The Gliders’ 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships campaign comes down to a decisive matchup against France in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Australia has shown resilience throughout the tournament in Canada, testing several highly ranked opponents despite a run of narrow and hard-fought defeats. The campaign began against China, bronze medalists at the 2024 Paralympic Games, where Georgia Munro-Cook led the Gliders with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Laura Davoli also delivered a strong performance with eight points and 12 rebounds, but Australia ultimately went down by 11 points to one of the world’s leading teams.
The Gliders then met host nation Canada, another Paralympic semi-finalist, in a challenging second outing. Munro-Cook again led Australia’s scoring with 13 points, while Shelley Matheson added five assists and two steals in a 49-point defeat.
Australia produced one of its strongest performances against Brazil, staying within reach until the closing stages of a contest that could have swung either way. Davoli was outstanding at just 21 years of age, finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. While the Gliders fell by four points, the performance underlined the quality and potential within Australia’s emerging group.
That next generation was again prominent against Great Britain. Ebony Stevenson, who won Commonwealth Games bronze and is still only 16, scored 10 points and added a steal. Davoli continued her consistent tournament with 14 points, although Australia was beaten by 36 points.
Australia closed the group stage with another competitive showing against Spain, falling by just five points. The result showed the Gliders’ ability to challenge quality international opposition and reflected the progress made since missing qualification for the 2024 Paralympic Games. With experienced leaders such as Georgia Munro-Cook and Hannah Dodd guiding emerging players including Laura Davoli and Ebony Stevenson, the squad has laid a strong foundation for the future.
The Gliders will now turn their focus to France in the knockout stage of the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships. A win would send Australia through to a final placement match, where its overall tournament ranking will be decided.
Australia will face France at 12:15am AEST on Thursday morning.
Supporters can watch every game from the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships on the IWBF YouTube channel.
