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Game Schedules Announced for NWBA Preseason National Invitation Tournament

By NWBA, 10/10/17, 5:00PM CDT

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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) and Sportable, Richmond’s Paralympic sports club, are excited to announce the game schedules for the NWBA Preseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT) presented by CarMax October 20-22. The NWBA Preseason NIT will open the 2017-18 NWBA season with some top-level talent in the Junior Varsity Division, Adult Division II and Adult Division III. The EJ Wade Arena at the VCU Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia will host the three-day tournament.

The competition format for the NWBA Preseason NIT presented by CarMax consist of an initial round of pool play. Pool play will guarantee at least four games for all teams participating. Following pool play, top seeds will match up in a single-elimination bracket until all teams are awarded a final team place.

The Varsity tournament will feature three teams coming off a top eight finishes in Junior Varsity Division at the 2017 National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament presented by ABC Medical this past spring. Leading the way for the Junior Varsity Division are the 2016 NWBA Varsity National Championships in the Courage Kenny Jr. Rolling Timberwolves from Golden Valley, MN. The TIRR Memorial Hermann Houston Junior Hotwheels will be competing as a promising young team that finished last season with a 19-4 record and a 5th place at the 2017 NWBT. Another flourishing team eyeing the tournament championship is the RHI Racers as they look to move up the ranks of Junior Varsity Division and are seeking a rematch against the Courage Kenny Jr. Rolling Timberwolves after losing a nail bitter 50-49 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 NWBT. The remaining five teams rounding out the Varsity tournament are Fairfax Falcons, Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets – Varsity, Sportable Spokes, Katie’s Komets and Bridge II Sports Jr. Thunder. The Varsity tournament will serve as a NWBA Junior Division Regional qualifier with the top two placing teams receiving automatic bids for the 2018 NWBT presented by ABC Medical.

The Adult Division II field of teams will feature five teams from the Top 10 of the 2017-18 NWBA Adult Division II Pre-Season Rankings. The field of competition for Adult Division II will be led by second ranked San Antonio ParaSport Spurs who finished sixth at the 2017 NWBT. The No. 3 ranked Nassau Kings look to capture their first victory of 2017-18, the Kings led Adult Division II with 27 victories last season. Competition will be fierce as the No. 8, 9 and 10 ranked Adult Division II teams will be in attendance in the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets – A, Charlottesville Cardinals and Magee Spokemen. Filling out pool play for Adult Division II are the Fort Lauderdale Sharks - DII, Sportable Rim Riders and Delaware Destroyers.

The Adult Division III tournament at the NWBA Preseason NIT presented by CarMax will feature four teams. The attending teams include the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers, RCRC Lightning, Spartanburg Pistons and Virginia Sunwheelers. 

The NWBA Preseason NIT presented by CarMax is held in conjunction with the first annual National Wheelchair Basketball Week, a week-long celebration of wheelchair basketball and the progress the sport has made since founded in 1948.

Please click on the files below to view the competition schedule for each division. For more information on the tournament please visit https://sportable.org/preseasonNIT/. Check the NWBA website and social media sites for more updates on the NWBA Preseason NIT.