Wonowon's Bo Hedges will return home to Toronto Thursday with a silver medal around his neck.
The 42-year-old Paralympian was part of Canada's entry into the 3-on-3 wheelchair basketball competition at this year's Commonwealth Games in England – the first time for this particular discipline of the sport in these games.
Hedges described the entire experience as “very unique” but not in an uncomplimentary way.
“It was on that scale, maybe not as grand as Tokyo or London (Olympics), but on that scale of professionalism, in terms of the stadium, the show, and the fans. It was very cool to be part of that,” he said.
SILVER FOR CANADA 🇨🇦🥈
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) August 2, 2022
Canada's men's 3x3 wheelchair basketball team claims silver following a narrow 11-9 defeat to Australia in the final at the Commonwealth Games @WCBballCanada pic.twitter.com/A9XM8uMQKm
Unlike the full-court game, which Hedges and his teammates are far more familiar with, the game is only 10 minutes in length, the exact same time as a single quarter and the shot clock is cut in half to 12 seconds.
“It's a very fast game. You have to get the ball up the court quickly compared to the 5-on-5 game where when you grab the ball, you have a little time to set it up...walk it down. One, two passes, and then the shot in 3-on-3. It's a different mentality, for sure,” said Hedges.
“You're really trying to maximize that 12-second shot clock.”
The size of the ball is also slightly smaller – about the size of a volleyball but heavier.
Hedges and the Canadian team earned silver after an 11-9 loss to Australia in the championship final Tuesday.
The Aussies also got by Canada in the round-robin 13-11.
The Canadian women's squad, meantime, beat the Aussie women 14-5 in their final to capture gold.
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