TORONTO – Day two from the Mississauga Centre brought the U.S. another big win, besting Brazil 62-27.
The Brazilians came out with an efficient game plan creating a back and forth between the teams very early in the first period but, as the U.S. settled in the margin began to widen in favor of the Americans. Smart defense and some quick goals from Aoki and Wheeler kicked off a stretch of play that would set the tone for the remainder of the first half which ended with the U.S. up 32-14.
Throughout the second half of play the U.S. maintained and widened their lead, controlling the tempo on the floor. “Today we played rugby really well as a team,” said Chuck Aoki. “We ran a lot of different lines we hadn’t run before and our younger guys are really stepping up which is great to see.” Coach Gumbert echoed his sentiments. “Everyone on the team had quality minutes tonight,” said Gumbert. “I was really impressed with the focus we had at attaining the goals we set for the team and for each other, we met every one of them.”
Top scorer for today’s game was Josh Wheeler (San Tan Valley, AZ) with 12 closely followed by Seth McBride (Portland, OR) with 10.
The Parapan American Games serve as qualifier for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, with the top finisher in wheelchair rugby securing a spot. The U.S. will be back on the court when they square off against Chile at 7:15 p.m. EST Monday. Games continue throughout the week with semi-final and final games being held on Thursday, August 13 and Friday, August 14. Wheelchair rugby is one of the sports being live streamed at these Games; check out http://www.paralympic.org/live-sport to catch the action each day.
Follow the action from Toronto on USA Wheelchair Rugby’s Website Twitter and Facebook pages.