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U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team Golden at 2007 Parapan American Games
By Susan Katz
// USOC Media Services
// August 18, 2007
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Jacob Counts provided a big spark off the bench, going for 11 points and 10 rebounds in the U.S. win over Canada for the gold medal.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — The U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team defeated Canada, 52-50, in a down-to-the-wire thriller to win the gold medal at the 2007 Parapan American Games. Canada is two-time defending Paralympic gold medalists and current world champions and this is the first time since 2005 the U.S. has defeated Canada in international play.
“This is an amazing feeling and I’m really proud of these guys,” said U.S. head coach Steve Wilson (Racine, Wisc.). “Canada does a phenomenal job of getting you out of your game and we just had to keep chipping away. You win gold medals with great defense and we proved that in this game.”
The U.S. got behind early in what would become a back-and-forth game that saw 10 lead changes and five tie scores. The Americans limped into halftime with a tenuous 24-22 lead, but had shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first two quarters. The team’s offensive outlook remained bleak coming out of the break, as the U.S. missed three consecutive three point shots and then Canada’s Pat Anderson hit a three-pointer of his own to put the U.S. down one.
Neither team found much breathing room until a big three-pointer from Paul Schulte (Bradenton, Fla./Manchester, Mich.) put the U.S. up 52-47 with 43 seconds to go in the game. However, Anderson immediately answered to put Canada back within two.
The U.S. then turned the ball over on its next possession and Canada was left holding the ball with 16 seconds remaining. Anderson badly missed a long three point attempt that went out of bounds, off the U.S., and Canada had one more shot with just six seconds left. They inbounded the ball right to Anderson, but the U.S. defense came up big when it was needed the most. Matt Scott (Whitewater, Wisc./Detroit, Mich.) jumped Anderson hard and swatted the ball away and Jake Counts (Tuscaloosa, Ala./Covington, Ky.) scooped the ball up in the corner as time expired.
“Our defense was what won us this ballgame,” said U.S. co-captain Jeremy Lade (Janesville, Wisc.). “We had a tough time on offense, but we continually got stops that really helped us win this game. It also didn’t hurt that we were able to hit some big shots down the stretch.”
Joe Chambers (Whitewater, Wisc./Davis, Calif.) hung 20 points on the board to lead the U.S. and Counts put together a huge game coming off the bench. He had a double-double performance, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
The U.S. team now puts it focus squarely on the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. Wilson is charged with fielding the best team the U.S. has to offer and he says he’s learned a lot about the young guys who’ve won gold in Rio.
“This team showed me that despite their young physical age, they’re a very mature team,” said Wilson. “When you build a team, you’ve got to build a team that believes in one another and that’s what these guys do. They believe in each other on every possession, whether they are on the bench or on the floor, they’re always supporting each other in some way.”
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