Day 11 and 12: Tuesday and Wednesday, September 16th and 17th, 2008

Well, today is our last day in Beijing…All of the guys are on their way to the airport as I type.  Last night was a wild night, and unfortunately things just didn’t go our way in the Great Britain game.  The guys had a rough stretch of physically and emotionally demanding games, and in the end, I think the games against Australia and Canada took everything they had and left them a little short against Great Britain. 

Getting seats into the game last night was the craziest thing I have experienced to this date.  Although we have enjoyed all of the moments here, our one complaint was that the seating in each of the venues was general admission.  Because of that, we had to work pretty hard to get our seats for each game, including sprinting up the stairs, pushing through crowds and saving rows of seats by spreading ourselves across the seats we needed.  It would have been really cool to have a small section set aside for friends and family in each venue, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.  We did get really lucky though because every game we were close enough that the guys could find us right when we got into the venue.

To everyone at home, if you haven’t seen the games, you should be so proud of any team member you have rooted on.  Seeing wheelchair basketball on the international level is something really special, and I know we will never forget this experience.  To go from watching games at home where you get your pick of a seat for the games to coming to the Paralympics and fighting for seats, it was an awesome experience.  Mieko and I cannot tell all of you how grateful we are for all of you following our journey, and keeping your comments coming for the guys.  I know they will enjoy all of it so much more as soon as they arrive home and can see all of the comments that have piled up on the website!

Just a reminder to everyone who has been checking our pictures, we will be posting game photos by Monday September 22^nd (possibly earlier, depending on how we are recovering from jet lag).  We have to wait to post the photos because of the blogging rules set out by the International Paralympic Committee. 

One final very special note, Mieko and I would like to send our thanks to her Dad for helping us keep our blog going while we were in China.  Without him, nothing could have been posted, including game scores, so thank you so much to him for helping us with everything!

We hope everyone has been having fun keeping up with our adventures, and following Team USA in Beijing, China!

Mieko and Kelli

Bronze Medal Game Press Release

BEIJING, China – The U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team was defeated by Great Britain, 85-77, in the bronze medal match of the 2008 Paralympic Games. The U.S. finishes the tournament in fourth place.

“We’ve been through an extremely emotional few days,” said Eric Barber (Whitewater, Wis./Chicago, Ill.). “We were pretty spent and hats off to Great Britain they played an incredible game. This wasn’t the result we wanted, but I’m proud to be part of this team. This is the best team I’ve ever played on.”

The defense the U.S. had relied on so heavily throughout the tournament couldn’t handle the Brits’ big three of Terry Bywater, Simon Munn and Jon Pollock. Bywater lit up Team USA for 32 points, Munn dropped 20 points and Pollock finished with 15 points, including two key 3-point baskets that helped put the game out of reach.

For the USA, Joe Chambers (Whitewater, Wis./Davis, Calif.) scored 25 points, Jeremy Lade (Janesville, Wis.) totaled 15 points and Mike Paye (Warren, Mich.) also hit double digits with 10 points.

“Our guys put our hearts on the line,” said Lade. “We tried to fight back as well as we could, but Great Britain was just too good tonight. We’ll keep our heads up and come back strong.”

Medal Game Results

In the Bronze Medal game of the 2008 Paralympic wheelchair basketball tournament, Great Britain defeated the USA by a score of 85-77.  With this win, Great Britain wins the Bronze Medal.

Australia defeated Canada to win the Gold Medal; the score in the Gold Medal game was Australia 72, Canada 60.  Canada takes the Silver Medal.

Though these weren’t the results that the USA team, family, and friends wanted to see, we should all be proud of how our guys performed.  This was a tournament where any of the top four teams could have ended up in any of the top four spots.  Even though our guys wanted more, they showed that they are all among the best players in the world.

As always you can see team and individual statistics from these or any other games in the 2008 Paralympics, at http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml by clicking on the “results” for that game.  You can also see the cumulative statistics for these teams up through, but not including, these final games on the same web page by clicking on the “Start List” for the Bronze Medal or Gold Medal game.

This will not be the last post to this site for the Beijing Games, make sure to come back to hear more from us, including pictures and other things that we couldn’t post during the Games.

Day 8 and 9: Saturday and Sunday, September 13th and 14th, 2008

On Saturday ,we were up extremely early for the guys 9:00am game against Iran.  Initially, we knew that Iran was going to forfeit the game, but we also thought the guys would get to play South Africa instead.  After taking the subway in at 7:00am (still busy on Saturdays!), we arrived at the venue around 8:30 or so.  We got some great seats as close to the floor as possible (thanks to Mieko) and got set to cheer our guys on.  As they came onto the floor to warm up, we found out there would be no game at all.  Apparently, the International Paralympic Committee would not allow South Africa to play, and Iran definitely did not show up. So, unfortunately, the guys didn’t get to play a game to lead them into the semifinals. 

We did get to see they guys after the game, and we checked out more of the Olympic Green.  We went into the Omega shop, which had a bunch of time keeping pieces from the past Olympics.  In the back, they were selling a bunch of watches, and when Eric and I were walking around, an Omega representative offered a trip up to the VIP lounge.  We obliged, and good thing we did! 

The lounge upstairs was for athletes and their families, and we definitely got the VIP treatment!  Joe, Mieko, and Jana joined us upstairs for some free drinks.  We got to sit outside up on a balcony, relaxing with a direct view of the water cube, birds nest and all of the foot traffic in the Olympic Green.  After about 30 minutes, we were informed there would be some light snacks served.  We were all pretty hungry and had been up since 5:30am without much in our stomachs, so that went over well.  They served sandwiches, a noodle salad, chicken, and fruit…much more than a light snack to us!  The VIP lounge was an awesome experience and we all wished we had known about it before, because there are VIP lounges at every shop in the Olympic Green!

After we sent the guys off to the Paralympic Village, we came back to the hotel to rest for a while.  We woke up refreshed, and decided to head back to the silk market, this time with Jana! 

I don’t think there is any description that could really give you all the feeling of what the silk market is like.  Each floor has aisles and aisles and aisles of a certain item.  One floor is all clothing, another floor is all silk products, the next is purses and bags, and yet another is jewelry.  Every aisle has so many vendors with the same product, and you just have to choose who you want to barter with.  If you can’t choose, don’t worry, someone is likely to try to pull you into their space to try to sell something to you. 

We learned very quickly that bartering is something you have to work at.  If you are a good actor, you will be a good barterer!  The young people in charge of their booths could probably win an Academy Award.  Their first offer to you for any item is always WAY TOO HIGH.  For example, Jana was going to buy an Ed Hardy t-shirt, and the first offer the lady said was for $178 American dollars.  We got a good tip from our tour guide at the Great Wall.  She told us to come back at 1/10^th of what they first offer.  So we worked with the person at the t-shirt stand and got her to come down to the price we wanted.

When you barter in the Silk Market, do not ask how much something is unless you really want it.  Once the price is out in the open, the bartering begins!  If you walk away after they give you the price, they will chase you down, because everyone knows the price is negotiable.  There is nothing in the States that is even comparable to the Silk Market.  You pick your price, and if you are good enough at bartering, you could pay a very low price for some goods that are quite pricy at home (although there is no guarantee that any brand name is legit, in fact most items are fakes).  I don’t know if I covered everything, but it is really hard to describe what it is like to walk through the silk market.

On Sunday, we knew the guys would be playing Canada at 9:30pm Beijing time, and we wanted to make sure we got good seats to cheer the guys on, so we left our hotel around 12:00pm to have some lunch and hop on the subway to the Olympic Green.  We did some shopping at the Olympic shop and certainly bought enough souvenirs for everyone on our list.  We also bought a few more American flags to help us save seats at the venue. 

The first Semi-final game was between Great Britain and Australia, and it started at 7:00pm.  Our tickets allowed us in for that game, so we waited in line starting at 5:30.  The lines at each tent were enormous!  Once the tents to take tickets opened, it was a race to the entrance.  Luckily, once I got into the venue, I got behind an Australian and followed him down to the closest seating.  Mieko and I got all of our flags out and roped off all the seats we needed for our game, and then finally took a breath!  We definitely got some great seats, and then the Canadians started filing in and ended up being right next to us.

We heard the feed from Universal sports blacked out in the second overtime from a few friends and family, so if you hadn’t heard, Team USA fell to Canada in the second overtime 69-62.  If you want to look at stats, here is the page to go to: http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/INF/WB/C73/WBM400203.pdf

Although the game didn’t have the outcome we expected or hoped for, we are still so proud of the guys and will continue following them through to the bronze medal game.  Team USA will face Great Britain on Tuesday September 16^th at 5:00pm Beijing time.  For those of you at home who haven’t figured out the time difference yet (we struggle too!) that is Tuesday morning at 4am central time, 2am Pacific time!

We hope you will all be cheering the guys on, we will definitely be resting our voices on our day off and then right back at it on Tuesday.  Also of note, our women’s team will be playing Germany in their gold Medal game Monday night at 9:30pm Beijing time.

Thanks for keeping up with us on the blog, we all appreciate the support you are sending over our way!

GO USA!

Kelli and Mieko

Semifinal Game Press Release

BEIJING, China – The USA versus Canada match-up in the semifinal round of the 2008 Paralympic Games will go down as one of the most epic games in men’s wheelchair basketball history. Despite leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, the U.S. was unable to hold on and lost in double overtime, 69-62. Team USA will now face Great Britain in the bronze medal game on Tuesday.

“Our number one weakness came out today and caught up with us in the end,” said U.S. head coach Steve Wilson (Racine, Wis.). “No matter how you look at it, this is disappointing. We came here to win a gold medal and won’t have the opportunity to do that. But, I’m so proud of these guys. They fought all the way and worked so hard. It just shows how strong our team is and how much we believe in one another.”

The weakness of which Wilson spoke is free throws. The U.S. was leading 56-53 with just 34 seconds to go in the first overtime when Canada started to foul. At this point, the U.S. was 2-for-7 from the line and in the closing five and half minutes of play – spanning the end of the first overtime and all of the second overtime – the team sank just two of its 12 free throw attempts.

“We had so many opportunities to close out the game and just couldn’t make it happen,” said Jeff Glasbrenner (Little Rock, Ark.). “It’s disappointing, but we don’t want to leave here without any hardware at all. I’m proud of the way our team stuck together and know we’ll be ready for Great Britain on Tuesday.”

Team USA also had to overcome the loss of three key players to fouls. Paul Schulte (Bradenton, Fla./Manchester, Mich.) collected his fifth foul with nearly six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, while Joe Chambers (Whitewater, Wis./Davis, Calif.) and Matt Scott (Whitewater, Wis./Detroit, Mich.) both fouled out in the second overtime.

The U.S. also was unable to contain Canadian all-star Pat Anderson who tallied an incredible 33 points and 21 rebounds. Anderson also hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go in regulation, which sent the game into its first extra period. Leading the U.S. team’s offensive effort were Chambers with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Glasbrenner with 11 points.

“A loss like this can really reveal the true colors of a team and I’m proud to be a part of this group of guys,” said Schulte. “It’s incredibly difficult to bounce back from this kind of loss, but we’re going to be ready to fight for each other in the next one and go home with a medal.”

The bronze medal match between the United States and Great Britain will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 5:00 p.m. at the National Indoor Stadium.

Semifinal Results

USA 62, Canada 69 – in double overtime.

In an extremely hard-fought, double-overtime game, Canada defeated the USA.  Clearly this was the premier matchup of the Paralympic wheelchair basketball tournament.  With this win, Canada advances to tomorrow’s gold medal game, while the USA will play for the bronze.

In the other semifinal game Australia defeated Great Britain by a score of 67 – 54.  Australia advances to the gold medal game and Great Britain will play for the bronze.

The medal games will be played on Tuesday, September 16 with the bronze medal game between the USA and Great Britain starting at 5:00pm Beijing Time (4:00am Central Time / 2:00am Pacific Time), and the gold medal game between Canada and Australia starting at 7:30pm Beijing Time (6:30am Central Time / 4:30am Pacific Time).

Semifinal Update – GAME TIME CHANGED

The game times for the two semifinal games in Men’s Wheelchair Basketball have been switched so that semifinal game #1 between the USA and Canada will start at on Sunday, September 14 at 9:30pm Beijing Time (Sunday, September 14 at 8:30am, Central Time / 6:30am, Pacific Time) rather than the earlier time previously reported.  The game will be web cast at www.universalsports.com starting at 8:30am, Central Time / 6:30am, Pacific Time.

 

Semifinal game #2 will start at 7:00pm Beijing Time and will feature Australia and Great Britain (Great Britain defeated Germany by a score of 71-64 in the final quarterfinal game last night).  The medal games will be played on Tuesday, September 16 with the winners of the two semifinal games playing for the gold medal and the other two teams playing for the bronze.

 

You can see cumulative team and individual statistics from the 2008 Paralympics for these four teams by going to http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml and clicking on “start list” for the two semifinal games.

Go USA!!!

Associated Press Reports on Iran’s Decision to Not Play

You can see an Associated Press report on the issues surrounding Iran’s decision to not play in the quarterfinal game against the USA at http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=13327&DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=1581258 .

Quarterfinal Game Press Release

September 13, 2008

BEIJING, China –The U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team has advanced to the semifinal round of competition at the Paralympic Games due to a forfeit by Iran. The U.S. officially won the game, 20-0, in accordance with IWBF rules.“We’re disappointed that we didn’t get to play a very talented team from Iran,” said U.S. head coach Steve Wilson (Racine, Wis.). “Our team was prepared for this game, but now we have to move on and focus on our next opponent in the semifinals.”

The U.S. will face archrival Canada in the semifinals on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 7:00 p.m. at the National Indoor Stadium.

[NOTE: The game time for the USA vs Canada game has been changed to 9:30am Beijing time.  Please see the later post on this site entitled "Semifinal Update - Game Time Changed".]

 

[NOTE: You can see an Associated Press report on the issues surrounding the USA vs Iran quarterfinal game at http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=13327&DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=1581258 .] 

 

 

Quarterfinal Results and Semifinal Games

The Iranian wheelchair basketball team did, in fact, remove itself from the competition and did not play the USA team in the quarterfinal round.  No team was used as a replacement for Iran, so the USA received a win in the quarterfinals by default; the game goes in the books as USA 20, Iran 0.  The USA advances to the semifinals, and is assured of playing for a medal.

 

In other quarterfinal action, Canada defeated Israel by a score of 55-47.  Canada advances to the semifinals to play the USA on Sunday, September 14 at 7:00pm Beijing Time (Sunday, September 14 at 6:00am, Central Time / 4:00am, Pacific Time).  It is possible that the game will be web cast at www.universalsports.com ; we will post any information that we get on a web cast as soon as we hear.  

 

In the third quarterfinal game, Australia defeated Japan by a score of 72-52; Australia moves on to the semifinals to play the winner of the Germany – Great Britain game (still in progress at the time of this post).

 

The medal games will be played on Tuesday, September 16 with the winners of the two semifinal games playing for the gold medal and the other two teams playing for the bronze.

Bulletin- -Bulletin- -Game Update

A volunteer in China has reported that the Wheelchair basketball team from Iran has removed itself from the competition and will not face the USA, and that the Republic of South Africa, the fifth place finisher in Group A, has been substituted for Iran.  The USA will play on Saturday at 9:00am Beijing time (which is 8:00pm on Friday night, Central time / 6:00pm on Friday night, Pacific time).  The game will be webcast at www.universalsports.com .

Quarterfinal Game Time and Webcast

The USA vs Iran game time has been set for Saturday at 9:00am Beijing time (which is 8:00pm on Friday Night, Central time / 6:00pm on Friday night, Pacific time).  The game will be webcast at www.universalsports.com.

As always, you can also check game times and results at http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml

Day 7: Friday, September 12, 2008

Today was another beautiful day in Beijing, there was blue sky and sunshine. We left our hotel with our tour guide around 9:00am to attack Mutianyu, which is a spot of the famous Great Wall of China. We arrived there around 11:00am, and we took cable cars up to the top of the Great Wall. We attempted to walk the “steep” side of the great wall which was very challenging. The steps all varied in sizes and had a very steep slope. Kelli and some of the others made it nearly to the top. Then Kelli and I continued to walk along the less steep side for about 4-5 towers. The sights were amazing and the thought of the wall being man-made was even more spectacular. The wall extends farther than the eye could see. The mountains are very serene and the surrounding area is pretty remote. After walking the wall for about 2.5 hours we took a toboggan (sled) back all the way to the bottom. The sled was a little shaky at first, but once we got the hang of it we were yelling and sliding down it just like the bobsledders. It was a blast. This is only something that you could dream about seeing, and we hope the pictures are enjoyable.

Once we made it back to the hotel, we relaxed for a while and made our way to our first Peking Duck Dinner. There were 9 of us, and we tackled a full duck, shrimp and beef. The food was absolutely delicious, and we were all completely satisfied. 

Tomorrow we have to get up really early to make it to the first game of the crossovers, which is at 9:00am Beijing time. We know all the guys are really excited for tomorrow, so we must get our rest so we can cheer loudly.  GO USA!!!!

If you would like to see pictures from yesterdays Summer Palace and today’s Great Wall adventures please go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29738229@N06/sets/72157607142895033/

Tiebreakers and Crossovers

At the end of the preliminary round of play the group standings appear to be as follows:

 

GROUP A

1.  Canada                   4 – 1

2.  Germany                3 – 2

3.  Iran                         3 – 2

4.  Japan                      2 – 3

5.  Rep. South Africa  1 – 4

6.  Sweden                   1 – 4

 

GROUP B

1.  Australia                 4 – 1

2.  U.S.A.                     4 – 1

3.  Great Britain          4 – 1

4.  Israel                      2 – 3

5.  Brazil                      1 – 4

6.  China                      0 – 5

 

The tiebreaker between Germany/Iran and between South Africa/Sweden was head-to-head result – Germany defeated Iran and South Africa defeated Sweden in pool play.  Since head-to-head results did not resolve the three-way tie in Group B, the second tiebreaker of average point differential in the games involving the three tied teams was used and produced the seeding as shown.

 

Crossover play began in the morning of Friday, September 12 with the 5^th and 6^th place teams playing:  South Africa vs China (South Africa has defeated China 67-60), and Sweden vs Brazil (Brazil has defeated Sweden 75-56).

 

Quarterfinal games will be played on Saturday, September 13 with Canada vs Israel, Germany vs Great Britain, Iran vs USA, and Japan vs Australia. 

 

[NOTE:  The USA vs Iran game time discrepancy has been resolved.  The game begins on Saturday at 9:00am Beijing time (which is either 8:00pm on Friday Night, Central time / 6:00pm on Friday night, Pacific time).  You can also check game times and results at http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml  .]

Day 6: Thursday September 11, 2008

Today was an awesome day in Beijing!  We woke up around 7:30am this morning to beautiful sunshine outside our window!  It was the second day in a row of pure sunshine for us.  We left our hotel around 9:30am with our whole USA crew (the three of us, the Lade’s, Schulte’s, and Lesperance’s) to go to The Summer Palace.  Melissa and Mary Lade found a great tour guide at the Forbidden City, so we booked her to take us to The Summer Palace and The Great Wall. 

The ride out to the Summer Palace took a little over an hour.  We walked the grounds for a little over an hour and then took the boat across the lake.  Linda did a great job telling us all about the history of the Palace, and we got some great photos that we will post for you all to see. (Check out our pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/29738229@N06/sets/72157607142895033/ )

We came back to the hotel and had some lunch, and took a little siesta to make sure we were ready for the game against Australia.  We arrived in the village and China was playing Brazil, so there were not many available seats in the venue. 

As always, we found a way in at half-time and started picking off empty seats.  By the end of the China game we had all of our seats roped off for team USA.  We had some extra voices tonight, Steve Serio’s Dad and Uncle joined us in our section, and Mark Barr’s (another Paralympian from Joe and Mieko’s hometown of Davis, California) family sat with us.  We had lots of voices, and we sure made enough noise for the guys to hear us.  Good thing we have a day off tomorrow so all of us can rest our voices!

The win against Australia was great, and now we are looking ahead to the crossover games.  Going in, USA is ranked #2 in Pool B, so they will play the #3 seed from the other pool, which is Iran. The game between the USA and Iran will take place on Saturday, September 13th at 11:15am Beijing time; that’s 10:15pm (Friday Night) Central time, or 8:15pm (Friday night) Pacific time.

Keep on cheering the guys on, they are leaving everything out on the court!  Team USA loves all of you, and we can’t wait to see you all when we get home!

[NOTE:  The USA vs Iran game time discrepancy has been resolved.  The game begins on Saturday at 9:00am Beijing time (which is either 8:00pm on Friday Night, Central time / 6:00pm on Friday night, Pacific time).  You can also check game times and results at http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml  .]

Game 5 Press Release

September 11, 2008

 

BEIJING, China –The U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team closed out the preliminary round with a bruising 68-61 victory over Australia. The win secured the number two seed for the Americans coming out of pool play.“This win showed mental toughness for us because we had to put some of the ‘what if’s’ of where we would fall in the pool standings and how we would start the medal round and put that out of our minds and just play basketball,” said U.S. head coach Steve Wilson (Racine, Wis.). “We did a nice job of that and played well as a team.”

The U.S. has consistently used its speed and depth to outmatch teams here in Beijing. Those assets would again fuel the team to a win on Thursday night, but the U.S. was clearly outsized by a much taller Australia team and the Aussies worked that advantage as hard as they could.

Australia pounded their big men – Justin Eveson and Brad Ness – into the paint and then stayed tight on defense, daring the U.S. to win the game from the perimeter. Team USA responded well, taking a 42-36 lead into halftime behind 13 first-half points from Steve Serio (Champaign, Ill./Westbury, N.Y.). He finished with 15 points total.

“It was an awesome all-around effort tonight,” said Serio. “Their big guys are so tough to contain and they play at such an elite level. It feels great to get a win like that, dig down and get some momentum heading into the medal round.”

The halftime break dulled the U.S. momentum and the team started the third quarter cold. Australia went on an 8-0 run in the first four minutes of the quarter to claim a 44-42 lead and then leaned on Eveson’s domination of the paint to take a 57-51 lead heading into the fourth. Eveson led all players with 23 points and 15 rebounds.

“We had to make some adjustments after they put that run on us in the third and we just threw some different line-ups out there to see what would click,” said Wilson. “When Jay Nelms came in, he totally took over and really changed the atmosphere of the game.”

Nelms (Ft. Worth, Texas/Detroit, Mich.) was exactly the spark the U.S. needed. His 15-point performance off the bench included three 3-point baskets, one of which tied the game at 59 with just under six minutes to go. A renewed U.S. defense held Australia to just four points in the final quarter.

“We were struggling a little bit and needed some offense,” said Nelms. “I knew I needed to bring some intensity to the team and once I had my opportunity to get on the court, I was ready. The guys did an awesome job of stepping up and not backing down when they had a challenge thrown in their faces.”

Paul Schulte (Bradenton, Fla./Manchester, Mich.) and Mike Paye (Warren, Mich.) also hit double-digits in scoring, notching 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The U.S. will face Iran in its quarterfinal match-up on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 11:15 9:00a.m. at National Indoor Stadium.

 

 

 

 

[NOTE: The USA vs Iran game time discrepancy has been resolved.  The game begins on Saturday at 9:00am Beijing time (which is either 8:00pm on Friday Night, Central time / 6:00pm on Friday night, Pacific time).  You can also check game times and results at http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml  .]

Game 5 Result

USA 68, Australia 61

To see team and individual statistics from this or any other game in the 2008 Paralympics, go to http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml and click on the “results” for that game.

Game 4 Press Release

September 10, 2008

 

BEIJING, China – Players on the U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team will tell you they weren’t sending anyone a message. They weren’t making any kind of statement. But, like it or not, a crushing 49-point defeat of host country China sends a message. And it makes a statement. The U.S. team was looking to rebound from a shocking loss on Tuesday night to an under-manned Great Britain team and did so with a 97-38 victory over the Chinese.

“Losing that game to Great Britain was definitely not part of our game plan,” said Matt Scott (Whitewater, Wis./Detroit, Mich.). “So, we wanted to come out against China, focus up, and do what we knew we were capable of doing. We’re 17 strong, that’s a big saying we have in the locker room. The only message we were trying to send was to ourselves – to know we can go out there and be the best basketball team we can be. We don’t really care what anybody else thinks.”

The Chinese national team is brand new on the international scene, having never played in a Paralympic Games or World Championships. So, the experience, speed and depth of the U.S. team were just too much for the hosts to contend with for 40 minutes of play.

“It felt good to get out here and do the things we know we can do,” said Eric Barber (Whitewater, Wis./Chicago, Ill.). “It was a good day for us and the best thing about our performance today was that everybody contributed and had a chance to showcase their skills.”

The team’s 97 points came on 61 percent shooting, nearly double the team’s shooting percentage from the previous game. Four U.S. players scored in double digits: Jeff Glasbrenner (Little Rock, Ark.) led the way with 16 points (6-6 FG and 4-4 FT), Paul Schulte (Bradenton, Fla./Manchester, Mich.) scored 15, Scott added 14 and Jay Nelms (Ft. Worth, Texas/Detroit, Mich.) put up 11.

The U.S. finishes pool play with a tough match-up against Australia on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 8:45 p.m. at National Indoor Stadium.

For more information, or to arrange an athlete interview, please contact Susan Katz at susan.katz@usoc.org or 139-1075-4845 (Dial 011-86 plus the local number if calling from the U.S. ).

 

Additional resources available in the U.S. Paralympics Media Room, http://paralympics.teamusa.org/content/index/2257

Daily video highlights will be available on www.usparalympics.org and www.universalsports.com.

Day 5: Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Today we took a day off of our feet and relaxed a little.  On Thursday, we will have a full day at the Summer Palace and an 8:45pm game against Australia; on Friday we’ll be at The Great Wall.  Since we knew what was ahead of us, we took the morning off to have some time to refuel our bodies.

 

We left our hotel around 1:45pm to go to the guys’ game against China, which began at 5:45pm.  When we got there, Australia was playing Israel, and we did a little finagling to get the Aussie’s seats for the USA game.  Good thing because the Chinese people definitely packed the gym to watch the game.  After the game we had some dinner with the guys at a hotel close by.  We are off to bed, early morning tomorrow for a long day ahead of us! 

 

Keep checking back, the guys play a huge game tomorrow night against Australia!!!  It is a must win situation for Team USA!  Keep up all the comments, we love to hear from you all.

 

Mieko and Kelli

Game 4 Result

USA 97, China 38

To see team and individual statistics from this or any other game in the 2008 Paralympics, go to http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/WB.shtml and click on the “results” for that game.