Top eight fight for medal begins on Day 7

USA bid for medal shot as elite eight square off in men's wheelchair basketball. 05 Sep 2012
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Australian team - London 2012

Reigning Paralympic gold medallists, Australia has dominated pool A of the wheelchair basketball tournament in the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

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Canada qualified in first place on pool B with an unbeaten run and now take on Spain, who will have to play beyond their limits to excel one of the favourites in the competition.

All eyes are on the North Greenwich Arena as the quarter-finals for the men’s wheelchair basketball tournament begins.

A face-off of the two heavyweights Germany and United States will open the eliminatory stage. The United States will bid to keep alive their hopes of a first Paralympic men's wheelchair basketball medal since Sydney 2000 when they face Germany in the opening match.

Coming from three consecutive wins, Great Britain faces Turkey, who has reached this stage for the first time, in the second quarter-final match. Turkey, the second best in pool A, will also have to face the intimidating noise from the crowd, as the British team target a higher position on the podium than the third spot they occupied in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Canada qualified in first place on pool B with an unbeaten run and now take on Spain, who will have to play beyond their limits to excel one of the favourites in the competition. Forward Ismael Garcia Moreno believes their opponents are the "best team in the world", but the Spanish team has all support they need to keep up their good work.

“Our friends and families are in the audience and there are a lot of Spaniards out there, we can hear their support."

Defending Paralympic champions Australia, who came through the preliminary round unbeaten, take on first-time quarter-finalists Poland on the last match of Day 7. The Beijing 2008 gold medallists enter the quarter-finals with the highest score of the competition, while Poland admits they have already achieved their goal these Games.

Polish player-coach Piotr Luszynski said: "I always tell my team that when you come to a big event, whether it's this, or the world championships, we always go to win a medal. That's the big motivation. Normally as the coach, I have to set the targets. I think here, quarter-final is very good for us."

Day 7 on North Greenwich Arena starts with the classification match for 9th and 10th place, when Italy plays Japan. Following the schedule, South Africa meets Colombia in a head to head game for the 11th and 12th place in the wheelchair basketball tournament.

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