Canada maintained their unbeaten record by sinking Israel 55-47 in a quarterfinal match of the Paralympic men's wheelchair basketball on Saturday at the National Indoor Stadium.
Canada's defence limited Israel to just four points in the first quarter, and they maintained their control over the Israeli team for the rest of the game.
Canadian center Patrick Anderson led the game in scoring with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
"It was a close game as we had anticipated. They are a good team and went out there with nothing to lose," said Anderson.
"The U.S. team have beat us the last three times we've played them, so it's important for us to win in semifinal."
Israeli forward Rotem Philipps' basket with just over a minute of play put Israel within six point to Canada. However, Israel missed three subsequent shots while guard Jaimie Borisoff sank two free throws for Canada, securing the reigning champion's victory.
"I don't think we were worried by them but they definitely gave us a great game. They had nothing to lose and we knew they had some good shooters, and could hit the three-pointers. We just had to settle down, and once we had done that, we were able to play our own game," said Borisoff.
"We think we are capable of beating everybody in every game. We have a lot of confidence."
On playing United States in the semifinals on Sunday, Borisoff said: "They are our neighbours, and our natural rivals. They're a fantastic team but we're a great team too, so it will be a good game."
Canada will play the United States in Sunday's semifinals, while Israel advances to classification games on Monday and Tuesday to determine 5th-6th places.
(Xinhua News Agency? September 13, 2008)