Joey Freeland and Natalie Stafford were awarded with Player of the Year honors for England last week. The awards recognise outstanding and consistent leadership, teamwork and application based on performances both on and off the court. While this has been a great couple of years for British basketball, the future looks to be in threat with funding being cut. They’d have to bet on sports to keep the sport thriving and growing for the future

Freeland was second leading scorer for Team GB in the 2012 Olympics and averaged 14.6 points over five pre-liminary games also grabbing 6.6 rebounds. Freeland currently plays in the NBA for the Portland Trailblazers.

Natalie Stafford was selected after her great performance in London while participating the 2012 Olympic Games. Stratford averaged 15.6 points per game, making her fifth overall in points.

Stafford has played national league basketball in England with Southend Swifts and Barking Abbey but has since moved back to her native Australia.

Patrick Anderson capped off his impressive tournament with another sterling performance to lead Canada to a 64-58 win over defending champion Australia in the gold medal match of the 2012 London Paralympic games men’s wheelchair basketball competition.

Anderson was simply unstoppable as he erupted for 34 points on 15-for-24 shooting from the field and also recorded 10 rebounds and eight assists for Canada, who captured their third gold medal in the last four Paralympic Games.

“It feels like the first medal I’ve ever won somehow,” Anderson said. “I’m not sure exactly why just yet. We were challenged by a really great team and meeting that challenge was awesome.”

Canada was in control of the tempo for most of the game, but not until the Aussies game them a scare, tying the game at 48 with 7:30 left in the game.

However, Anderson was simply too much as he towed the Canadians down the stretch to hold on to the win, which punctuated their dominance in this year’s Paralympic Games.

Shaun Norris scored 19 points to go with six rebounds, while Justin Eveson and Brad Ness added 16 and 12 points, respectively, in a losing effort for Australia.

Meanwhile, USA captured the bronze medal earlier in the day after defeating host Great Britain, 61-46, in the bronze medal match.

Great Britain ended their stint with a disappointing loss, surrendering the bronze medal throne they got during the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

Playing inside a jam-packed North Greenwich Arena, German took control from start to finish, hammering out a 58-44 win over Australia in the finals of the women’s wheelchair basketball competition.

Gaining momentum after a strong start in the first period, the Germans never let the Aussies get into their deadly form especially in the final period where they outscored Australia, 24-16, en route to the gold-medal clinching win.

“We have had many tournaments over the last seven years and we have won medals, not gold, but we have been doing this step by step,” Germany coach Holger Glinicki said. “We had a silver medal in Beijing and now we are at the end, we have reached our pinnacle.”

Mareike Adermann led Germany’s attack with her 15 points and five rebounds to go with five assists, while Anika Zeyen and Marina Mohnen added 12 and 11 points, respectivey, with the latter adding nine rebounds and three dimes.

On the other hand, Kylie Gauci, who finished with 15 points and five assists, was the lone bright spot for Australia, who improved from their bronze-medal finish in 2008 in Beijing.

“I am not crying. I am still proud of my girls,” Australia coach Johhn Triscari said. “It is disappointing that we did not get the gold medal, but I am so proud of the girls and they did a remarkable job.”

Earlier in the day, Netherland will bring home their first medal in the women’s wheelchair basketball since the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, after securing the bronze medal with a masterful 71-47 win over 2008 gold-medalist USA.

Reigning champions Australia will have a chance to capture back-to-back gold medals after hammering out a 72-63 win over USA on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2012 London men’s wheelchair basketball competition.

The Aussies had a strong start as they quickly took a ten-point lead after the first period, but USA came out more determined in the second period to trim the lead down to four at the half.

Despite the momentum favoring their opponents, Australia made life difficult for the Americans in the third period where they fully regained control again and never looked back en route to the final-seat clinching win.

On the other hand, Canada, who is having an impressive tournament, ended Great Britain’s hope as they dominated the host, 69-52, to earn a ticket to the gold-medal match.

Great Britain managed to stay within striking distance after the first two periods, but the six-point halftime deficit ballooned to 20 points heading into the final period after a sizzling performance from the Canadians, who never slowed down for the rest of the way.

Patrick Anderson continues to have an impressive tournament as he finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with nine assists, while Joey Johnson racked up 15 points and 14 rebounds for Canada.

With the win, Canada will have a chance to reclaim the title they won in Athens eight years ago and Australian veteran Brad Ness knows that they will be facing a tough challenge in the finals on Saturday.

“It will be tough – Canada has a wealth of experience,” Ness said. “Patrick Anderson is probably playing the best basketball at the tournament here. It’s a one man show, you’ve got to nullify him and hopefully he doesn’t control the tempo of the game.”

Both teams are undefeated in the tournament.

Australia, the 2008 bronze medalist in Beijing, displayed tremendous composure down the stretch to escape with a dramatic 40-39 win over defending champion USA in their semis showdown.

The Aussies were in full control and looked headed to a comfortable win, but the Americans gave them a huge scare down the stretch. USA unleashed a 9-0 run to pull within a point with 27 seconds left in the game, but Australia managed to hold on to the win, dethroning the Americans.

“The basketball Gods are on our side,” Australia coach John Triscari said. “It comes down to the ball to drop and the right things to go your way because this competition is so tight. But holding the number one team in the world to two points in the third quarter: that is where the job was done.”

With the win, the Aussies arranged a title showdown with Germany who also posted a thrilling win.

After letting Netherlands dominate them in the second quarter, Germany managed to escape with a pulsating 49-46 win to advance to their second-straight Paralympic Games gold medal match.

Marina Mohnen spearheaded Germany’s attack with her 20 points and five rebounds and the team captain is looking forward to their showdown with the Aussies.

“They play very tough defense,” Mohnen said referring to Australia. “They really try to destroy the teams they play against. We’ll see what works tomorrow.”

GB Men got a huge scare down the stretch but they managed to hold off Turkey, 75-70, to advance to the semifinals of the 2012 London Paralympic Games men’s wheelchair basketball competition.

The host squad went toe-to-toe with Turkey in the first two quarters and managed to take a two-point lead before the halftime break. And after gaining a lot of momentum, Great Britain had a sizzling performance in the third quarter to build a nine-point lead heading into the final period.

Great Britain looked bounded to an easy win, but the Turkish side gave them a scare down the stretch.

With Great Britain leading 71-62 with two minutes left in their quarterfinal match, Turkey unleashed a huge rally to pull within a point with 20 seconds left in the game before GB star Terry Bywater sealed the win with four cold-blooded free throws.

“They tried coming back with the fouls but Terry is a true professional and that’s why he is the leading all-time free throw percentage shooter in the Paralympics Games,” said Great Britain coach Murray Tresseder. “The ball’s in good hands with him at that stage.”

With the win, Great Britain arranged a semi-final duel with Canada, who dominated Spain, 77-51, in their quarterfinal match.

Canada, who finished with the silver medal in Beijing four years ago, defeated Great Britain by 16 points in the group stages, but GB team captain Matt Byrne expressed confidence about their chances in the final four.

“We’ve been in semi-finals before and hopefully this time we’ll get that win,” Byrne confidently said.

Meanwhile defending champion Australia had a short work against Poland as they hammered out a 76-53 win that pit them with semis clash with USA, who scored a 57-46 win over Germany to book the final-four seat.

2012 London Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Quarterfinals Results (Wednesday – September 5)

• Germany 46 – 57 USA
• Turkey 70 – 75 Great Britain
• Canada 77 – 51 Spain
• Australia 76 – 53 Poland

Germany unleashed a huge rally in the fourth quarter to escape with a hard-earned 55-44 win over Great Britain in the quarterfinals of the 2012 London Paralympic Games women’s wheelchair basketball competition.

Great Britain managed to take a four-point lead at the end of the first period, but Germany buckled down in the second period to take a precarious one-point lead at the half.

The host country managed to make headways in the third period, but Germany finished the game with a huge 17-3 run that spelled doom for Great Britain, while the Germans extended their unbeaten run.

Annika Zeyen was simply too hot to handle on Tuesday night as he racked up a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds to go with four assists, while Gesche Schuenemann added nine points and 14 rebounds for Great Britain, who remained undefeated in five games in the tournament.

With the win, Germany arranged a semifinals duel with Netherlands, who defeated China, 59-37, in the quarterfinal duel.

Netherlands came out firing in the first quarter as they quickly took a 13-6 lead after the first ten minutes of the game and withstand a solid challenge from the Chinese squad to retain control of the match. They never looked back from then on en route to the lopsided win.

Meanwhile, defending champions USA and defending bronze medalist Australia also arranged their own semis showdown by dispatching their respective opponents in the final eight.

USA leaned on a furious rally in the final period to escape with a 67-55 win over Canada, while Australia dismantled Mexico, 62-37, to earn a final-four slot.

2012 London Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Quarterfinals Results (Tuesday – September 4)

• Australia 62 – 37 Mexico
• Netherlands 59 – 37 China
• Germany 55 – 44 Great Britain
• USA 67 – 55 Canada

Great Britain leaned on a strong start to hammer out a dominating 71-55 win over Japan in the final day of group play on Monday night.

Terry Bywater played the hero’s role for Great Britain once again as he finished with 19 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists, helping the host score their third-straight win after their disappointing start.

“It was another bulldog performance and that was a phenomenal basketball,” Bywater said. “I feel I’m peaking at the right time after a tough year with injury. It’s not about me though; it’s about the team performance. We had a tough start but we’ve taken two defeats on the chin but bounced back and showed our character. Other teams might have slumped but we’ve emerged stronger for it.”

Simon Munn also had a productive night for Great Britain, racking up 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ian Sagar added 11 points and seven rebounds, keeping the team’s hope of equaling or even improving from their bronze-medal finish in 2008 in Beijing.

Meanwhile, defending champions Canada finished the group play with a bang as they trumped Colombia, 68-42, to sweep and finish on top of Group B.

Dave Durepos led the Canadian’s offensive attack with 18 points, while Patrick Anderson and Bo Hedges added 13 and 10 points, respectively, with the latter adding six assists.

On the other hand, Australia, the silver-medalist in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, defeated Italy, 68-48, to finish on top of Group A with their 5-0 record.

2012 London Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Five Results (Monday – September 3)

• Canada 68 – 42 Colombia
• Italy 48 – 68 Australia
• Japan 55 – 71 Great Britain
• Turkey 79 – 54 South Africa
• Germany 73 – 63 Poland
• USA 63 – 55 Spain

Led by four players who finished in double figures, Germany hammered out a dominating 68-28 win over Mexico to stay unbeaten, clinching the top spot in Group B.

Mareike Aderman spearheaded the German’s attack as she finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Marina Mohnen, who is having an outstanding tournament, added 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Annika Zeyen also had a share of the spotlight, scoring 12 points and five rebounds to go with six assists, while Gesche Schuenemann had 11 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists for Germany, who were never threatened as the dominated right from the first period.

Meanwhile, after helping Great Britain earn a free ticket to the quarterfinals, Canada trumped the host, 67-50, to finish third in Group B behind Australia and Netherlands.

Janet McLachlan had another dominating night as he racked up 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Katie Harnock added 20 and 18 points, respectively, with the latter adding eight rebounds and eight assists for Canada, who finished with the round with 3-1 record.

Despite the defeat, Great Britain coach Garry Peel remained optimistic about their chances, saying that they can go up against the top teams in the other group including their quarterfinal foe, the undefeated Germany women side.

“The pressure’s off for us now. Our goal is the top four and we’re sticking to that, but we know we can take anybody in the other pool,” Peel said. “If we start tomorrow like we did today we’ll rattle the Germans.”

Great Britain finished with 1-3 record in the preliminary round to finish fourth in Group B.

2012 London Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Five Results (Monday – September 3)

• Mexico 28 – 69 Germany
• Great Britain 50 – 67 Canada
• China 65 – 68 USA
• Brazil 42 – 55 Netherlands

The 2008 Beijing Paralympics gold medalist Australia secured the top spot in Group A after hammering out a convincing 65-49 win over USA.

Shaun Norris led Australia with 16 points, but it was Justin Eveson who made the biggest impact as he finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds to go with nine assists and two blocks, helping the Aussies solidify their gold-medal bid.

With the loss, USA, who has no player that finished in double figures, dropped to 2-2, but has already assured a spot in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.

Meanwhile, 2008 silver medalist Canada also protected their unblemished record with a 73-66 win over Germany.

Patrick Anderson was simply unstoppable as he recorded a triple-double with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists for Canada, who pulled away in the second period and never looked back for the rest of the way.

Dirk Passiwan, on the other hand, had another dominating performance, finishing with 29 points to go with eight rebounds and eight assists, but it was not enough for Germany, who absorbed their first defeat of the tournament but are also a shoe-in in the next round.

Meanwhile, Great Britain solidified their grip on the third spot in Group B after trumping Poland, 87-58, to score their second-straight victory after starting the tournament with two-straight setbacks.

2012 London Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Two Results (Sunday – September 2)

• Colombia 49 – 63 Japan
• South Africa 32 – 61 Italy
• Germany 66 – 73 Canada
• Poland 58 – 87 Great Britain
• Australia 65 – 49 USA
• Spain 67 – 64 Turkey

Australia, who are looking to improve from their third-place finish in Beijing in 2008, escaped with a hard-earned 58-49 win over Group A rival Netherlands, who took their first defeat of the tournament.

In a battle of two undefeated teams, the Aussies came out playing with higher sense of urgency as they built an 18-12 lead after the first period and extended it to ten points at the half.

Netherlands attempted to make a comeback, but Australia had answers for their several runs, preventing a collapse with their tremendous defensive sets.

Mariska Beijer, who averaged 30 points in their first two games, was hounded by the Aussies all-game long and was limited to just seven points and five rebounds.

Amber Merritt led Australia with 19 points and five rebounds, while Cobi Crispin added 10 points and seven boards.

Meanwhile, the Great Britain women, who had a day-off on Sunday night, earned a ticket to the next round after Canada trounced Brazil, 65-51, in another Group A action.

Janet McLachlan had another tremendous night as she finished with 36 points and 23 rebounds, helping Canada improve to 2-1 to force a tie with Netherlands in the second spot in Group A.

With the loss, Brazil dropped to 0-3 and will not have a chance to unseat Great Britain on the fourth spot after the host defeated them in the group play last Saturday.

All eight teams that will advance to the next round have been determined and will fight four higher rankings in the final day of the tournament on Monday.

2012 London Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Three Results (Sunday – September 2)

• Germany 56 – 50 China
• Mexico 50 – 42 France
• Canada 65 – 51 Brazil
• Netherlands 49 – 58 Australia

GB women kept their medal hopes alive after escaping with a hard-earned 42-37 win over Brazil on Saturday night, handing the Brazilians their second-straight setback.

Great Britain ended the first period with them on top by four points, but Brazil took control of the second and third period to hold a four-point lead heading into the final period.

However, with the crowd backing them up, host Great Britain had a spirited performance in the final period, scoring 15 points while limiting Brazil to just six points, en route to the five-point morale-boosting victory.

“We knew it was going to go right down to the wire, we just needed to hold in there and use our experience and pull out the win in the end game,” said Helen Freeman, who finished with nine points to go with 11 assists and eight rebounds. “You can never quit imagine how good the crowd would be. Today they definitely lifted us and pulled us the whole way through.”

With the win, Great Britain just need to win against Canada will automatically clinch them a spot in the knockout stages.

“We’re feeling great going towards Canada,” Freeman said. “The last game we played we lost by eight to them. That’s nothing. We can easily overcome that and we’ve got a few more things that we can bring out of the bag for against them.”

2012 London Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Three Results (Saturday – September 1)

• USA 67 – 33 Mexico
• Brazil 37 – 42 Great Britain
• France 32 – 76 Germany
• Australia 50 – 57 Canada

Germany, who scored a tough 77-72 win over the host in day one of the tournament, led from start to finish, scoring a 59-46 win over Colombia.

Sebastian Wolk led the Germans with 13 points, while Dirk Passiwan finished with 12 points to go with eight rebounds and eight assists, which was simply too much to absorb for Colombia, who dropped their second-straight game.

Poland, on the other hand, had a strong start and never let their opponent to get into their rhythm en route to a 78-53 win over Japan to successfully protect their unblemished record.

Mateusz Filipski and Piotr Luszynski were simply too dominating as they finished with 24 and 21 points for Germany, respectively, with the latter adding 17 rebounds and four assists.

Spain also remained unscathed with a 71-64 win over South Africa, while Australia squeaked past Turkey for also their second win in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Great Britain absorbed their second-straight defeat with a 70-54 annihilation from Canada, who improved to 2-0 after beating Japan in Day One.

With the loss, Great Britain are now in a tough situation to save their medal hopes, disappointing head coach Murray Tresseder.

“I thought the start of the game was poor from us which is disappointing because that is something we have been working hard on,” Tresseder said. “I was disappointed in the performances of a number of the players and I’m going to throw some big challenges down to them.”

2012 London Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Two Results (Friday – August 31)

• Germany 59 – 46 Colombia
• Poland 78 – 53 Japan
• Italy 51 – 77 USA
• South Africa 50 – 74 Spain
• Turkey 64 – 71 Australia
• Canada 70 – 54 Great Britain

USA looked in control after the third period with them leading by just three, but are controlling the tempo, but Germany suddenly got into a deadly form in the final period.

Facing the three-point deficit, Germany outscored USA by nine points in the final period to escape with the win, starting their campaign with a bang, while the Americans absorbed their first defeat after crushing France, 63-24, in day one.

Marina Mohnen was the star of the night for Germany, scoring seven points in the final two minutes of the game to finish with 15 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists, while Gesche Schuenemann added 12 and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, host Great Britain had another disappointing performance in day two as they dropped their second-straight game after absorbing a humiliating 51-24 defeat in front of their home-town crowd.

Australia, the bronze medalist four years ago in Beijing, dominated from start to finish and never allowed the host to get some rhythm en route to their second-straight win.

Great Britain, on the other hand, are now in a dangerous situation with their 0-2 record, disappointing coach Garry Peel.

“They know what’s coming,” said Peel, whose team absorbed a 63-24 defeat in day one. “They know that’s not the way we play.”

Netherlands and China also kept their record unblemished after defeating Canada, 70-59, and France, 72-34, respectively.

2012 London Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Day Two Results (Friday – August 31)

• Great Britain 24 – 51 Australia
• Germany 54 – 48 USA
• Canada 59 – 70 Netherlands
• China 72 – 34 France

As the Paralympic Games are preparing to start 45,000 more tickets are available. The wheelchair basketball games will started on August 30th for both Men and Women competitions. It is possible that over 100,000 tickets will be available after seating planes and areas have been finalized.  Tickets can be purchased on the official London 2012 website.

Opening Ceremony will be on August 29th and the Closing Ceremony will be held on September 9th. The 2012 Paralympic opening ceremony Athletes’ Parade, will contain 4,000 athletes from 162 nations. Let’s get the ball rolling, the tv listings prepared and throw in a little partybingo.com to get the Paralympics underway!

Stay tuned for coverage for the Paralympic Games and of course news and results for wheelchair basketball directly at Basketball In England!

2012 London Paralympics Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Schedule
Group A

• Australia
• Italy
• South Africa
• Spain
• Turkey
• USA

Group B

• Canada
• Colombia
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Japan
• Poland

Preliminary Round

August 30, 2012
Group A

• Spain vs Italy – 10:45
• USA vs Turkey – 10:45
• Australia vs South Africa – 20:45

Group B

• Japan vs Canada – 13:00
• Colombia vs Poland – 15:15
• Great Britain vs Germany – 19:00

August 31, 2012
Group A

• South Africa vs Spain – 15:15
• Italy vs USA – 15:15
• Turkey vs Australia – 18:30

Group B

• Poland vs Japan – 10:45
• Germany vs Colombia – 10:45
• Canada vs Great Britain – 21:15

September 1, 2012
Group A

• Turkey vs Italy – 10:45
• USA vs South Africa – 13:00
• Australia vs Spain – 20:45

Group B

• Japan vs Germany – 15:15
• Great Britain vs Colombia – 19:00
• Canada vs Poland – 21:15

September 2, 2012
Group A

• South Africa vs Italy – 13:00
• Australia vs USA – 19:00
• Spain vs Turkey – 20:45

Group B

• Colombia vs Japan – 10:45
• Germany vs Canada – 15:15
• Poland vs Great Britain

September 3, 2012
Group A

• Italy vs Australia – 15:15
• Turkey vs South Africa – 19:00
• USA vs Spain – 21:15

Group B

• Canada vs Colombia – 10:45
• Japan vs Great Britain – 15:15
• Germany vs Poland – 20:45

Quarterfinals

September 5, 2012

• Classification 11/12 – 08:30
• Classification 9/10 – 10:45
• QF Match 1 – 13:00
• QF Match 2 – 15:15
• QF Match 3 – 19:00
• QF Match 4 – 21:15

Semifinals

September 6, 2012

• SF Match 1 – 19:00
• SF Match 2 – 21:15

Finals

September 8, 2012

• Bronze Medal Match – 19:00
• Gold Medal Match – 21:15

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Great Britain
• Netherlands

Group B

• China
• France
• Germany
• Mexico
• USA

Preliminary Round

August 30, 2012
Group A

• Netherlands vs Great Britain – 13:00
• Australia vs Brazil – 18:30

Group B

• USA vs France – 15:15
• Mexico vs China – 21:15

August 31, 2012
Group A

• Great Britain vs Australia – 13:00
• Canada vs Netherlands – 19:00

Group B

• Germany vs USA – 13:00
• China vs France – 20:45

September 1, 2012
Group A

• Brazil vs Great Britain – 13:00
• Australia vs Canada – 18:30

Group B

• USA vs Mexico – 10:45
• France vs Germany – 15:15

September 2, 2012
Group A

• Canada vs Brazil – 15:15
• Netherlands vs Australia – 21:15

Group B

• Germany vs China – 10:45
• Mexico vs France – 13:00

September 3, 2012
Group A

• Great Britain vs Canada – 13:00
• Brazil vs Netherlands – 18:30

Group B

• Mexico vs Germany – 10:45
• China vs USA – 13:00

Quarterfinals

September 4, 2012

• Classification 9/10 – 10:45
• QF Match 1 – 13:00
• QF Match 2 – 15:15
• QF Match 3 – 19:00
• QF Match 4 – 21:

Semifinals

September 6, 2012

• Classification 5-8 – 08:30
• Classification 5-8 – 10:45
• Semifinals – 13:00
• Semifinals – 15:15

Finals

September 7, 2012

• Classification 7/8 – 08:30
• Classification 5/6 – 10:45
• Bronze Medal Match – 19:00
• Gold Medal Match – 21:15

In a rematch of their thrilling finals encounter in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, USA got off a strong start as they led by seven points and looked poise to pull away early, but Spain outplayed the Americans in the second period to pull within one point at the half.

Spain managed to stay toe-to-toe with the much-favored Americans and even led in the third period, before USA closed the period out with a precarious one-point lead.

Heading into the final ten minutes of the game with an 83-82 lead, USA pulled away quickly as Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James caught fire to five the Americans a 97-87 lead with 4:27 left in the game.

Spain pulled within six points, 97-91, but James answered with five quick points to shut the door for the Spaniard’s comeback attempt, thus bagging the win that gave them their second-straight Olympic gold medal.

Durant starred for the talented USA squad as he finished with 30 points and nine rebounds, James finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Kobe Bryant added 17 points.

On the other hand, Pau Gasol led Spain with 24 points and eight rebounds to go with seven assists, Juan Carlos Navarro finished with 21, while Marc Gasol racked up 17 points, but it was not enough to avenge their painful defeat in Beijing four years ago.

Meanwhile, Russia took the bronze medal earlier in the day after hammering out an impressive 81-77 win over Argentina – a win that proved to be consolation for their impressive run in this year’s London Olympics.

“Getting a medal in the Olympics is history for new Russia,” said Russia coach David Blatt, whose team won their first-ever medal for the nation in men’s basketball event. “We’ve won three medals in recent years – gold at EuroBasket 2007, bronze at last year’s EuroBasket and now this. It’s been a great ride.”

NBA-bound Aleksey Shved, who will be playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves next season, led Russia with 25 points and seven assists, while Andrei Kirilenko, who also struck a deal with the Wolves recently, added 20 points and eight rebounds.

Candace Parker proved to the biggest factor for USA as she sparked a huge rally for the Americans when she started to take over, finishing with a game 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds.

“She’s one of those players that can really do anything on the court and it’s what separates her from other players,” said USA teammate Diana Taurasi on Parker.

The Americans would not be denied as they started the game with a lot of confidence, building a five-point lead after the opening period, a lead that ballooned to 12 points at the half, led by Parker’s 15 points and nine rebounds in the half.

With the momentum on their side, USA became more dangerous in the second half as they started to take the fight out of France and never looked back for the rest of the way to write another gold-medal finish in USA women’s basketball history.

“It just shows the depth and talent in our country. Women’s basketball, it’s our sport – it’s our sport,” said now a three-time Olympic gold-medalist Taurasi, who finished with nine points and six assists. “We grew up playing since we were little and give it every single little bit of energy we have.”

Sandrine Gruda and Edwidge Lawson-Wade, on the other hand, led France with 12 points apiece, while Celine Dumerc, arguably the most surprising player in the 2012 London Games, had eight points.

Despite failing to end their run with the gold medal around their neck, Dumerc remained proud of what they have accomplished and will go home with their heads up high.

“I’m just happy to have this medal around my neck,” Dumerc said. “We lost to a very good team and we made history for women’s basketball in our country.”

Earlier in the day, Australia captured the bronze medal with an 83-74 win over Russia.

Led by their experienced veterans, Australia held off a late rally from France to escape with an 83-74 win over France to finish with the bronze in the women’s basketball competition of the 2012 London Olympics.

Lauren Jackson, the leading scorer in Olympic women’s basketball history, ended his 2012 London Games stint with a bang as she finished with 25 points, 21 of it coming in the second half.

Kristi Harrower also had a share of the spotlight as she finished with 21 points, while Suzy Batkovic added 17 points and eight rebounds for Australia.

“For us it was about our veteran players,” said Australian coach Carrie Graf. “For Kristi Harrower, a four-time Olympian to come out and have the game she had tonight is a difference-maker.”

After a see-saw battle in the opening period, Australia started to take control in the second quarter, unleashing a 7-0 run that gave them a 26-20 lead before ending the half with an eight-point lead.

With the momentum they got from their second-quarter performance, Australia just wouldn’t be denied as they took a comfortable 56-39 lead and resisted a furious rally from the Russian’s to take the win.

“We didn’t close the leaders down,” said Russia coach Boris Sokolovsky. “Harrower and Lauren Jackson made very many scores together and we could not close them down.”

Becky Hammon had 19 points, while Evgeniya Belyakova and Ana Petrakova added 10 points apiece, but it was not enough to help Russia bag the bronze medal.

2012 London Olympics Women’s Basketball Bronze Medal Match
Australia vs Russia Box Score
(Click for Larger Image)SOURCE: london2012.fiba.com