Steve Serio had seven assists to lead Team USA over host France in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
The U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team is a step closer to a record third straight gold medal.
Led by Illini Paralympians Steve Serio and Brian Bell, Team USA routed France 82-47 on Wednesday in Paris.
Serio and Bell each had seven assists as Team USA had 34 assists total and just one turnover.
“They’re not ready for the speed that we can bring,” U.S. coach Robb Taylor told reporters. “It’s probably not something that they can practice. So when they see us coming up in a press Steve, Tre (Jenifer), Jake (Williams), Brian, (John Boie), it’s a formidable five to try to beat.”
From the very start of the game, Team USA was not fazed by the boisterous French crowd. Within the first 70 seconds, the score was 6-0, and France was forced to take a time out.
“Our starting five has been there before,” Taylor said. “A number of them have been around for a couple of Paralympics so they know how to handle crowd size. Those are the guys that we lean on when we need to… and they set the tone for us early.”
The U.S. next faces Canada on Thursday in the semifinals.
Steve Serio takes a shot against Spain during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Aug. 29, 2024 in Paris. (Photo by Joe Kusumoto/Getty Images)
Illinois alum Steve Serio had a triple-double as the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team began its pursuit of a third straight Paralympics gold medal with a 66-56 win over Spain on Thursday in Paris.
Serio, who has helped lead Team USA to gold the past two Paralympics, had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Serio, who is a graduate of the Department of Health and Kinesiology in the College of Applied Health Sciences, credited the team’s depth for the win.
“We’re 12-deep. We’re 12 (players) strong, and we’re going to be a tough team to beat moving forward,” Serio told reporters.
The Americans pulled away late in the fourth quarter, highlighted by Serio’s pass to John Boie for a layup.
“JB is a great player for us,” said Serio, the team’s captain. “He’s been a constant for us over the last couple of years. We have the utmost confidence in him not only as a role player but as a scorer as well. When I dumped that ball down to him, I had no doubt that the ball was going to drop.”
The game was close early, as Serio struggled to find his shot. But in the second quarter, Team USA erased a 23-22 Spanish advantage with consecutive buckets from Serio and fellow Illinois alum Brian Bell. Bell had 10 points. Jake Williams had a game-high 22 points for the U.S.
“It’s definitely frustrating when your shot’s not dropping,” Serio said. “The good thing about it is that I found another way to be productive. The best thing about this team is that it’s never one guy, never one player. It’s going to come down to the 12 of us, and we know we got each other’s backs.”
Team USA next faces the Netherlands on Saturday.
Find out more about Steve Serio in this podcast he did with AHS before the Tokyo Paralympics.
The U.S. women’s team also won its opener in Paris, defeating Germany 73-44. Team USA, which won the bronze in Tokyo got strong performances from Courtney Ryan, who scored a team-high 17 points while Rose Hollermann (16) and Ixhelt Gonzalez (15) combined to score 31.
Illinois athletes Ali Ibanez (two rebounds, one block) and Kaitlyn Eaton (plus+2 in four minutes) also contributed to the win.
“Our team was successful because we stuck to the game plan,” said head coach Christina Schwab. “We talked about things that we can control, the distractions that may be there, and just staying present and focused. We were able to play 12 deep and our energy was great.”
Team USA returns to the court on Saturday for a contest against the Netherlands, the defending gold medalists.
Steve Serio celebrates Team USA’s Paralympic gold in Paris (Getty Images)
By VINCE LARA-CINISOMO
If this really was Steve Serio’s final Paralympic Games appearance, he went out in style.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alum had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as Team USA won its record third straight Paralympic Games gold medal, holding off Great Britain 73-69 in Paris.
“This team has grown so much over the course of the last couple of years,” said Serio, the five-time Paralympian, team captain and graduate of the College of Applied Health Sciences. “We knew that Great Britain was going to be a great opponent, a really tough group of guys. Right now, we’re just excited that we won a basketball game and got to bring home another gold medal for our country.”
Serio and Jake Williams combined for 19 points in the first quarter for the U.S., including a late 3-pointer from Serio to put Team USA in the lead. Great Britain clawed back within three points with three minutes to go in the game, but timely buckets from Serio, Williams, and Illinois alum Brian Bell as well as a few defensive stops put the game to bed. Team USA won its third consecutive gold medal—the first time that’s ever been accomplished—and its eighth all time.
Before the game, Serio said the Paris Games would be his last.
“This entire Games I’ve tried to be present,” Serio said. “Live in the moment more than I have in the past. You look at the game, you look at this experience a little bit differently when you know it’s going to be your last one. I can’t think of a better way to go out, I’m going to remember this for a really long time.”
The USA women’s wheelchair basketball team won a silver medal, falling short in its attempt at gold. The U.S. lost in the final to defending champ Netherlands, 63-49. The women’s team, which included Illini athletes Kaitlyn Eaton, Ali Ibanez and Emily Oberst, has not won gold since 2016.
In track and field, Illinois alum Susannah Scaroni took her fourth medal of the 2024 Games, winning bronze in the women’s marathon T54 came after a battle with Australian Madison de Rozario and China’s Zhaoqian Zhou.
“There was a moment in the race where Madison and I were working so hard and going back and forth and honestly, I didn’t care what color the medal was, but I was hoping she and I could get silver and bronze,” Scaroni said. “That’s what happened and I’m so happy for her.”
As for other Illini athletes competing in Paris, two-time medalist Daniel Romanchuk was Team USA’s top men’s finisher, taking fourth in the men’s T54 race with a time of 1:32.23. Romanchuk won the second Paralympic title of his career in Paris in the 5,000-meter T54 race on the track and also took bronze in the 400-meter.
Seven-time Paralympian Aaron Pike followed Romanchuk with a seventh-place finish in 1:36.23.
Matching Pike’s seventh-place finish on the women’s side was Tatyana McFadden, who won her 21st Paralympic medal in Paris and became the most decorated U.S. Paralympic track and field athlete in history.
Two-time Paralympic medalist Brian Siemann and two-time Paralympian Jenna Fesemyer rounded out Team USA’s results in 11th and 13th place in the men’s and women’s races, respectively. Siemann, who in his fourth Paralympic Games won his first two medals in Paris, finished in 1:51.56 while Fesemyer clocked a time of 2:05.42.
Brian Bell had 31 points for Team USA against Canada (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images for IPC)
Team USA’s wheelchair basketball teams have two shots at gold this weekend.
Illinois alum Brian Bell had 31 points as the Team USA men overcame an early deficit to beat Canada 80-43 Friday to advance to the gold medal game of the Paralympics in Paris.
The American men will seek an unprecedented third straight gold on Saturday against Great Britain.
The women, meanwhile, rallied to beat China—who they lost to in the semifinals in Tokyo three years ago—50-47 and will play for gold on Sunday.
For the men, Canada jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led 16-10 before the U.S. went on a 19-5 run and never looked back. Bell also had 10 rebounds and Jake Williams and Illini alum Steve Serio combined for 20 assists.
Bell credited Williams and Serio for allowing him to get open.
“I know that teams are going to jump Jake,” Bell told reporters. “He’s one of the best shooters in the world. So just to be able to capitalize on that, and then once they jump, being able to attack their two-on-one and utilize the inside presence.”
Canada was held to 38 percent shooting from inside the 3-point line and scored just 11 points in the entire second half as the U.S. cruised to victory.
“Our plan was to push up the tempo a little bit,” Bell said. “So press them a little bit, make their top threats a little tired. We know that that would benefit us as the game goes on because we can rotate some of our guys in and out.”
Serio, 36, who is competing in his fifth and final Paralympics, says that the gold medal match will be a night to remember, no matter the outcome.
“I’m sure there is going to be tons of emotions after the game, but honestly when it comes down to it, it has nothing to do with legacy, it has nothing to do with reflection, but I’m going to do everything I can do to help our team win a basketball game,” Serio said.
