Team BC with a solid start in Wheelchair Basketball

The gymnasium at Duchess Park Secondary was packed with fans watching Team BC’s win over Manitoba in preliminary Wheelchair Basketball.

The team defeated Manitoba 61 – 29 in a preliminary match up.

Joel Ewert (pictured) is playing in the Winter Games for the first time and had a great experience playing in front of a home town crowd.

“The crowd was great,” he says. “I think, as the game went on, we learned how to feed off the energy. In the first little bit, we were using the energy in a bad way, we were nervous, we were a little all over the place, but we were eventually able to use the energy to our advantage at the end of the game.”

Ewert says the key to success is finding a balance between taking the experience in while also being focused on winning.

“Just stay loose, stay fun, but when it comes to game time, you’ve got to be in the game, you can’t be looking at the stands and waving to everybody,” he says. “When it comes to game-time, you’ve got to be focused, but after that, you can totally take it all in.”

Considered a favourite to contend for a gold medal, Ewert is excited to go all the way in front of a home town crowd.

“Things are shaping up really well, we’ve all come together, it’s been a couple years in the making, we’ve all worked really hard, I think we’re ready to go,” he says.

Team BC is back on the court Monday night at 7 p.m. versus PEI.

Preliminary matches in Wheelchair Basketball continue all week at Duchess Park Secondary.