Africa’s sole representative at wheelchair basketballs global showpiece, the IWBF U25 World Championships, the Sasol sponsored AmaWheelaGirls concluded their programme at the ten (10) nation strong tournament with a loss to Australia.
Coming into the 9th/10th playoff game, the young South African team had endured a somewhat frustrating tournament – producing great performances but failing to close out their games, with a lack of experience at this level being their primary Achilles heel.
The South Africans had a tough week facing Japan, Germany, Thailand and Canada who are all experienced campaigners at this level.
Wheelchair Basketball South Africa (WBSA) Coaching and High Performance Manager Gerry Smith added “The improvement from the previous World Champs tournament in 2019 to this year has been very pleasing for us and we have definitely closed the gap to the leading sides in the world – the future is very promising. The team definitely left their mark in the tournament both on and off the court and we will return to the next edition in four years’ time even stronger”.
“Having the Sasol AmaWheelaGirls not only qualifying for but holding their own in a tournament featuring the 10 best nations makes us as a sponsor incredibly proud and excited for the future. WBSA has a vision to grow the sport and as Sasol we are proud to be a supporter of this vision and continue to inspire these athletes and make a real difference in this sport”, concluded Dean Somerset, Sasol Manager for Group Brand and Sponsorships.
The South African’s will depart from Thailand on Tuesday and will be looking forward to home comforts following a 3-week trip that included a training camp in the Thai province of Supanbhuri in preparation for the World Champs.
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Facebook – Wheelchair Basketball SA
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Twitter – @amawheelaBBall
