In Pool B of the women’s competition, France battled the Netherlands at the Carioca Arena 1 on day three of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
London 2012 Bronze medallists the Netherlands put on a stunning display in the key throughout the first quarter, scoring at 63% to take a 24-6 lead into the second quarter. France continued to demonstrate great teamwork throughout the second quarter, but further sharp shooting from the Netherlands saw the Dutch enter half time ahead by 40-10.
France’s shots refused to fall in the third as the Netherlands capitalised in the paint to enter the final 10 minutes with a 64-16 advantage. The French side continued to battle throughout the fourth quarter, almost doubling their points tally, but it was the Netherlands who secured an 81-30 win.
France’s Head Coach Pascal Montet said: “It was a difficult game – the Netherlands pressure all the time. Tomorrow we have ‘the’ game for us – it’s very important for us to win.”
The Netherlands Head Coach Gertjan van der Linden said: “Yesterday we had a good start to the tournament, today it was a little more difficult; in the second half we played how we can play: strong and organised. In the two games we’ve had now, all the players have played: it’s a good start to the competition. Tomorrow we will play the USA and that will be tough so we’ll have and good practice tonight and then tomorrow we must be fit to play against them.”
For full match statistics click here https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/wheelchair-basketball-womens-group-b-preliminary-wb-9
