A number of members from the Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team, having just returned from the Good Luck Beijing International Invitational tournament in Beijing, China will be participating at this event. Canada returned from Beijing with gold, after defeating Australia 55-49 in the final.
The NWBA league, one of the most competitive leagues in North America, features some of the best players in the world, including Canada’s Patrick Anderson who will be competing for Team BC. Teams competing will include Dallas, Milwaukee, British Columbia, and athletes from the national team and development pool, representing Team Canada.
The team will participate in four regular season tournaments, including the NWBA Division 1 competition, prior to attending the finals in Lexington, Kentucky.
Many of the players vying for a spot on Canada’s team that will be heading to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games are participating in the NWBA tournament. Canada’s men’s national basketball team has already qualified for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games. However, the players named to the team heading to Beijing will be selected at a camp in April.
The Beijing Paralympic Summer Games run from September 6-17, 2008 in China.
Game Schedule
Friday, February 1:
7 pm Dallas vs Canada
Saturday, February 2:
9 am Canada vs Milwaukee
11am BC vs Dallas
2 pm Dallas vs Milwaukee
4 pm BC vs Canada
Sunday, February 3:
9 am Milwaukee vs BC
Canadian men’s team roster
**The first city in brackets is the athlete’s city of birth and the second is his current city of residence.
Players
Abdi Fatah (Somalia, Africa/Scarborough, ON)
Adam Lancia (Scarborough, ON/Scarborough, ON)
Anthony Purcell (Halifax, NS/Halifax, NS)
Bradley Bowden (Mississauga, ON/Orton, ON)
Chad Jassman (Medicine Hat, AB/Calgary AB)
Chris Stoutenburg (Collingwood, ON/Collingwood, ON)
Corey Smith (Ottawa, ON/Nepean, ON)
David Eng (Montreal, QC/Montreal, QC)
Mickael Poulin (Ancienne-Lorrette, QC/Ancienne-Lorrette, QC)
Shayne Dunnet (Fredericton, NB/Fredericton, NB)
John Burns (Guelph, ON/Guelph, ON)
Yvon Rouillard (Montreal, QC/Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, QC)
Coaches
Jerry Tonello, Associate Head Coach
Marc-Antoine Ducharme, Assistant Coach
Jeff Dunbrack, Team Manager
