Patrick Anderson’s 20-point, 20-rebound double-double led an inspired Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team to a huge 79-67 victory Tuesday over the Netherlands, earning a spot in the medal matches at the Paralympics, in Paris.
Nikola Goncin (Regina, Sask.) put up 16 points, and Tyler Miller (Kitchener, Ont.) added 10 while playing all 40 minutes to take the red and white to their first Paralympic semi-final since 2012, in London.
Roben Poggenwisch finished with 17 points and 12 assists for the Dutch, while Mendel Op den Orth led in scoring with 18 in a losing effort.
“Everything went right today,” said Anderson, to Wheelchair Basketball Canada. “It started in the first half with guys stepping into open spaces and hitting jumpers like Tyler, Vincent Dallaire and Chad Jassman.
“Then we just kept our foot on the gas, and when things got tight down the stretch, Nik was clutch. I was spinning my wheels a bit and watching the clock, and Nik closed for us in a special way.”
Poggenswich made his presence felt early in this game for the Dutch, picking up seven points and two assists in the first quarter to give the Netherlands a 19-18 lead after the opening10 minutes of play.
Canada trailed by one headed for the second quarter, where the offence began to roll — starting the frame with a 10-2 run to open a seven-point lead.
With a nicely spread out offence between the bench group of Miller, Chad Jassman, and Nikola Goncin, the Canadians outscored their opponent 26-10 in that 10-minutes to take a commanding 44-29 lead into halftime.
Foul trouble allowed the Netherlands to crawl back into the game, converting on a pair of three-point plays in the third quarter to cut the lead to nine.
However, that was as close as the Dutch team would get in the frame as Anderson helped Canada extend their lead, making it 65-51 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Netherlands’ best work came in the fourth quarter, going on a 10-0 run followed by two consecutive baskets from Poggenwisch to make it a six-point game with 2:24 remaining.
Canada managed to get two huge baskets from Goncin and Miller to keep the Netherlands out of reach and secure the victory.
All nine Canucks who entered the game scored, and the team efficient, shooting a tournament-best 64 per cent from the field to put up over 70 points for just the second time in their 2024 Paralympic run.
Semi-final action in Paris is set to take place at Bercy Arena on Thursday.
