Canada narrowly loses bronze match to Colombia at IWBF Americas Cup

BOGOTÁ — Canada’s senior men’s wheelchair basketball team narrowly missed out on a medal at the IWBF Americas Cup with a 48-47 loss to host Colombia in the bronze-medal game on Wednesday.

Canada appeared to be in control after shutting out Colombia 14-0 in the second quarter to take a 20-14 lead into the half.

But a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter gave Colombia a 42-39 lead, and the hosts didn’t trail again.

Ibrahim Odza led Canada with 16 points, while Garrett Ostepchuk added 14 points and Blaise Mutware had 12 rebounds.

Colombia captain Jhon Hernandez had a game-high 17 points and added 12 rebounds and eight assists. Eight of his points came in the crucial fourth quarter, which more than made up for his 10 turnovers in the game.

The United States played Argentina later Wednesday in the gold-medal game.

The Americas Cup is a qualification tournament for the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championship that will take place in Ottawa, from Sept. 9-19. Argentina, the United States and Colombia secured their qualification for Ottawa 2026 with victories in Monday’s quarterfinals.

As host nation, Canada has already qualified for the 2026 World Championship.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2025.