2010 National Wheelchair Basketball Championship
April 10, 2010 in Denver Colorado

 www.nwba.org 

Congratulation to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Division III Champions

(Photo courtesy of the Lemmer family)

Division III Championship:  Gold Crown Field House (Denver Colorado)

Cleveland Cavaliers 53, RIM Detroit Diehards 46

In a rematch of a tough quarter-final game, the Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves, and the basket, a little looser, on their way to winning the NWBA Division III National Championship Game 54-46 over the RIM Detroit Diehards.

“The biggest difference this time was our shooting. The first time we played them, I think the hoop could have been ten feet wide and it wouldn’t have helped us,” said Cavaliers Head Coach Tim Fox. “It might sound funny, but this game, I thought we came out much looser, even though it was the Championship game. It showed because we shot so much better this game.”

Detroit  beat  Cleveland  in the quarterfinals 46-41 earlier in the tournament, sending  Cleveland  to the loser’s bracket. In that earlier game, Cleveland  struggled mightily with its shooting. However, losing that game was a turning point in the tournament for the young Cavaliers, who then reeled off four straight wins to claim the title.

“This is a young team that has never been this far in a tournament,” said Fox. “I’m so proud of them. Team cohesiveness was the key – we know how to keep it light and have fun.  Detroit  is a great team and this was a great win for us.”

Cleveland  took control of the game early with their hot shooting and led 28-18 at halftime. Detroit made a few late runs, closing the gap to four points twice inside the last three minutes, including a Tree Waller swish at the 1:00 mark to make it 50-46, Cleveland. It would be the last points Detroit  would score.  Cleveland  made three free throws in the last minute and  Detroit  could not hit any of its field goal attempts.

The  Cleveland  win overshadowed an incredible individual performance from  Detroit ’s Darryl “Tree” Waller, who led all scorers with 33 points. Will Waller lead all  Cleveland  scorers with 22 points, followed by Juan Woidtke with 20.

“When you put the ball in the hole, it cures all ills,” said  Cleveland ’s Waller. “We had every confidence coming in that if we did what we knew we could do, we could compete with anyone.  Detroit ’s a great team and it was a very competitive tournament. Having to come through the loser’s bracket, we created a lot of team cohesion that helped us when the game got closer.”