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Australia’s men’s wheelchair basketball team, the Rollers, have enjoyed a rare opportunity to face quality opposition, playing an intense hit-out against Rio 2016 Paralympics silver medallists Spain in Tokyo.
The match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza was the Rollers’ first as a complete group since late 2019. They went down 67-63, but Head Coach Craig Friday took the opportunity to give everyone in the squad a chance to impress before the Australians’ Tokyo 2020 opener against Iran on Thursday.
Assistant Coach Brad Ness said the outcome was irrelevant but the experience valuable.
“We just wanted to get the guys out there and run through some combinations, get a game under their belt before we play Iran,” said Ness, who won three medals as a player with the Rollers, including gold in 2008.
“I think it just blows the cobwebs out. It’s been a long time between drinks.”
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Rollers mainstays Shaun Norris, Tristan Knowles and Brett Stibners were complemented by encouraging performances by a range of players, including Games first-timers Kim Robins and Jeremy Tyndall, while Matthew McShane and former Para-swimmer Michael Auprince made notable contributions.
“We’ve got time now to just revisit this game, watch the video and recover because we actually have trained pretty hard since we got here,” Ness said. “It’s a good time now to refresh.”
Rollers v Iran – Thursday 3.45pm (AEST)
Rollers v Algeria – Friday 10am (AEST)
Rollers v Germany – Saturday 12.15pm (AEST)
Rollers v USA – Sunday 3.45pm (AEST)
Rollers v Great Britain – 6pm (AEST)
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By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 24 August 2021
