Page 49 - 2022 BWA ANNUAL REPORT

NWBL & WNWBL 2022
After a hiatus of 2 years, we finally have a complete season of Wheelchair Basketball League.The leagues which run in concurrence with one another, were originally scheduled to commence May and run through to August 2022 with finals to follow.
NWBL
Wollongong Roller Hawks are the back- to-back Champions defeating our own BELT UP Perth Wheelcats (75 – 66) in nail-biting game which kept audience on their toes until last second. In a high scoring game of finals Tristan Knowles and Shaun Norris were top scorers with 24 points each for WRH and PW respectively.
WNWBL
Finishing their unfinished business Perth Wheelcats were crowned Champions with a convincing win over Sydney Metro Blue Hornets (52 – 35). Amber Jayne Merritt was the star of the night with 30 points and 3 blocks, taking her team over the line.
The league concluded its Finals rounds at Darwin Basketball Stadium from 15th – 17th July 2022.
3x3 Commonwealth Games 2022
What a debut for 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball at Commonwealth Games, both our teams were vying for gold. Kudos to our men and women who became first ever wheelchair basketball champions and runners-up respectively at Commonwealth Games.
Lachlan Dalton came up clutch again like in semi-final to put an end to nail-bitting gold medal game taking Aussies home with 11-9 win over Canada. Beating the Canadians in the tournament opener our men went in with unshakeable belief of making their country proud. Luke Pople was the top scorer for us in the night of the finals with 6 points while Jake Kavanagh from Basketball WA and Kurt Thomson sealed the medal with their experiences for us.
Australia women also had an impeccable tournament bringing silver medal home. After hard fought game against the hosts in the semi-final, our women fell short against the Canadians in the chase for gold. With highest 2-point shooting % in the tournament Georgia Inglis (Basketball WA) was one of top valued player (19.5), one seed above her was our very own Amber Meritt (Basketball WA) (23) making her mark in top scorers as well. Hannah Dodd and Ella Sabljak played a crucial role for being undefeated throughout until gold medal game.
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