Chilliwack’s Ben Hagkull will play in the 2019 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League national championship tournament.
The event runs Friday through Sunday in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Hagkull, a Chilliwack secondary school grad, is playing for the B.C. Royals
The eight person roster includes Hagkull, Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island), Tara Llanes (North Vancouver), Amanda Pinheiro (Burnaby), Deion Green (Victoria), Bo Hedges (Wonowon), Aidan Love (Victoria) and Alphonsus To (Vancouver).
The Royals will play against teams from Quebec and Saskatchewan in Pool A. Pool B includes teams from Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
The Royals have finished second in this tournament the last two years.
“Having won silver the last two years, losing to Quebec each time, we are heading into the 2019 nationals with a strong and experienced team,” said coach Simon Cass. “We have tough games in our pool. CIVA (Quebec) has played the reigning champion Gladiateurs in the tough Quebec league all season, and Saskatchewan is going to be hungry after their bronze finish last year.
“Our key will be aggressive defense on one end and balanced scoring on the other.”
The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League was founded in 1986 and features teams from across country. The CWBL features some of the country’s best wheelchair basketball players, including past, present and future members of Team Canada.
CWBL nationals are hosted by ParaSport and Recreation.
Find more info online at wheelchairbasketball.ca