lot of belief in each other and the team."

Both teams played aggressively, resulting in several collisions, spills and personal fouls. By the game's end, Australia had 22 personal fouls and Brazil had 19 personal fouls.

The game's standout player was Australia's forward Justin Eveson who contributed 39 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

Brazil's top players were center Irio Nunes with 27 points, and forward Erick Silva with 25 points.

Great Britain 81 China 34

Athens bronze medalists Great Britain overpowered China 81-34 in a pool B preliminary game held on Sunday at the National Indoor Stadium.

Led by center Simon Munn (19 points) and guard Jonathan Hall (17 points), the British team hit 49 percent of its field goals and 52 percent of its two-point shots.

In addition to the British team's wide margin of victory, it outplayed China in rebounds (48-38), assists (13-4) and steals (8-2). The British team scored 42 points in the paint, compared to China's 18 inside points.

Although coach Xu Yuanshuang said his team's strategy against Team GB was to widen defense and play a full-court press, China could not maintain the pace or scoring momentum of its opponent. China also racked up 20 personal fouls.

Center Yang Lei was the top Chinese scorer with 12 points.

"First game, first win, that is all that counts," said Munn after the win. "It was a bit scrappy but generally a good match. We didn't really know much about China going into this match."

Both teams' next pool B games will take place on Monday. The Great Britain will play Australia at the National Indoor Stadium, and China will play Israel at the USTB Gymnasium.

Canada 62 Germany 59

Defending Champion Canada narrowly held off Germany 62-59 to win its first pool A preliminary game at the National Indoor Stadium on Sunday, September 7.

Canada and Germany swapped the lead seven times and tied eight times, before center David Eng made the winning basket with 15 seconds to go, leaving Germany no chance to tie the game after a missed a three-point shot in the final seconds.

Patrick Anderson led the Canadian team with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Eng also got a double-digit score.

Three German players scored double-digit points, including Dirk Kohler-Lenz, who also led his team with 12 rebounds.

"I'm not very satisfied with the first three quarters," Canadian guard Jaimie Borisoff commented after the victory. "Because it was the first game at these Paralympic Games, it had a high intensity level. After the adjustment we moved faster and got things under control."

Iran 73 South Africa 62

Outscoring its opponents in three of the game's four quarters, Iran defeated South Africa, 73-62, in a pool A preliminary game held Sunday at the National Indoor Stadium.

Iran bettered South Africa in the percentage of field goals made (48% vs. 41%) and two-point shots made (51% vs. 43%), and easily held off South Africa's surge in the fourth quarter. Guard Alireza Ahmadi led Iran's scoring drive with 24 points.

Throughout most of the game, Iran's defense, most effectively played by forward Ahmad Dahgaghelepour, prevented South Africa from establishing scoring momentum. South Africa hit a higher percentage of free throws than Iran did (53% vs. 38%), and grabbed 39 rebounds, two more than Iran did.

Forward Richard Nortje and guard Nicholas Taylor were South Africa's top scorers, with 25 and 24 points respectively.

"It's our first game, so it was important," Ahmadi commented after the match. "We beat South Africa, but we can still do better. It wasn't an easy game, because all the teams come to the Paralympic Games are good. There are no easy games."

Sweden 61 Japan 49

Sweden held off a second-half burst of speed and scoring momentum by Japan to win 61-49 in a pool A preliminary game held Sunday at the National Indoor Stadium.

Sweden led 33-15 at halftime, but Japan cut Sweden's advantage to 11 points after they managed a 19-point scoring drive in the third quarter. With just over three minutes of play remaining in the game, Japan had pulled to within five points of Sweden.

Sweden finished the game with an aggressive offense, and secured the win after hitting several shots in the closing minutes of the game.

Three Swedish players, guard Hussein Haidari, forward Peter Kohlstrom and forward Joachim Gustavsson, accounted for 50 of their team's 61 points. Haidari was the game's high scorer, with 26 points.

Two Japanese players scored in the double digits. Forward Hiroaki Kozai led his team with 19 points. Forward Akimasa Suzuki scored 16 points, but was then substituted in the fourth quarter after he committed his fifth personal foul, the most personal fouls in the game. Japan committed 23 personal fouls to Sweden's 12.

"I am very happy we won. The first game of the tournament is always difficult," said Haidari after the match. "We did a good job of identifying the Japanese players that we needed to stop."

"Winning the opening game means a lot. If you get a good start, it can take you all the way," his coach Ines Lopes added.

US 76 Israel 53

Leading by as much as 28 points, the United States dominated Israel 76-53 in a pool B preliminary game held on Sunday, September 7 at the National Indoor Stadium.

Team USA outplayed Israel in offense and defense, scoring 17 points from turnovers and 32 points in the paint. They also scored six fast break points, compared to zero fast break points for Israel.

Three US players scored in the double-digits, and each of the United States' 12 team members had at least seven minutes of playing time. Mikey Paye led the game in assists, contributing five of his team's 18 assists. Joe Chambers tallied 12 of the US team's 43 rebounds.

Israel hit only 33 percent of its field goal attempts and 36 percent of its two-point shots, and 13 turnovers proved costly. Israeli forward Dotan Meishar led the game with 27 points and 17 rebounds.

"I am very happy and pretty satisfied with the results today," said US coach Steve Wilson in post match. "It is our first win at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics. I hope we can get more success."

Both teams' next games will be on Monday, September 8 at the USTB Gymnasium, where they will play other teams from pool B (US vs. Brazil; Israel vs. China).

FIBA