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Great Britain’s band of wheelchair basketball brothers were beaten but unbowed as they went down to Team USA in the gold medal game.
ParalympicsGB fought back from 12 points down but succumbed to 73-69 defeat in a pulsating final, unable to prevent the greatest team ever from making it a historic three titles on the trot.
Captained by Welshman Phil Pratt and coached by Canadian brothers Billy and Joey Johnson, they still achieved the nation’s best result in the sport in 28 years.
Bercy Arena played host to Simone Biles’ twists and tumbles during the Olympics, the gymnast’s defiance of gravity never failing to inspire awe.
The soundtrack to the penultimate night of the Paralympics was the crashing of heavy metal and a showcase of a different kind of defiance, a battle of wills between 24 men who refused to settle for the hand that life dealt them.
Terry Bywater said: “It hurts. We just got beaten by the better team on the day, they were fantastic. We had such a fantastic tournament, the boys stuck together, but getting beaten by four points in a final, it’s going to hurt.
“They made some big shots down the stretch; they have a lot of experience in these finals and it’s the first time we’ve been there in many years.
“This will hurt big time. I’m so proud of the boys, it’s emotional right now.”
The last time Britain made the final was all the way back at Atlanta 1996, when three of the current squad weren’t even born, ending in a thumping 78-63 defeat to Australia.
This time felt so different and a mighty 71-43 win over Germany snapped a streak of six successive semi-final losses, the emphatic margin of victory and manner of performance fuelling hope that they could go one better.
The gold medal match was the clash that everyone in the sport craved, a repeat of the 2022 World Championship showpiece which the Americans won by a single point, and it delivered on the hype.
“These guys are some of my idols,” said skipper Pratt of the USA team. “Paul Schulte, Steve Serio, those are the guys I moulded myself on and idolised when I was young and coming through and learning the game.”
Pratt’s side showed no signs of being overawed by the opposition or the occasion, but USA had the momentum from the tip-off.
The defensive hustle of Lee Manning, one of the tallest players in the game at 6ft 4in, helped keep his side in touch as he pulled down eight rebounds in the first half alone.
Gregg Warburton poured in 35 points in the semi-final, but the USA gave him far less room to operate than Germany and they outscored GB 15-13 in the second quarter to claim the initiative.
New Yorker Serio, 35, put up 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to take the game beyond GB.
USA led by 12 points at one stage and held a ten-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. A late rally from GB made for a close finish but they left themselves with too much to do.
The result didn’t go Britain’s way, but this Games marked the coming-of-age of a clutch of talented players, particularly Lee Fryer and Peter Cusack.
Phil Pratt said: “It’s tough. They are a hell of a team and Steve Serio was incredible, he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game. We challenged him to shoot, and he came out firing.
“We stuck to our gameplan, but they were the better team. It doesn’t change anything, the work that’s gone into this, the legends of the game paving the way and giving us this platform to express ourselves, I am proud of our guys. USA were the better team, hats off to them, but it sucks.
“Referees have been lenient in this tournament but today they were on it, it was hard to get any rhythm. We are a team who thrives off rhythm and we couldn’t really get it.
“The crowds have been amazing; the event has been amazing. It doesn’t feel like disability sport, it’s just elite sport.
“We’ll be back. Mark my words, we will be back.”
The next generation will now lead the charge to LA 2028 where USA cannot expect a procession to a fourth title on home soil.
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