Dallas Takes Adult Division 1, LA Clippers Win Adult Division II and Tucson Nets Adult Division III Title
After rallying in the closing minute for a Saturday semifinal victory over the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Wheelchair Basketball (NWBA) Adult Division 1’s previous champ, the No. 1 seed Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks dug themselves an early hole in Sunday’s title game.
But once again, they stayed patient, climbed back and ahead and, this time, they were the ones thwarting the late-game rally as they earned this year’s tournament title.
Dallas’ balanced offense had four of its five players score in double figures, and the Adult Division 1’s No. 1 seed pulled away in the third quarter and held on for a 69-57 victory Sunday afternoon over the No. 2 seed MedStar NRH Punishers at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen, Va.
Championship Game Most Valuable Player and 2024 U.S. Paralympic men’s wheelchair basketball team selection Fabian Romo led the way with a game-high 22 points and added 13 rebounds to finish with a double-double, while Blake McMinn notched a double-double, too, with 13 points and 20 rebounds. Aaron Gouge added 15 points and had five rebounds. And Josie DeHart, a 2024 U.S. Paralympic women’s wheelchair basketball team alternate, added 14 points, scoring 10 of those in the first half.
Gouge, 38, has proximal femoral focal deficiency, a complex birth defect where the upper part of the femur bone in the thigh is either malformed or missing. For him, it’s both his legs and his right arm. He’s a 2024 U.S. Paralympic men’s wheelchair basketball team alternate. And he says for Dallas, it’s that balance and even keel that keeps the team successful.
“I think, like, our team culture, just the way that we emphasize sharing the ball and working hard and celebrating each other’s successes, I think that’s such a huge thing, right? When you get a group of talented players together, and they’re just as happy when one of their teammates score as when they score, it’s a special thing,” Gouge says. “And I think that’s one of the things that we’ve always had in Dallas — is that on any given day, several guys can beat you from this team going back to our other teams that were successful in the past, it was always the same thing. If the defense decides to focus on one guy, we’ll feed the guy that’s open.”
Dallas trailed 12-4 in the opening quarter but rallied ahead in the second period and built a 26-20 lead with 4 minutes to go in the half and took a four-point advantage into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Dallas went on a 12-2 run early to push its lead to 46-32 with 4:27 left in the period. But MedStar answered back in the fourth. Trailing 51-43, MedStar cut the deficit to 52-49 on a Harsh Thakkar basket with 6:50 to go.
But Dallas responded big time — with an 11-0 run capped by a Romo 3-pointer that swished through the net as the shot clock was winding down to go up 63-49 with 2:32 remaining.
Trevon Jenifer, a 2024 U.S. Paralympic men’s wheelchair basketball team selection, led MedStar with 21 points. He went 10-of-18 from the field and 0-of-1 from the free-throw line. Thakkar (14 points and two rebounds) and Kevin Atherley (14 points and five rebounds) also reached double figures in scoring.
Chairmen Capture D2
The Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen finally captured their elusive first NWBA title.
After finishing in third place last year and coming up just short in previous years, the Adult Division II’s top seed held on for a 66-60 victory Sunday afternoon over the No. 2 seed San Antonio ParaSport Spurs.
Los Angeles’ Eriban Loyola Soriano scored a game-high 26 points along with five rebounds, while Championship Game Most Valuable Player Edgar Perdomo had 22 points and two rebounds and Alvin Malave added 10 points and two rebounds.
A Los Angeles native, the 44-year-old Malave was thankful and grateful.
“It was a long time coming. A lot of the guys on our team have been playing for many, many, many years. So, to get one like this late in my career, it’s very special,” says Malave, who has a level T12 spinal-cord injury. “We’re doing it for our city of Los Angeles, our disabled community that’s supporting us back home, our family, and we’re just happy to be able to bring home a title.”
For Los Angeles, Loyola Soriano did most of his damage in the first half. He scored 15 points in the first half, but the Chairmen trailed 32-31. Then, Perdomo came alive in the third period.
Down 40-35 with less than 5:30 left in the period, the Chairmen closed the quarter on a 15-4 run. Perdomo scored nine of his 11 third-quarter points during that run to help give Los Angeles a 48-43 lead, and the Chairmen held on.
A 41-year-old Los Angeles resident, Perdomo was born with arthrogryposis and has multiple joint contractures. With San Antonio playing tighter defense and clogging the middle more, Perdomo hit mid-range two-pointers and short inside shots.
“Our thought was just to take what the defense was giving us and don’t force it and play what was available,” says Perdomo through Malave, who served as a translator.
Ian Pierson led San Antonio with 24 points and added nine rebounds. He made 11-of-27 field goal attempts (40.7%)— but struggled with outside shooting. He went just 2-of-17 from 3-point range (11.8%). Savoy Brown added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Israel Melic had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Tuscon Rolls To Division III Championship
Jesse Robinson seemed like he was everywhere.
He’d wheel down court for easy layups and hit mid-range baskets, then go harass Arkansas Rollin’ Razorbacks players on defense and create some turnovers over steals.
But more importantly, he and other Tucson Lobos players fed off each other and were efficient.
Robinson scored a game-high 28 points, while Carlos Reynoso added 10 points and 10 rebounds to lift the No. 3 seed Tucson to a 72-52 victory over No. 1 seed Arkansas for the Adult Division III wheelchair basketball national title.
Tucson caused offensive and defensive headaches for Arkansas. The Lobos shot an impressive 34-of-56 from the field (60.7%) and committed just six turnovers, while forcing the Rollin’ Razorbacks into 22-of-49 shooting (44.9%) and 10 turnovers.
That’s why Robinson thought it was a team win.
“I thought that just to see the team thrive, not just me personally. It can look like a certain player scores a lot of points or things like that, but the team thrived and got me going. And seeing them make shots made it easy,” says Robinson, a Tucson, Ariz., resident who sustained a level T9 spinal-cord injury from a gunshot wound. “So, just learning things like that, it makes you humble. It’s not all you. It’s the team, too. They pick you up.”
Tucson jumped out to a 14-4 lead with 4:57 left in the first quarter and rolled from there. The Lobos pushed the lead to 15 points at the end of the period and to 21 points at the end of the first half.
Offensively, the 32-year-old and Championship Game Most Valuable Player Robinson noticed he could score points by cherry-picking or releasing and wheeling down quickly after Arkansas missed a shot. He scored nearly half his points off layups, going an efficient 14-of-19 from the field, including 7-of-9 in the first half and 7-of-10 in the second half. He says he learned that by watching and studying film, so he knew which shots would be easy and he could get.
Shane Rodabaugh added eight points and one rebound, while Karl Yares had eight points and six rebounds, and Richard Sandoval had six points (all coming in the second half) and one rebound for Tucson.
Jeff Glasbrenner totaled a team-high 26 points and game-high 11 rebounds for Arkansas, while Jared Johnson added 12 points and one rebound and Jwan Pickens had eight points and four rebounds for the Rollin’ Razorbacks.
Glasbrenner struggled offensively, making just 10-of-24 shot attempts — including 1-of-9 in the first half.
National Wheelchair Basketball Association National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament Championships
Adults Division 1
15th-Place Game
No. 14 WWAR Generals 69, No. 16 New York Rollin’ Knicks 45
13th-Place Game
No. 15 Minnesota Courage Kenny Rolling Timberwolves 57, No. 12 Los Angeles Hotwheels 55
11th-Place Game
No. 7 Rancho Halos 61, No. 16 NMCSD WolfPack 38
Ninth-Place Game
No. 11 Memorial Rehabilitation Sharks 78, No. 13 Houston Rolling Rockets 55
Seventh-Place Game
No. 5 Mary Free Bed Pacers 69, No. 10 Seattle Sonics 47
Fifth-Place Game
No. 6 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets 61, No. 8 Utah Wheelin’ Jazz 56
Third-Place Game
No. 4 Golden State Road Warriors 56, No. 3 WASA Marquette Eagles 54
Championship
No. 1 Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks 69, No. 2 MedStar NRH Punishers 57
Division II
15th-Place Game
No. 16 Orlando Magic Wheels 44, No. 14 Sportable Rimriders 35
13th-Place Game
No. 7 Lakeshore Storm 52, No. 13 Magee Spokesmen 47
11th-Place Game
No. 12 Shepherd Stealers 69, No. 11 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets 65
Ninth-Place Game
No. 15 ParaSport Spokane 54, No. 9 Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies 42
Seventh-Place Game
No. 10 Kansas City Kings 67, No. 5 Memorial Rehabilitation Sharks 48
Fifth-Place Game
No. 6 Denver Rolling Nuggets 60, No. 8 Ability360 Phoenix Suns 41
Third-Place Game
No. 3 Chicago Hornets 67, No. 4 LWSRA Hawks 50
Championship
No. 1 Los Angeles Clippers Chairmen 60, No. 2 San Antonio ParaSport Spurs 60
**Division III final scores pending NWBA