RIM's Wheelchair Basketball Team Headed to National Championships

Last year, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan’s (RIM) wheelchair basketball team, the Detroit Diehards were the underdogs going into the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NWBA) and ended up going all the way to the finals before losing a nail biter to Cleveland. This year, they have unfinished business to take care of, and are determined to bring the national title home to Detroit.

RIM’s team will compete in the 2011 National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NWBA) April 7-10 in Denver, CO. The Detroit Diehards are one of 16 Division III teams competing for the national championship title.

RIM’s Diehards are seeded 4^th in the tournament after finishing their regular season with 12 wins and 3 loses. RIM’s team is comprised of athletes with physical disabilities, aged 17 to 50 from throughout southeast Michigan.

Teams qualified for the Nationals via NWBA-sanctioned regional tournaments – the teams playing in this event in Colorado will be the best of the best.

Leading RIM’s team on and off the court is Mo Philips. Philips, an amputee, has been playing and coaching both nationally and internationally for over 25 years. Over his playing career, Philips has won 3 National Championships and was inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame in 1998. Philips also serves as the coach of the Diehards.

The NWBA is comprised of over 200 wheelchair basketball teams within twenty-two conferences. Founded in 1948, the NWBA today consists of men's, women's, intercollegiate, and youth teams throughout the United States of America and Canada.

RIM has been sponsoring the Detroit Diehards since 2002. The team is supported through grants, donations, and fundraising events such as RIM’s annual “Celebrity Wheelchair Basketball Game,” (www.celebritywheelchairbasketball.org)