HAMBURG, GERMANY – The U.S. Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team started their journey in the 2018 IWBF World Championships with a convincing 82-51 win over Poland. Team USA had a balanced offensive effort with 11 players scoring, led by 14 points from Jake Williams of Milwaukee Wisconsin. Steve Serio of Westbury, New York dictated the pace with 13 points (6-of-7 shooting) and 7 assists, while Jared Arambula of Valparaiso, Indiana stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 5 rebound, 6 assists and 3 steals.

“One of the strengths of this team is just how deep we are,” Serio said. “We have multiple scorers, multiple threats on the floor at one time. It was an important game for us to come out and just get everyone involved, make sure everyone feels comfortable.”

The United States came out quickly on Saturday building an 8-2 lead with four consecutive baskets, and four different players scoring. From this point forward, a solid wall of U.S. defenders disturbed the Polish team with presses, half-court defense sets, steals, double-teams, that created numerous fast breaks opportunities. Williams took advantage of this, scoring six of his game-high 14 points in the quarter. At the end of the first, the Americans held a 22-8  advantage.

The second quarter saw Team USA stretch their lead even more, closing the quarter on a 12-2 run for a 45-18 lead going into half. As a team, the United States shot 59 percent from the floor in the game, and created an astounding 18 turnovers while only giving up the ball 4 times.

To start the second half, four-time U.S. Paralympian Matt Scott of Detroit, Michigan, managed the offense with 6 points and 2 assists in the quarter. Scott finished the game with 9 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Team USA slowed things down in the fourth and finished with a total of 11 of 12 players scoring at least two field goals. Serio and Williams were the only players who found double digits. Two-time U.S. Paralympian Nate Hinze of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, finished with 9 points off the bench.

“Personally, it just feels good to get out there and make sure your shots are flying,” Hinze said. “As a team there’s a couple things that we’ve got to tighten up a bit [like] our defense… which is fine. We’ll be ready for tomorrow’s game.”

The United States controlled the game in a wire-to-wire victory, with its biggest lead reaching 39 points. They dominated Poland with points the paint (38 points compared to 18 for Poland), on the fast break (10-0), and scoring off turnovers (24-4). Surprisingly, the United States did not connect on a single three-pointer (0-for-4). Even with all those stats in the team’s favor, there’s still room for improvement.

“I like how we came out, our intensity was really good,” said U.S. Men’s Head Coach Ron Lykins. “But we’ve got to get better. Offensively, our transition game, everything has to improve. We’re playing a really good [Great Britain] team that’s talented, well-coached and they play together well. We have to have better execution of our defense.”

Also joining Lykins on the sidelines will be assistant coaches Robb Taylor of Auburn, Alabama, and John Sikora of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Scott Meyer of Columbia, Missouri, will serve as the Team Leader, with Mary Vacala of Savannah, Georgia, filling the athletic trainer position. 

The U.S. men play next on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. Eastern against Great Britain. The U.S. has returned home with a medal from every World Championships, except for the 2014 World Championships, since its inception in 1990, accumulating two gold medals and four silver medals. USA has played for the gold medal in six of the last seven IWBF World Championships.

2018 IWBF World Championships

Hamburg, Germany

August 16 - 26, 2018

2018 IWBF World Championships Results

USA def. Poland, 82-51

U.S. Men’s Schedule for 2018 IWBF World Championships

8/18 vs Poland 3:30 AM (Eastern/New York)

8/19 vs Great Britain 2:15 PM

8/20 vs South Korea 8:00 AM

LIVE STATS

GAME STREAM