The United States beat Canada and Australia passed Great Britain to top their respective pools as Day Three of Wheelchair Rugby took place at the USTB Gymnasium on Sunday, September 14.
Japan defeats China 55-38
Japan started strongly and the match was effectively over when the Japanese jumped to a quick 6-1 and closed the first quarter 16-8. Shimakawa Shinichi and Shingo Fujishima led their side, scoring 13 and 14 goals respectively. They also combined for four assists and two steals.
United States beats Canada 37-32
The United States showed an impressive defensive game, alternating full-court pressure with key defense (three players in the 10m key and the fourth trying to steal the ball). The beginning of the third quarter was the summary of the game. With Team USA leading the score 24-21, Canada took four and a half minutes to score their 22nd goal, while the winning team recovered the ball and lasted seven seconds to score their 25th.
Australia beats Great Britain 43-37
Ryley Batt's 22 goals against Great Britain were his lowest scoring in the tournament, after posting 24 goals in Friday's win over Germany and 27 goals in Saturday's victory over New Zealand. Great Britain went with a double or triple-defense on Batt that worked during the first half to keep his score to only eight goals as the match was tied 19-19. Yet Batt was too fast for his opponents, especially in the fourth quarter, when he forced three consecutive turnovers, scored twice and gave an assist for a 3-0 run taking Australia into the lead 31-27.
New Zealand defeats Germany 40-31
Germany kept close until the end of the second quarter, when New Zealand went on a 4-1 run to take its first win of the competition. New Zealand used smothering defense to force 12 turnovers and only had two players excluded during the whole match - five less than Germany. David Klinkhamer and Daniel Buckingham combined for 22 goals, the latter adding eight assists. Palmer Curtis joined them with 10 assists.
(BOCOG September 14, 2008)