Easter Tournament Wheelchair Basketball

From April 19-21, the Easter Tournament Wheelchair Basketball was held at the Sport Vlaanderen-Centrum in Blankenberge. The tournament is an international, friendly competition held every year during the Easter period in which the Japanese male wheelchair basketball national team is taking part. This year, 4 teams, namely Great Britain, Brazil, the Netherlands and South-Africa, competed for the rankings in a round-robin tournament. The team of Japan competed against the Netherlands on the 19th, and was on the lead from the start, eventually winning the first game with 65-51. The next day, the team took a sweeping victory against South-Africa with 86-26, followed by a loss against world champion Great Britain with 77-47. However, on the last day there was a magnificent recovery and victory of the team with 59-51 against Brazil, bringing the total to 3 wins and 1 loss, acquiring the 2nd place. The 1st place was for Great Britain with 4 consecutive wins.
After all matches had ended, an award ceremony was held during which Ambassador Hayashi awarded trophies to the Japanese and Brazilian teams for their respective 2nd and 3rd places, praising them for their performances. During the tournament, Japanese people living in Belgium and neighboring countries came to support the players, cheering them on enthusiastically.
The Japanese team will also be taking part in next year’s Easter Tournament in Blankenberge, and the event it is expected to bring the team 1 step closer to competing in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

©JWBF Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation