News and Announcements
The New Brunswick Canada Games Program is composed of 16 athletes from various areas around the province. They are training and competing for a chance to represent New Brunswick at the next Canada Games in Prince George, British Columbia from Febuary 13 to March 1,2015.
Welcome to the new home of the Maritime Wheelchair Basketball Association!
The MWBA is the home of many wheelchair basketball players from all around the Maritimes. If you are a resident in Nova Scotia, PEI, or New Brunswick, and you have an interest in trying out Wheelchair Basketball, you've come to the right place! We have a competitive division and developmental division for players of all ages both male and female.
For more information or if you have an interest, contact your local club or our League Commissioner Adam Loo at chef.adam.loo@gmail.com and he'll be more than happy to direct you to the right place. Welcome, we hope you can get out and cheer on your local club! Check back often to keep track of statistics, schedules, practices, and upcoming events!
The 2015-16 Season is almost here, we will be hosting our first season tournament on October 17th-18th in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Please be sure to check back for more information including the schedule, location, and highlights of the games.
If you have not yet registered your team, please contact Adam Loo at chef.adam.loo@gmail.com.
We look forward to a great year this season and hope to see you all in the gym!
The PEI Mustangs were proud to host the Maritime Wheelchair Basketball Association League Finals this past weekend in Charlottetown, PEI. The tournament was held at the Holland College gymnasium.
Teams from all over the Maritimes traveled to PEI and braved the storm as they were anxious to get to the final tournament of the 2014-15 season. The weekend kicked off with a great contest between the Elm City Thunder and the Saint John Rebels. Early in the game, the teams traded points until the Rebels were able to rally for a solid run and take the lead. The teams battled hard in the fourth but the Thunder couldn't quite handle the Rebels strong half court coverage. Final score: Rebels 47-Thunder 26.
Next up were the PEI Mustangs versus the New Brunswick Canada Games team in the Bastarache Divison. The Mustangs came out strong and kept the game very close in the first but in the second, New Brunswick was able to apply full court coverage on some key Mustangs. New Brunswick was able to secure a comfortable lead by half-time and in the third, continued to maintain that lead. Final Score: NB Canada Games 65-Mustangs 49.
In the Edney Division, the Antigonish Highland Hawks took on the PEI Canada Games team in what was one of the closest games of the weekend. The teams battled hard early and the Hawks showed they were in the running for an upset. Both teams had many ups and downs throughout the second and third quarters. In the fourth, PEI was able to secure a lead and clinch the win. Final Score: PEI Canada Games 51-Hawks 44.
In the last game on Saturday, the Nova Scotia Canada Games team took on the Elm City Lightning in the Bastarache Division. Nova Scotia kept it a tight game after the first tying it up early. The Elm City Lightning had to re-gather and focus on the task at hand. In the second, the Lightning came out strong and took the lead and never looked back. It was a great fight from the Nova Scotia team. Final Score: Lightning 65-Nova Scotia Canada Games 33.
In the Bronze Medal Game in the Edney Division, the Elm City Thunder and the Antigonish Highland Hawks fought back and forth for the first half of the game. The Hawks had a couple sets of hot hands and their defense was able to lock down the key threats from the Thunder. The Hawks clinched the win and took home the bronze medal. Final Score: Hawks 41-Thunder 29.
In the Bronze Medal Games in the Bastarache Divisin, the PEI Mustangs started out strong with many contributors as scorers. The Mustangs put pressure up and played solid defense in order to secure the win in this medal round. Final Score: Mustangs 67-Nova Scotia Canada Games 47.
The Gold Medal Game in the Edney Division was a tough battle for both teams. The PEI Canada Games team struggled early while the Saint John Rebels were able to cycle through their bench and have several scoring threats on at all times. The Rebels took the lead and led by 17 at one point in this game. The PEI Canada Games team started to fight back late in the third and got within 6 points but were unable to pull off the comeback. Final Score: Rebels 48-PEI Canada Games 42.
The final game of the tournament was the Gold Medal Game in the Bastarache Division. In what became the tightest game of the tournament, both teams had contributors on both offence and defense to keep it close all the way through. The Elm City Lightning earned the lead several times but late in the game, the New Brunswick Canada Games team executed the game plan precisely and were able to pull of the win and take home the Gold. Final Score: New Brunswick Canada Games 67-Lightning 54
MWBA Awards were given out at the banquet on Saturday night. The winners were:
Bastarache Division All-Star Team
Joel Watts
Alex Hayward
Dave Durepos
Shane Dunnett
Robbie Cameron
Sean Wilson (MVP)
Edney Division All-Star Team
John Collins
Brandon Humphrey
Karen Ferguson
Chris Aalders
Sean McCormick
Jeremy Watts (MVP)
Rookie of the Year
Colin Higgins
Most Sportmanlike Player
Logan Aalders
Defensive Player of the Year
Jacob Fudge
Most Improved Player
Liam Hickey
Top Female Scorer (combined Edney and Bastarache Divisions)
Tie-Karen Ferguson and Joanna Swett
Top Male Scorer-Bastarache Division
Robbie Cameron
Top Male Scorer-Edney Division
John Collins
Congratulations to all participants in the MWBA this season. The League saw many successes with the Canada Games, the All-Star Weekend and the MWBA League Finals. All the best to everyone and we will see you all next season.
Adam Loo, League Commissioner
Maritime Wheelchair Basketball Association, sponsored by Pharmasave
Skills Competition and All-Star Game Re-Cap
Another great regular season is close to wrapping up in the MWBA as Elm City hosted the Maritimes this past weekend at Oromocto High School. Things got kicked off with a great day of basketball and several competitive games leading up to the All-Star Game tip-off between East and West teams.
Before the All-Star Game got underway, one player from each city had a chance to compete in the 3-Point Shooting Contest and the Speed Shooting Contest.
For the 3-Point Shooting Contest, contestants were given 5 shots and the highest amount made would win. In the event of a tie, the tying players would then have another opportunity to shoot 5 more shots, repeating until a winner was named.
In the shooting order of youngest to oldest, there were 5 shooters:
Noah Johnson (NS Canada Games)-1 of 5
Jake Fudge (Saint John)-3 of 5
Westley Johnston (PEI Canada Games)-1 of 5
Sean Wilson (NB Canada Games)-3 of 5
Shane Dunnett (Elm City)-1 of 5
Making it to the second round, Jake Fudge kicked of the round nailing another 3 of 5. With all the pressure on Sean Wilson, a few close ones kept the crowd's attention but unfortunately luck was not on his side as he hit 1 of 5 in the second round.
For the Speed Shooting Contest, contestants were given 30 seconds to hit as many shots as possible from their preferred shooting spot outside the key. In the same shooting order of youngest to oldest, there were 5 contestants:
Brandon Humphrey (NB Canada Games)-5
Jason Drost (NS Canada Games)-4
Colin Higgins (Saint John)-9
Adam Loo (PEI)-8
Robbie Cameron (Elm City)-6
It was a close battle in this competition as players had to be quick, calm and collected, taking each shot precisely. Brandon and Jason were close in the first two, then Colin took over dropping 9 in 30 seconds. Adam was right behind him hitting 8 as the buzzer sounded just before the last shot left his hands. Robbie had a strong showing but not enough to take down Colin who left the champ.
In the All-Star Game, each team was hyped up after the skills competitions and Tip-Off got underway at 7:00pm. Team East, missing some key players, had some struggles but kept it close early. Team West had many line-ups to run and did so effectively, keeping the heat on Team East in the back court. Robbie Cameron, Dave Durepos and Shane Dunnett came out hot in the second quarter and they never looked back. Team West took the win and are already talking about the 2015-2016 season All-Star Game.
Congratulations to all those who participated in this year's MWBA All-Star Weekend, sponsored by Pharmasave. On behalf of the MWBA, I'd like to thank all those who took the time to come out and watch as well as our sponsors.
Take care and see you at Finals in Charlottetown, PEI at Holland College on March 21-22, 2015.
Adam Loo,
League Commissioner
