IWBF – Qualifying for Paralympic Games concludes

LONDON (London 2012 Paralympic Games) - The qualifying process for next year’s Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Tournaments for Men and Women concluded last week.

Over the past three months, some very exciting wheelchair basketball has been played and, at times, produced unexpected results which serve as further proof of the game’s continued growth on a global scale.

With the Parapan American Games coming to an end last week, all 12 teams that will compete in the men’s tournament in London are known, while nine of the 10 sides making up the women’s field have also been determined.

Here is a look back at the key moments from the four continental championships, where a combined 21 men’s and women’s teams booked their places for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

At the European Championship in Israel, the Spanish men’s team joined champions Great Britain and runners-up Germany on the podium, marking their return to the world stage after a 16-year absence. In sharp contrast, the French – silver medalists at the 2010 World Championship in Birmingham – finished a disappointing 11th.

On the women’s side, France came in fourth – behind Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain – to end their own long absence from the Paralympics.

In Morocco, the disappointment of not having Africa defending champions Algeria on hand was offset by a series of close and enthralling games. Hosts Morocco and Egypt battled until the very end of their semi-final for the right to face South Africa in the final.

The Moroccans made it through but the South Africans proved too strong, cruising to a 83-54 victory.

Winning their continental championship and thereby qualifying to be the sole African representative at the Paralympics will go a long way to make up for South Africa missing out last year's World Championship.

South Korea hosted the Asia/Oceania Championships where the men’s competition saw close games between Japan and the home side. Ultimately though, it was Australia who took top honours as they defeated Japan in the Final. Both teams advanced to London.

On the women’s side, a double round robin saw each of the top three teams – Australia, China and Japan – beat each other. China caused a surprise by defeating Japan for the right to face Australia in the title game, with the latter edging out a 55-54 win.

The Americas QT took place as part of the Parapan American Games in Guadelajara, Mexico, with eight teams competing in both the men's and women's tournaments.

In the men’s quarter-finals, the competition was so close that six of the eight teams could have ended up playing for the championship. Mexico defeated Brazil 60-58, leaving the latter to play for pride, while Colombia held off a strong Argentina side 54-53 to relegate them to the consolation games too.

This set the stage for a semi-final clash between Colombia and Canada. To the surprise of most in attendance, Colombia won and Canada were left to fight for the final Paralympic spot against Mexico, who fell to the USA in the other semi-final.

The medal games ended as expected with the USA handling Colombia to take gold while Canada overcame the disappointment of their loss at the hands of Colombia to beat Mexico for the all-important third place.

Despite coming up short against the USA in the final, Colombia did achieve a huge feat in clinching their maiden appearance in wheelchair basketball at a Paralympic Games.

On the women’s side, Canada and the USA dominated play but it was encouraging to see the growth of the game as demonstrated by the teams that finished third to sixth. A surprisingly strong Brazil side came out on top against Mexico to take bronze and secure a place in London, while the USA took care of Canada and claimed the gold medal.

Mexico, as fourth-placed team, will take on South Africa in a three-game series (with cumulative scoring) to determine the final spot for the women’s Paralympic tournament.

Teams qualified for 2012 Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Tournaments
MEN (12-team tournament): Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, South Africa, Turkey and the USA.
WOMEN (10-team tournament): Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and the USA; last spot to be determined (Mexico or South Africa).

FIBA