Rollers and Gliders Aim for Rio Qualification
The Australian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams will begin their quest for Rio qualification this week at the AOZ tournament in Japan.
Whilst the teams share a common goal, there is no question the challenge facing both sides is stark in contrast.
The Rollers’ side featuring WAIS athletes; Brad Ness, Shaun Norris and Adam Deans require a top three finish in Japan to secure themselves a spot at next year’s Paralympic Games, by virtue of their strong seeding from winning the 2014 World Championship title.
The Gliders however, face a sterner task, needing to win their tournament to book a place in Rio, following a world championship campaign last year that saw them slip outside the medals for the first time in recent Paralympic cycles.
The Gliders have steeled themselves for the challenge by competing in this year’s national wheelchair basketball league against the men’s sides. The Australian women’s team features four WAIS scholarship holders, with Paralympians Amber Merritt, Clare Nott and Sarah Vinci, joined by Georgia Inglis.
With the Rollers claiming a silver medal in London in 2012, head coach Ben Etteridge has regenerated the side in the years following, with a view to building a strong squad for Rio.
“The past three years have been about development of individuals and the depth of the Rollers program. Now its business time,” he said.
In a three-game warm-up series against Brazil over the weekend, Australia fought out a close and physical contest, losing 2-1.
Shaking off some rust after not playing together since a tour of the USA earlier in the year, the Rollers fought back from an early deficit to close within a point in the final three minutes of Game 1 before losing 47-52.
They bounced back to take Game 2, 59-50, powering away in overtime after again trailing in the opening term.
Brazil were keen to put Australia away early in the deciding match, taking a five-point advantage into quarter-time but with the intensity reaching another level, the Rollers clawed their way in front at the main break. The home side were able to get on top in the second half though, earning a hard-fought 64-59 victory.
The Rollers will face Taipei in their opening game on October 10, before facing Iran, Saudi Arabia, Philippines and Malaysia in the group stage.
Despite just three teams participating in the women’s competition, with only one spot available for Rio, Gliders coach Tom Kyle is not feeling the pressure.
“We’ve talked about the pressure a lot, we thought we were best to approach it head on and it will be something that drives us even harder,” he said.
After setting themselves up well for this tournament with a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, the Gliders stumbled slightly with a sixth-placed finish at last year’s IWBF World Championships.
“We had a good result in London but a not so good result in the World Champs as we started to re-build the team,” said Kyle.
“But I’m happy now that we have a mix of experience and youth. That will hopefully see us through Rio and I’m expecting the fruits of our labour to really come to fruition in Tokyo 2020.”
The Gliders will play Japan in the opening game of the AOZ qualifiers for the women before facing China with a day’s break in between. Those pool games will then be repeated with the finals to begin on October 16.
– with BasketballAus