LIMA, Peru — Canada's men's wheelchair basketball team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with a 62-42 semifinal win over Colombia on Friday at the 2019 Lima Parapan Am Games.
Patrick Anderson, of Fergus, Ont., had a game-high 20 points and 16 rebounds while adding seven assists.
The Canadians are undefeated in Lima and rebounding nicely from a disappointing showing at the 2018 world championships, where Canada was defeated by Poland in the round of 16.
"I'm feeling proud of our program and the way that everybody has really improved since last summer after the disappointing result at worlds and everyone responded to the challenge to try and climb back up to one of the top teams in the world," Anderson said. "This was a big step for us, but we are not satisfied yet."
Regina's Nik Goncin finished with 14 points, while Bo Hedges of Wonowon, B.C., and Montreal's David Eng had 12 and 10 points respectively.
"It's a relief obviously," Goncin said. "Our job is not done, so I'm trying not to get too excited about it, but it's a big deal for our program."
Canada will face the United States in Saturday's gold-medal game.
The Canadian Press
