Canada’s men in wheelchair basketball faced a setback in their quest for a world championships gold medal as they were defeated 79-65 by Poland in Ottawa, extending their gold-medal drought to five tournaments. Despite trailing by 11 points going into the final quarter, Canada struggled to convert opportunities while Poland effectively defended against Colin Higgins, the standout forward.
Mateusz Filipiski, the 38-year-old center/forward for Poland, delivered a stellar performance with a triple-double, scoring 26 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists. The last time Canada clinched a men’s world title was 20 years ago in Amsterdam, and they secured a bronze medal when Edmonton hosted the event in 1994.
Poland, a team that has not previously medaled in the men’s world tournament, finished sixth in the two previous editions of the competition in 2010 (Birmingham, England) and 2018 (Hamburg, Germany). Despite their history, Poland will advance to the quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday. In June, they secured their spot in the Ottawa tournament by defeating the hosts, Thailand, in a repechage tournament in Suphan Buri.
Even though Canada fell short by 14 points, forward Nik Goncin gave his team a glimmer of hope with a crucial three-point shot that narrowed the gap to six points with 5:36 remaining in the game at TD Place. Poland had a strong start, trailing 17-14 after the first quarter, and the teams were deadlocked at 31-31 at halftime.
Andrzej Macek contributed 19 points off the bench for Poland, with Dominik Mosler adding 18 points. In a dominant third quarter for Poland, forward Marek Wesolowski scored seven of his nine points as they outscored Canada 25-14.
Goncin led the scoring for Canada with 22 points, followed by Higgins with 17 points, including nine in a solid first quarter. Poland showcased superior shooting accuracy, converting 53% of their attempts compared to Canada’s 36%. Additionally, the Polish team outrebounded Canada 49-38.
In the second quarter, with Canada leading 21-19, Higgins missed two free throws but quickly made amends with a two-point layup. The Canadians managed to build a six-point lead following a basket by Blaise Mutware with 3:55 left in the half.
Both teams missed several scoring opportunities towards the end of the first half. Mosler’s basket cut the deficit to two points at 31-29 with 1:23 left. A missed three-point attempt by Ibrahim Odza for Canada allowed Poland to level the score at 31-31 with a six-point run. Mutware had a chance to give Canada the lead with 2.4 seconds remaining but was unsuccessful.
