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Defending the title they won at Dubai 2022, the USA opened their men’s tournament campaign at the Ottawa 2026 IWBF World Championships with a hard-fought 63–60 victory over the Netherlands on Thursday, 10 September, at TD Place.
Anyone expecting a comfortable start for the reigning champions was quickly proven wrong. The contest between the Americans and the Dutch was the closest game of the second day of competition, with the Netherlands coming close to producing a major upset.
After a blistering start, the Dutch established a 12-point lead shortly after half-time. However, an 11–0 run stretching from the latter stages of the third quarter into the beginning of the fourth brought the USA back into the game and helped them take control of the contest.
Jorge Salazar led the USA with 18 points and five rebounds, while Jacob Williams delivered an impressive all-round performance with 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists. For the Netherlands, Boris van Hunnik finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points.
Another closely contested men’s game saw Great Britain secure a 77–70 victory over Türkiye. Ben Fox led the British charge with an outstanding 28-point performance.
In the other two men’s games of the day, Australia recorded a commanding 100–46 victory over Argentina, while Italy also produced a convincing performance to defeat Brazil 77–32.
Algerian supporters create a memorable atmosphere
One of the most memorable stories of the day came during Algeria’s women’s game against France. Algeria, the only African team competing in the women’s tournament, received passionate support from families of Algerian heritage living in Ottawa.
Thanks to a fantastic mobilisation by the local community, a lively crowd filled the stands at Carleton University, celebrating loudly and making plenty of noise with every Algerian basket.
Although France ultimately secured a 67–32 victory, the result did little to dampen the supporters’ enthusiasm. After the final buzzer, the fans joined the Algerian players on court to celebrate a special moment together.
In the other women’s games, the USA defeated Germany 73–31, while defending champions the Netherlands produced a dominant performance to beat Japan 84–16. Spain overcame Brazil 71–63 in a closely contested encounter at TD Place, while Great Britain closed the day with an important 52–38 victory over China.
Earlier in the day, hosts Canada continued their strong start to the tournament with a commanding 79–30 victory over Australia.
Results – 10 September
Men’s Tournament
Italy 77–32 Brazil
USA 63–60 Netherlands
Australia 100–46 Argentina
Great Britain 77–70 Türkiye
Women’s Tournament
Australia 30–79 Canada
Brazil 63–71 Spain
USA 73–31 Germany
Japan 16–84 Netherlands
Algeria 32–67 France
China 38–52 Great Britain
Matches – 11 September
Men’s Tournament
12:00 – Canada vs Germany (TD Place)
14:30 – Colombia vs Japan (Carleton University)
14:45 – Poland vs Spain (TD Place)
16:45 – Netherlands vs Italy (Carleton University)
17:00 – Brazil vs USA (TD Place)
19:00 – Türkiye vs Australia (Carleton University)
19:15 – Argentina vs Great Britain (TD Place)
Women’s Tournament
No games scheduled.
Follow all the action from Ottawa 2026 through the IWBF and Wheelchair Basketball Canada YouTube channels. Full schedules, results, standings and tournament statistics are also available through the official live stats pages.
