GB men’s wheelchair basketball team building for Beijing

The Athens Paralympic bronze medal-winning GB men’s wheelchair basketball team will be in action for their first competitive event since returning from the 2004 Games when they take on Australia, Holland and Germany in the inaugural Visa Paralympic World Cup in Manchester this week.

Some familiar faces will be on show including TV presenter and GB basketball star Ade Adepitan, but Head Coach Dave Titmuss is ringing the changes as he starts his preparation early for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Four leading players from the successful Athens team – Simon Munn, Jon Pollock, Sinclair Thomas and Colin Price – have been left out to make room for exciting new talent.

“We are already thinking, planning and working towards winning the gold medal in Beijing, so it is crucial that we use this opportunity in Manchester for new young players to get the experience of playing against world class opposition. 

“There is no substitute for being out there in the thick of battle against some of the best players in the world. Blooding players in this way is a cornerstone of our strategy and I’m more than confident that it will pay dividends in Beijing,” he added. “Right now, it’s not about winning the battle; it’s about winning the war.”

The new Team GB faces are Joe Bestwick who has been promoted from the European Championships gold medal-winning junior team; Jon Hall who has been in the senior squad for a couple of years and will be getting his first real exposure; Ade Orogbemi who was a reserve for Athens and Dan Highcock, another former GB Junior, who was voted most valuable player at the 2003 European Championships.

Also included in the GB Team is Matt Byrne who was injured in the last couple of days before the Paralympics and could play only limited minutes.

“They’ll all get their chance to prove that they have the sort of potential that the coaching staff believe they have,” said Titmuss who led GB to a World Championship silver medal in 2002 and the podium performance in Athens.

“I’m expecting to see in Manchester the emergence of the next generation of world class GB athletes.”

The GB team will be captained by Andy Blake and his Vice-Captain is Kevin Hayes. 

They squad is: Joe Bestwick (Nottingham), Terry Bywater (Redcar), Dan Highcock (Liverpool), Fred Howley (Cannock), Jon Hall (Sheffield), Andy Blake (Capt) (Newport Pagnell), Ade Adepitan (London), Ade Orogbemi (Liverpool), Pete Finbow (Bradford), Matt Byrne (Nottingham), Steve Sadler (London), Kevin Hayes (Vice-Captain) (Rotherham).

Staff: Head Coach - David Titmuss; Assistant - David Shearer; Team Manager, Mark Lloyd; Physiotherapist, Ian Blackburn; Mechanic/Bench Manager, Paul Pollock.

The basketball tournament is being staged at the John Amaechi Centre in Manchester and the GB men’s campaign tips-off against Germany at 1.30pm on Thursday (12th May), then against Holland at 11.15am and Australia at 8.15pm on Friday. The semi-finals are on Saturday and the final and bronze medal game on Sunday.

The inaugural Visa Paralympic World Cup gets underway in Manchester on Thursday 12th May and runs until Sunday 15th May. It features four sports – athletics, basketball, track cycling and swimming.

Tickets can be purchased on line by visiting the official website www.paralympicworldcup.com or by calling the ticket hotline number on 0870 8 300 200.

Great Britain had another outstandingly successful Games at Athens 2004, finishing second in the overall medals table behind China and winning 94 medals – 35 golds, 30 silvers and 29 bronzes.

The British Paralympic Association is sponsored by easynet and Visa, and is also supported by lottery funding through UK Sport.

For more information about the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, please contact: Charlie Bethel on 01509 631671 or see the website www.gbwba.org.uk

For further information about the Visa Paralympic World Cup, members of the media can contact Steve Chisholm, Head of Media at Fast Track Events on 020 7593 5200 or see the event website www.paralympicworldcup.com

For further information contact: The British Paralympic Association's Press Office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 383518 or by email at comms@matchtight.co.uk, or see the BPA website at www.paralympics.org.uk