Two Classification matches in the Men's Wheelchair Basketball finished on Friday, September 12 with Brazil beating Sweden and South Africa defeating China.
Brazil defeat Sweden 75-56
After finishing 1-4 after its preliminary matches, Brazil notched its second win of the tournament by easily defeating Sweden 75-56, in a Classification 9-12 match.
Center Jose Marcos Silva was instrumental in helping Brazil score a total of 75 points, which included 48 points in the paint, 20 second-chance points and 20 points that were a direct result of Sweden's 17 turnovers.
Swedish forward Peter Kohlstrom tied Silva as the game's highest scorer with 20 points, but no other Swedish player scored more than eight points.
Sweden's coach Ines Lopes couldn't hide his disappointment during the post-match interview: "We came in with the goal of going though to the quarterfinals and the final spots."
Brazil and the winner of Friday's second Classification game (South Africa vs China) will advance to the match that will decide who finishes in 9th and 10th place. It will be held on Tuesday, September 16 at the National Indoor Stadium.
Sweden and the loser of Friday's second Classification game will advance to the match that will decide who finishes in 11th and 12th place. It will be held on Sunday, September 14 at the National Indoor Stadium.
South Africa beats China 67-60
South Africa won its second game of the tournament when it defeated winless China 67-60 in a Classification 9-12 match.
South Africa overpowered China, stealing the ball 15 times and scoring 20 points from the same number of Chinese turnovers. South African forward Richard Nortje was the game's highest scorer with 22 points.
Chinese center Ding Hai scored 20 points, but China missed four of its last five shots in the fourth quarter so it was unable to narrow the margin. Chinese forward Huang Xunan made two free throws after being fouled with one second left on the clock, but the two points he scored were not enough to close the gap.
South African coach Vivian Sierra showed his class by praising his opponent: "We never take any team lightly, and we have had some practice games against China," he said. "The [Chinese] team is an up-and-coming and hard-working team. I want to congratulate the Chinese coach [Xu Yuansheng] and his fantastic team. In the near future, we will see a lot more of the Chinese team."
South Africa and Brazil advance to the classification game that will decide who will finish in 9th and 10th place. It will be held on Tuesday, September 16 at the National Indoor Stadium.
China and Sweden will in the match that will decide who finishes in 11th and 12th place. It will be held on Sunday, September 14 at the National Indoor Stadium.
(BOCOG September 12, 2008)