Australian Skates – Slamstyle
A disappointing end to their campaign in Rio saw Australia finish the 2016 Paralympics in sixth place.
The world champions came into the tournament with high hopes and were looking for gold after an impressive start to the tournament.
The opening game saw a dominant display from Australia in a 70-50 crushing victory over the Netherlands.
A comeback victory over Turkey followed, with the Rollers overcoming a six-point deficit in the final period to finally bow out 62-60.
Reigning Paralympic champions Canada were the next to fall victim to what was shaping up to be an Australian giant, the Rollers maintained their perfect start with a hard-fought 78-53 victory in a resounding affair against the North Americans.
It was mostly downhill from there though, as Ben Ettridge’s men lost momentum at the end of a grueling programme.
Just 16 hours after accounting for the Canadians, Australia had to back down against eventual silver medalists Spain in a match where fatigue clearly played a part, the Spaniards too good in a 75-64 win.
Normal order seemed to have been restored in the next game as Australia rallied to defeat Japan 68-55, completing the group stage with a 4-1 record.
That put Ettridge’s team into a quarter-final clash against Great Britain, which appeared to be going according to plan as the Aussies clawed their way to a two-point lead at half-time.
But things changed after the main break, a 45-20 demolition job by the British saw them win 74-51 to end Australia’s gold medal hopes.
A disappointing finish came with a tight 69-70 loss to Brazil in a thrilling qualifier as the Aussies had to settle for sixth place overall.
The United States took the gold medal after defeating Spain in the final, while Great Britain took the bronze.
That completed a sweeping gold medal win at the US men’s and women’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Despite the abrupt end to their campaign, there was plenty of potential for the Aussies in the tournament.
Seasoned stars Shaun Norris and Tristian Knowles stood out throughout, while a host of newcomers established themselves as the future of Australian wheelchair basketball, including Matt McShane, Shawn Russell, Tom O’Neill Thorne, Joshua Allison and Adam Deans.
The new brigade will have a key role to play as the Rollers look to bounce back with Olympic gold in Tokyo in four years’ time.