Britain’s Gregg Warburton played an extraordinary game, leading his team to win the wheelchair basketball tournament at the Paris Paralympics with a 76-55 win against Germany on Thursday. #ParalympicsWheelchairBasketball
The 27-year-old, a two-time Paralympic bronze medallist, scored 24 points, leading his team to victory in their Group A opener. Warburton, 27, noted, “We had some nerves in the opening game but dealt with them quickly.” The match took place at the Bercy Arena.
“We´ve got a lot of work still to do, but first one in the books, good start.” The Lancashire-native had both feet amputated when he was six-months-old and was born with an abnormality to his left arm, resulting in it being shorter and having only two fingers.
Despite being disable, Warburton gave a dominant performance on the court.
However, the wheelchair basketball athlete was not satisfied with his performance: “It´s far from perfect. I still missed some easy shots. “But I´m happy with how the game went and, most importantly, we got a win. “It was an honour to play in front of such a good crowd,” he added of the thousands of fans packed into the arena.
Great Britain started strong, with captain Philip James assisting Warburton for their first two-pointer. Germany’s Matthias Guntner led a fightback in the second quarter. Despite Guntner’s 19 points, Britain maintained a 32-25 lead at halftime.
During the third quarter of the game, Thomas Boehme from Germany made a three-point shot, which increased the chances for his team. #ParalympicsWheelchairBasketball
Moreover, this victory marks a promising start for Britain’s Paralympics wheelchair basketball campaign.
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