The women secured a win over rivals France, in what was a repeat of the previous two bronze medal matches at the European Championships in 2010 and 2011, by a scoreline of 60-39, thanks in part to Amy Conroy who top-scored with 27 points and Laurie Williams who managed to collect 12 rebounds.

In a tight opening half, France led 11-6 after the first quarter but the British side rallied in the second quarter to lead 23-21 at the break, with Judith Hamer's three-pointer a highlight of the half.

A change in defensive strategy by head coach Joe Jayaratne saw Great Britain restrict France to just six points in the third quarter which helped to extend their lead to 13 points going into the final period.

The British team outscored the French side by 20 points to 12 in the final quarter, to secure their eighth bronze at the European Championships.

Following an unconvincing start to the game, Jayaratne was delighted to have secured another bronze medal and qualified for the 2014 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Toronto.

"A shaky start to the game," said the 1996 Paralympic silver medallist.

"We were expecting that as France have come fourth at the last two or three Championships, they really wanted it.

"All the players we put on court stepped up and we got the job done.

"We are very happy as a team to have won bronze.

"Our number one aim was to make sure this team qualified for the World Championships, and once that had been achieved we'd have been disappointed not to get bronze."

In the women's gold medal match, heavyweights Germany and the Netherlands played out a thrilling encounter which seen the Dutch side squeak passed their fierce rivals by a single point 57-56.

Apart from when the Germans defeated Israel in 1987, these two nations have contested every European Championship final since 1974, and today's victory was the first for the Netherlands since 1997.


In the men's competition, Britain will be looking to defend the title they won in Israel in 2011, following a thrilling 72-69 win over Spain in the semi-final, setting up a meeting with Turkey in the final.