European Wheelchair Basketball: British men and women win silver

Great Britain finished second in the men’s and women’s competitions at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Sarajevo.

The men were aiming to extend their record ninth European title, but lost to Spain 72-69 in the final on Saturday.

This came one day after the British women’s national team was defeated 66-59 by the Netherlands, which won its fifth title in a row.

Greg Warburton top-scored for the men with 18 points, but trailed for most of the game against a young Spanish side hungry for a first European title.

Team GB were down by 12 points after the first quarter, but slowly reduced that deficit to eventually take the lead for the first time in the game with just over seven minutes to play.

But they were unable to overcome the Spaniards, who pulled one back again with a minute to go, this time maintaining their advantage, although GB’s Kyle Marsh missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

It was painful again for Great Britain’s women on Friday as they suffered a fourth successive defeat to the Netherlands – who retained their Paralympic title in Paris last year – in the European final.

Lucy Robinson was the top scorer for the British team with 22 points, while Robin Love also reached double figures with 10 points and led the team in rebounds with nine points.

By reaching the final, the two British teams ensured their qualification for next year’s World Championships in Ottawa, Canada.