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Australia’s men’s wheelchair basketball team’s quest to get back among the medals at the Paralympics has started strongly with the Rollers cruising to an 81-39 opening game win over Iran at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza on Thursday.
The Rollers overpowered and outskilled Iran, shooting with high accuracy, dominating rebounds and controlling the tempo of the match.
They established authority from the start, flying out to a 28-8 quarter time lead which they extended to 48-19 at half time on the back of 57 percent accuracy from the field, including four from four from beyond the three-point arc.
The score was 65-24 at three-quarter time and the Australians finished strongly to register a 42-point win.
“The guys came out pretty sharp. We were focused and dialled in and we got to work, which was really nice,” Head Coach Craig Friday said.
“That was probably as impressive a first half as I’ve seen from us for a little while. Our scout was spot-on, so credit to the assistant coaches, and the guys executed it, which is what we needed to do. I thought we played with good aggression, but also controlled aggression.”
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The Aussie Rollers had their 3-point radar on today!
— AUS Paralympic Team (@AUSParalympics) August 26, 2021
Tom O’Neill Thorne, Brett Stibners and @tknowles09 were locked in and nailing them! #ReadySetTokyo #WheelchairBasketball #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/LDhPgbV8oQ
Five players experienced their first Paralympic match – Jeremy Tyndall, Michael Auprince, Kim Robins, Sam White and John McPhail.
McPhail, who had a long wait after being part of the 2010 World Championship-winning side, said afterwards: “I don’t think it’s really even set in yet, just the buzz of being here.. It’s awesome. A decade passed and I’m here. I think it just shows that if you want to do something and you keep chipping away, you can really do it. Hopefully, I’ll be around for a few more years.”
Of the result, McPhail said: “We expected a much tougher game. But I think it’s a testament to the way we prepared as a team. From one to 12, the coaches, all the support staff, we’ve waited so long for this.
“We haven’t played a game in two years and to come out like that against Iran, who are a fiery bunch, they hit chairs, they play tough defence – to have a start like this, I don’t think you could ask for anything more.
“The boys have just been ready since we landed to hit chairs, to play great defence and have crisp, clean offence.”
Iran made it to the bronze medal play-off at the 2018 World Championships, which they lost to the Rollers. However, after an internal dispute, they entered Tokyo 2020 without Morteza Abedi, who had been their captain, and Morteza Ebrahimi, one of their best scorers.
The Rollers are looking to get back into the world elite after winning Paralympic silver in 2004, gold in 2008 and silver again in 2012, before coming in sixth at Rio 2016.
The Australians face Algeria on Friday morning in their second game of the Tokyo 2020 campaign.
Watch the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games live and free on Seven and 7plus from August 24 – September 5.
By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 26 August 2021
Image: Basketball Australia
