The 20th Vancouver Annual got off to a roaring start on Friday and even included an overtime match. Read on to find out about all of the big stories from Day 1.

Ontario Undefeated

It was a fantastic first day for Ontario as both the Thunder (2-0) and Lightning (2-0) powered past their opponents.

David Willsie’s Lightning squad opened the day with a hard-fought 67-59 win over the Alberta Roughnecks. The high-scoring match featured plenty of quick tries and big hits as Ontario’s balanced approach got the best of Alberta’s hi-lo lineups.

They followed up that win with a 54-45 win over the hosts, Team BC.

Not to be outdone, The Thunder also won out on Friday. They opened their title defense with a 59-50 over Quebec and a close 56-51 win over Alberta. The father and son duo of Rio and Nick Kovacksmade their debuts in the teams two victories.

Overtime Thriller

Quebec and Germany needed overtime to decide the most exciting match of the day!

Quebec got off to a quick start and had an 8-5 lead early on. Germany buckled now and created a couple crucial turnovers to tie it at 12 by the end of the 1st quarter.

From the point, the two sides exchanged leads and went back and forth, with neither team able to take full control in the 32 minutes of regulation.

In overtime, 1.5 Yanick Racicot came up with a pivotal steal for Quebec. This gave them a two-try lead that they wouldn’t give up, finishing on top 63-61.

For the Germans, Marco Herbst was a real difference maker. He scored plenty of tries and applied tremendous pressure on defense.

For the victors, Anthony Létourneau was a standout player. He continuously attacked the defense and found creative ways to get open in space.

Both teams are now 1-1, with three games left to play.

Portland take control in D2

The Portland Pounders avenged last year’s loss by defeating the Seattle Slam 46-42 on Friday. Both teams used balanced attacks with multiple scores and went back and forth in a closely contested match.

Rookie Justin Beaver has emerged as One to Watch through Portland’s first two games. While he’s still learning the game, he’s already an impact player at this level and was especially impressive in Portland 49-25 rout over the Alberta Bighorns.

Full results and tomorrow’s schedule are available here

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Nathan Bragg
Communications Coordinator
BC Wheelchair Sports Association
Email: communications@bcwheelchairsports.com
Phone: 604.333.3520 ext. 203