Pratt finds scoring touch as wheelchair basketball men make it two from two

Men’s wheelchair basketball captain Phil Pratt was delighted to get back to his free-flowing best as his side triumphed over Canada. 

A rapid start for the men set them up for a comfortable 88-58 win over Canada, a team they beat in the quarter-finals en route to bronze in Tokyo 2020. 

Meanwhile, the women started slowly in both halves as they lost 63-54 to Canada for their first defeat at Paris 2024. 

In the men’s match, Lee Manning provided the perfect platform for Great Britain’s victory, outscoring Canada 15 to 14 in the first quarter as ParalympicsGB built a 15-point lead. 

The Canadians then grew into the game but were never able to reel in GB, who were able to add some fun into the game, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Pratt. 

“It felt great,” the 30-year-old said. “Offensively against the German team, obviously Gregg [Warburton] was unbelievable, but me, mainly, I really took a while to get into the game offensively, some of the other guys as well.  

“Today we played a lot of free-flowing basketball, we scored almost 90 points against a world-class opposition, playing against the greatest of all time in Patrick Anderson, it is never an easy task so I am proud of our guys. 

“The three-pointer was cool but the pass from Terry [Bywater] was unbelievable, and having the crowd reaction.  

“The crowd were unbelievable throughout the whole game. For the last 10 minutes, they didn’t stop, they were doing the Mexican wave, they were going crazy.  

“It was actually nice to get subbed out so I could take it all in, it was amazing.” 

ParalympicsGB round out their pool stage against the hosts France on Monday. 

Meanwhile, captain Sophie Carrigill has called for her women’s side to stay united after suffering their first loss of Paris 2024.

GB held a narrow advantage after the first quarter before the momentum switched to the team in red. 

ParalympicsGB, who were led in points by Amy Conroy, were able to make a comeback in the final quarter but were not able to fully overturn the deficit. 

They will next play reigning silver medallists China tomorrow at 3pm BST to round out their group stages. 

Carrigill said: “We’ll go away and do some video, watch the game back and group together as a team.  

“The most important thing from this is staying together and staying united, we’ve got another game tomorrow.  

“The competition has only just begun, it is big for us that we go and chase after a win against China tomorrow, that is what we will be doing the rest of the day and tomorrow. 

“We’ll keep our heads up, it was a close game, we really had a good fightback and it is just frustrating.”