By James Crook

151012191July 3 - Britain's men's side have booked their place in the quarter-finals at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Frankfurt, defeating the Netherlands to keep their 100 per cent record intact and keep their hopes of retaining their title on course.

The women's team secured their place in the quarter-finals after two wins and a defeat in their three matches, and the men's team are looking like the team to beat after winning all five of their games so far.

The match, which would decide who topped the group, went in the Netherlands favour early on as they took an early lead, but Britain pegged them back to 12-12 before the introduction of Gaz Choudhry and Ian Sagar had the desired effect for Haj Bhania's team as they raced into a 22-16 lead going into the second quarter- a lead that they did not relinquish for the duration of the game.

A cagey second quarter saw both side's defensive prowess put to good use but Britain gained another two points from a low-scoring quarter, making the score 34-26 to the reigning champions going into the halfway interval.

The Netherlands came back fighting in the third quarter began eating away at the British lead, taking it down to just four points to ensure a nervy finish once again for GB, who overcame Italy in overtime yesterday.

But the Dutch shot themselves in the foot when it really mattered, as Edwin Schalkx and Korkmaz gave away needless fouls, allowing GB to rack up a further eight points from the resulting free-throws and attacks to make it 58-51.

The Netherlands did manage a run of six unanswered points to take the game down to the wire, but following a time-out from head coach Bhania with two minutes to go, Britain took a six point unanswered run of their own to ensure a 68-59 win and a place on top of their group.

Standard-Life-GB-Mens-Simon-Munn-21Simon Munn top scored for Britain, racking up 24 points and 10 rebounds as they secure their place in the quarter-finals

Bhania paid tribute to his own players and the strength of their opponents following the match.

"The guys were just brilliant today, it was a really tough game," he said.

"I think the Dutch were excellent in the way they played, they gave us a really hard time and they came out to play.

"They ran us the whole way and pushed it right to the last three minutes of the game.

"It's been a really good run so far and at the end of the day it all comes down to team work, the team were just fantastic, they really worked hard for each other.

"They made mistakes early on but towards the end they were fantastic.

"In quarter finals you just never know what's going to happen it's one of those knock out games, we will have to be at our best no matter who we play."

Britain's Simon Brown stated that his team would not be getting carried away with their recent run of good form.

"They made us work for the win, we knew it would not be easy as they have been the surprise package of the tournament and are really playing well together," he said.

"We are five from five but that means nothing.

"We won our group in the World Championships a few years ago and then got knocked out in the next game so the tournament really starts now.

"We have to win all our games from now on.

"Teams are really coming out for us and want to beat the Champs but I think the challenges we have had so far has really brought us closer as a team and we are ready for the next step."

Britain are due to face Poland on Friday (July 5) to determine who will go through to the final four. 

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