Pollock stars as Great Britain clinch Paralympic World Cup gold

 By Chris Cottrell, Sportsbeat, in Manchester

JON Pollock was the leading light as Great Britain's men's wheelchair basketball team sunk Canada to capture BT Paralympic World Cup gold in Manchester.

STAR MAN: Jon Pollock hits 17 points as Great Britain clinch gold at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester (Action Images)

Pollock weighed in with 17 points and was well assisted by Ian Sagar, who chipped in with 12 of his own, as Murray Treseder's side chalked up a 53-42 win over the Beijing 2008 silver medallists in what is sure to serve as a morale boosting performance ahead of July's World Championships in Birmingham.

Head coach Treseder rested four players for that defeat - Simon Munn, Sagar, Abdi Jama and Pollock - but they returned to the starting line-up and played an integral role in Britain's win.

Sagar scored seven points in the opening quarter as Britain took a 14-10 lead. The advantage was doubled to eight by the half-time interval, with Pollock successful with two three-point attempts.

Ade Orogbemi converted a fast break on the buzzer at the end of the third period to establish a 13-point lead ahead of the final 10 minutes.

David Eng hit two three-pointers in the closing seconds for Canada, but it was not enough as Britain held on to triumph in the BT Paralympic World Cup for the first time since the inaugural event in 2005.