European Wheelchair Basketball: GB’s men & women win silver

Great Britain finished runners-up in both the men’s and women’s events at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Sarajevo.

The men were aiming for a record-extending ninth European title, but were pipped 72-69 by Spain in Saturday’s final.

That came a day after the GB women’s team fell to a 66-59 defeat to the Netherlands, who won their fifth title in a row.

Gregg Warburton top scored for the men with 18 points, but trailed for the majority of the game against a young Spanish side hungry to claim their first European crown.

GB were 12 points down after the first quarter, but slowly whittled that deficit down to eventually take the lead for the first time in the game with just over seven minutes to play.

But they were unable to shake off the Spanish, who again pulled clear with a minute remaining and this time held on to their advantage, although GB’s Kyle Marsh missed an attempted three pointer on the buzzer that would have tied the game.

It was heartache again for the GB women on Friday as they fell to a fourth successive defeat to the Dutch – who retained their Paralympic title in Paris last year – in the European final.

Lucy Robinson top-scored for the British team with 22 points, while Robyn Love also reached double figures with 10 points and led the team for rebounds with nine.

In reaching the final, both British teams ensured their qualification for next year’s World Championships in Ottawa, Canada.