Rollers Collect World Championship Bronze

The Australian men’s wheelchair basketball team has collected a bronze medal from the 2018 IWBF World Championships in Hamburg after defeating Iran 79-62 in the third place playoff.

The Rollers didn’t have it all their own way, trailing at halftime before flexing their muscle in the third quarter.

After falling to a heavy defeat at the hands of the USA in the semi-finals, Australia started slowly and were made to pay by a fired up Iranian side.

In offense, the Rollers seemed sharp but a series of easy lay-ups for Iran, saw them establish a four point lead and threaten an upset victory.

Australia was able to hang tough and limit the damage and trailed by just one basket at the long break, before returning a different side in the second half.

A dominant third quarter – in which Australia outscored Iran by 12 points – changed the dynamics of the contest and allowed Australia to play the match on its own terms in the final stages.

Bill Latham top scored for the Australians, draining 17 points, whilst Kim Robins added a further 10.

Captain Shaun Norris scored six points with five assists and Jannik Blair hit eight points and clutched seven rebounds in an excellent display.

Great Britain defeated USA in the gold medal match, whilst in the women’s tournament, Australia defeated Brazil by two points to finish ninth overall.

The women’s title was won by the Netherlands, defeating Great Britain, whilst Germany earned the bronze medal with a narrow win over China.

Photo: Copyright: MSSP Michael Schwartz / Uli Gasper