Men's Wheelchair Basketball Day 10 Review: Australia takes gold from Canada

(BEIJING, September 16) -- Australia defeated defending champion Canada in the gold medal game, and Great Britain successfully defended its Athens third-place finish in a win over Team USA in the bronze medal game on Tuesday, September 16, at the National Indoor Stadium.

Australia's victory in the gold medal game was its first gold medal in Men's Wheelchair Basketball since Atlanta 1996. Canada's loss was its first defeat of the Beijing 2008 tournament.

Great Britain beat the United States 85-77 in the bonze medal game.

Also on Tuesday, Germany defeated Israel in the classification playoff game for fifth-sixth place; and Brazil defeated South Africa in the classification playoff game for ninth-10th place.

Australia beats Canada 72-60 (Gold medal game)

Down by four points at halftime, Australia dominated on offense in the third and fourth quarters to pull ahead of Canada. Australia, the silver medalist from the Athens Games, padded its lead in the last minute of play by hitting five free throws and a layup. Center Troy Sachs was the high scorer for the Australian team with 19 points. Teammates Justin Eveson and Shaun Norris combined for 33 points, and center Brad Ness had a game-high eight assists. Canada, the defending champion, could not match Australia's scoring pace in the last quarter and missed several shots. Forward Patrick Anderson was the game's high scorer with 22 points. Anderson and center Joey Johnson grabbed the most rebounds of the game (12 each), which ended with Canada's first loss of the Beijing 2008 tournament.

Great Britain defeats United States 85-77 (Bronze medal game)

Great Britain built on a one-point halftime lead with a determined offense in the second half. Forward Terence Bywater was the game's high scorer with 32 points, a total which included five successful free throws in the last two minutes of the game. Forward Simon Munn and guard Jon Pollock combined for 35 of Great Britain's points. US forward Steve Serio and guard Jeremy Lade each hit two field goals in the last minutes of play, but Team USA could not offset the British team's steady shooting assault. Center Joe Chambers was the United States' best scorer with 25 points.

Germany beats Israel 63-54 (Classification playoff game for fifth-sixth place)

Although two points separated the two teams with only a few minutes left on the clock, Germany hit several key shots to pull ahead. German forward Dirk Passiwan was the game's highest scoring player with 22 points, including a clutch three-pointer in the last minute of play. Germany also made important free throws in the last minute. Forward Dotan Meishar led Israel is points (19) and grabbed the game's most rebounds (14).

Brazil defeats South Africa 68-46 (Classification playoff game for ninth-10th place)

Brazil centers Jose Marcos Silva and Leandro Mirando combined for 35 points during the game in which Brazil scored 54 points in the paint, 28 second chance points, and 18 points from South Africa's 32 turnovers. Earlier in the tournament, Brazil finished 1-4 in the group preliminaries and defeated European Champion Sweden in the classification game for ninth-12 place. Richard Nortje of South Africa tied Silva for the most points scored in the game (18).