Team SA’s wheelchair basketball men made their first appearance of the African Para Games in Accra, Ghana, but found the going tough against powerful opponents in Senegal.
The men from west Africa had won their first two matches, against Egypt and Kenya, and this gave them a perfect three out of three record. Senegal were never headed in the contest, leading 17-7 at the end of the first quarter, 30-12 at half-time, 44-20 after the third period and 62-27 at the final hooter.
Team SA are in the men’s Group B side of the competition, along with Kenya, Senegal, Egypt and Angola.
The women, who had been impressive in a 64-6 win over Zambia in their opening game on Tuesday, were up against hosts Ghana in a later game on Wednesday.
On Thursday the Team SA women come up against Morocco, while the men face Angola.
Team SA’s men defended too deep for large portions of the game, which allowed Senegal the confidence to come forward and make use of their shooters who had their eyes in after their first two games. By contrast, South Africa were wasteful with their shooting attempts and left plenty of goals on the court. They should be sharper for the experience though and will expect to be better against Angola.