Traditional sporting rivals will clash in the semifinals of the Wheelchair Basketball competition on Sunday, September 14 at the National Indoor Stadium.
The United States will play its neighbor Canada in one semifinal, while in the other semifinal, Australia will play the country it views as its arch enemy in the sporting arena - Great Britain.
Also on Sunday, Sweden and China will play each other to determine which teams finish in 11th and 12th place.
United States vs Canada
The United States have a 5-1 win-loss record after Iran forfeited its quarterfinal match on Saturday.
US center Jeff Glasbrenner said the semifinal against Canada should be "an epic match." He added that: "Gold is what we are here for, so now we're only two wins away from that."
Canada remains unbeaten in the tournament, following their semifinal win over Israel on Saturday, September 13. In its preliminary matches, Canada defeated Germany, Iran, Japan, South Africa and Sweden.
After Canada won their quarterfinal against Israel on Saturday, guard Jaimie Borisoff predicted a close semifinal between Canada and the United States. "They are our neighbors, our natural rivals," Borisoff said, "they're a fantastic team but we're a great team, too."
Australia vs Great Britain
Australia finished first in group B with 4-1 win-loss record. In Saturday's quarterfinal, it beat Japan by 20 points.
Following Australia's quarterfinal win over Japan on Saturday, forward Justin Eveson expressed confidence in Australia's semifinal chances. "If we keep doing like today, we will get a good result," Eveson said.
British guard Jon Pollock said that, although Australia beat Great Britain in a preliminary, both teams face an intense rematch in the semifinals. "We feel pressure, and there will be pressure on them," he said.
(BOCOG September 13, 2008)