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The third day of action at the Ottawa 2026 IWBF World Championships delivered drama, upsets and a moment that will be remembered for the rest of the tournament.
The headline moment belonged to Poland’s Marek Wesolowski, whose buzzer-beating basket sealed a thrilling 86–85 victory over Spain in the men’s tournament.
Spain, the reigning European champions, controlled the game for three quarters and entered the final period with a 10-point lead. However, Poland mounted a furious comeback, with the contest eventually decided in the final seconds.
With just 22 seconds remaining, Ignacio Ortega converted two free throws to put Spain ahead 85–84. On Poland’s final possession, Mateusz Filipski drove towards the basket but could not convert. Poland collected two offensive rebounds before the ball eventually fell to Wesolowski, who released his shot just as time expired.
After reviewing the play on video, the officials confirmed that the basket counted, sparking jubilant celebrations from the Polish team.
Filipski led all scorers with 32 points for Poland, while Wesolowski finished with 13. Ortega led Spain with 29 points.
Canadian men suffer first defeat
At TD Place, the host nation’s men’s team fell 89–73 to Germany, dropping to a 1–1 record in Group D.
Nikola Goncin scored a team-high 25 points for Canada, while Colin Higgins contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Germany were led by Aliaksandr Halouski, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
Canada had opened their campaign with a 74–51 victory over Morocco on Wednesday.
In Group A, the United States defeated Brazil 54–42 at TD Place. The South Americans started strongly and led 12–9 after the opening quarter, but the USA responded with a dominant 19–8 second period to take control of the contest.
Cristiano Clemente led Brazil with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Jacob Williams recorded 18 points and eight assists for the USA. The result keeps the United States unbeaten and leaves Brazil searching for their first victory of the tournament.
In the day’s other games, Japan defeated Colombia 75–53, while Italy overcame the Netherlands 63–56 in a closely contested encounter. Australia pulled away in the second quarter to beat Türkiye 90–67, while fellow title contenders Great Britain recorded a comfortable 80–36 victory over Argentina.
Results – 11 September
Men’s tournament
- Canada 73–89 Germany
- Colombia 53–75 Japan
- Poland 86–85 Spain
- Netherlands 56–63 Italy
- Brazil 42–54 USA
- Türkiye 67–90 Australia
- Argentina 36–80 Great Britain
Women’s tournament
No games scheduled.
Matches – 12 September
Men’s tournament
- 12:15 – Morocco vs Germany (Carleton University)
- 17:15 – Spain vs Japan (TD Place)
- 19:00 – Poland vs Colombia (Carleton University)
Women’s tournament
- 10:00 – France vs Japan (Carleton University)
- 10:15 – Algeria vs USA (TD Place)
- 12:30 – Netherlands vs Germany (TD Place)
- 15:00 – Canada vs China (TD Place)
- 14:30 – Australia vs Brazil (Carleton University
- 16:45 – Great Britain vs Spain (Carleton University)
.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.
