TORONTO, Canada – USA Wheelchair Rugby moves on to tomorrow’s gold medal game with a win in tonight’s semi-final, 65-28 over Colombia.
It was another impressive night for the Americans who controlled the tempo on the floor for all four periods. Coach Gumbert continued to run various line-ups, a successful tactic he has employed throughout the week.
Top scorers for tonight’s game were Clayton Brackett (Birmingham, Alabama) with 20 and Rob Deller (Marietta, Georgia) with 15.
The U.S. advanced to this semi-final after a thrilling 60-59 double overtime win over Canada on Wednesday. That win left the U.S. as the only undefeated team in pool play finishing a perfect 5-0.
Canada was also a winner tonight, advancing to the gold medal round after their 62-38 win over Brazil in their semi-final match up. Those wins set-up an epic battle for Friday night’s final. “We’ve got a routine down this week, and with repetition comes habit and with habit comes consistency and that’s something we won’t change at this point,” said Coach Gumbert looking toward that big game tomorrow. “To all of our fans and families here and those that we see supporting us online – to see the love coming from all those people is pretty special.” With few tickets available for the game, it is sure to be a fantastic crowd at the Mississauga Centre for what many believe is a moment that will go down in the wheelchair rugby history books.
The Parapan American Games serve as a qualifier for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, with the top finisher in wheelchair rugby securing a spot. The U.S. vs. Canada game will tip off at 9 p.m. EST. Tomorrow’s final will be live streamed, check out http://www.paralympic.org/live-sport to catch the action.
Follow the action from Toronto on USA Wheelchair Rugby’s Website Twitter and Facebook pages.