The 2019 IWBF Women’s European Wheelchair Basketball Championships took place between the 28 June and 8 July in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the event placed much significance on Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games qualification.
Ayrshire born and former Lothian Phoenix player, Robyn Love, was the only Scottish representative in the squad but the 2016 Rio Paralympian was once again a central figure within the team.
The GB side completed the tournament’s pool stage qualifying for the semi-finals having accrued three wins and two losses, one to Germany and a second to hosts the Netherlands.
However, they faced Germany in the semi-finals two days after suffering a tough pool game loss to the team (48-61). In what was undoubtedly one of the most contested games of the Championships, Great Britain delivered a remarkable performance to come out on top 49-48 to claim their place in the final.
The final saw Love, and her GB team mates, once again face the Netherlands, who are an extremely strong nation in the women’s game. Once again it was a tough encounter against the side who had already defeated them in the group stages. Sadly, the Brits succumbed to a 52-65 loss to the hosts but will be delighted to claim a silver medal.
The Great Britain women’s team has grown and improved over the past few years and their performances are creating history. Within the space of 12 months they have claimed both a World and European championships’ silver medal, building on their 4th place finish at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
GB’s #15 Robyn Love has been a key figure during this period of sustained success and summed up the feeling amongst the squad:
“Incredibly proud – it’s hard to put into words at this moment about how I feel. When you do something you’ve never done before you can’t quite describe how that feels.”
For more information please visit:
Basketball Scotland
http://basketballscotland.co.uk/
British Wheelchair Basketball
www.britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk