Gregg Warburton's GB celebrate wheelchair basketball success

Gregg Warburton and his Great Britain team-mates were celebrating on Sunday as they were crowned champions in the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.
Gregg WarburtonGregg Warburton
Gregg Warburton

Britain came up against current Paralympic gold medallists USA, whom they had lost to earlier in the Hamburg tournament.

But they went on to win their first global gold medal, and amongst Britain’s victorious team was Leigh-born, Warburton, who was also apart of the Paralympic team who won bronze at the Rio games.

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Throughout the tournament Warburton had been in excellent form, and continued that into the final getting 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The excellent form of the 21-year didn’t go unnoticed as he was given the honour of being named the most valuable player of the competition.

Sunday’s final started off as a tight affair between the two sides; before Britain opened up an eight-point lead during the second quarter.

They then extended their lead by another two points in the third before finishing the game in style in the last quarter to ensure a 79-62 victory.

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Their route to the final began in a group with Korea, USA and Poland. Warburton started as he meant to go on, getting 58 points in the first three games three games.

Whilst GB may have lost against USA, victories over the other two countries was enough to secure a second-place finish in pool B to set up a tie with Germany.

Warburton managed to add another 10 points to his tournament tally against the host nation, helping his side to a 62-54 as Britain reached the quarter-finals.

The quarters would see a repeat of the 2016 Paralympic semi-final, against Spain.

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Despite a tough final-quarter, Britain were able to exact revenge on the Spanish side who denied them a Paralympic final earning a 67-62 win.

The semi-final was far more routine as they beat Iran 86-63 with Warburton starring again, getting another 22 points on the board.

The total tally for the Leigh man in the tournament was 111 points in seven games, with the reward of most valuable player being more than deserved.

The focus now will well and truly be on continuing this success as they prepare for the 2020 Tokyo games.

Whilst the men’s team won the competition, the women’s side also achieved a place in the final and a silver medal.