Paris, France – Great Britain and the United States have secured their places in the gold medal game of the men’s wheelchair basketball tournament at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Both teams cruised to victory in their respective semi-finals, setting the stage for an exciting championship showdown.
Great Britain dominated Germany in their semi-final match, securing a decisive 71-43 win. Gregg Warburton led the British charge with an impressive 35 points, contributing over half of his team’s total score. The victory marked another dominant performance for Great Britain, who have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 20 points throughout the tournament.
Warburton praised his teammates for their exceptional play, acknowledging that his own performance was bolstered by their support. “I have to give some massive shout-outs to my teammates,” he said. “I started off relatively slow, missed some good shots. I tried to stick to the game plan, and it came to fruition in the end.”
The British team’s defensive prowess was also on display in the semi-final. Warburton highlighted their defensive intensity, stating, “Defensively, we were as good as we’ve been. Our mentality coming into this was to be as horrible to play against as we were in the past. We tried to go back to our defensive principles, and that showed today: keeping a world-class team to 40-something points. That’s where our win comes from today – our defense.”
Reaching the gold medal game represents a significant achievement for Great Britain, who have consistently improved their performance in recent Paralympics. After winning bronze medals at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, the British team is now aiming for their first gold medal in men’s wheelchair basketball since Atlanta 1996.
Warburton’s focus is firmly set on Saturday’s gold medal match, where Great Britain will face the United States. He expressed his team’s determination to bring home the gold, stating, “We’ve been working hard for this for a long time. We’re not going to stop now. We want to win the gold medal.”
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