Britain defends bronze of men's wheelchair basketball

Britain successfully defended their third- place finish from Athens 2004 by defeating the United States 85-77 in the Paralympic men's wheelchair basketball at the National Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Britain built on their one-point halftime lead through a determined offence in the second half.

They outscored the United States 24-11 in the third quarter, and held off the United States' scoring drive in the fourth quarter for the victory.

British forward Terence Bywater was the game's top scorer with 32 points, a total which included five successful free throws in the last two minutes of the game.

"Although we met a tough team today, we still played really well. Our teamwork is the most important reason for our winning," said British coach Thomas Richford Sinclair. "Our next goal is the London Paralympic Games."

On the Chinese audience's reaction to the game, Sinclair said: "They were fabulous. They have been a most lively and energetic group during the tournament. We have never heard such big noise before."

Forward Simon Munn, the game's top rebounder, and guard Jon Pollock combined for 35 of Britain's points.

Forward Steve Serio and guard Jeremy Lade each hit two field goals in the last minutes of play, but the United States could not offset the British team's steady shooting.

"They started to hit some shots, and we were missing our shots. We weren't getting the stops we needed. Whenever we would get close, they would come back with another score. It was hard for us to overcome that," said U.S. coach Steve Wilson.

"We always try to stop their big three, and obviously we didn't do a good job of that. Terry ended up with 32 points, Simon had 20, and Pollock had 15, which means our defence didn't do a good job," added he.

"They had a lot of experience, and they played like it. They executed.Britain is a really good team. They have been together for 10 years. They are experienced and have been to the Paralympics many times."

"We need to go back to the starting point, with the guys we have, and try and get better."

Center Joe Chambers was the United States' leading scorer with 25 points.

Source: Xinhua