大象传媒

Maybe it was national pride or just a real desire to see the team reach the final, but I really felt the could do it and finally end 12 years of hurt with a return to the final of the Paralympic basketball competition.

Alas, it was not to be and the culprits were the old enemy, the mighty Aussie Rollers. ('Flaming Galahs' I believe is how our antipodean friends would put it.)

Mind you, we did play like a bunch of "Great Galuts" for the game. (I must point out that I learnt all my Australian from Alf Stewart in Home and Away).

Giving the Rollers too much of a head start, GB ultimately paid the price for poor ball movement and sloppy defence, especially on Justin Eveson, who punished us by scoring 22 points.

After spending just over a week in Beijing, I discovered on Saturday night that the best way to learn Mandarin (which is probably the hardest language in the world to master if you are a Westerner) is to have a night out on the town.

If you are a wheelchair user, clubbing in is bizarre and after a few drinks you have to try to explain to a local cab driver how to get back to your hotel.

It is indeed a mammoth task that requires a combination of skill, patience and trust.

There may be times when you feel you are going in the wrong direction but you have to be brave and ultimately follow the , because it's a fantastic landmark!

Beijing

Whoever said sport was one big soap opera was so right, and if there is one thing I will remember about these , apart from the sport and the splendour of the venues, it will be the drama.

They haven't yet reached the knock-out stages in the men's basketball competition and already have taken us on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

It started with a lack-lustre performance against Australia, which left me clutching my dreads in despair and feeling there was more chance of having a secret love child with than GB winning a medal in the event.

Over the last eight years, the Canadian men's team have dominated international wheelchair basketball to such an extent you could say they are the second major dynasty that China has seen.

They have won three out of four of the global titles since the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 and it is very hard to argue against Canada making history by becoming the first team to win three straight Paralympic golds in the event - a as our NBA friends would put it.

With - arguably the best player in the world - leading the way, they have taken the game to another level, but by doing so they have forced the rest of the world to raise their game as well.

I am a former and helped in Athens.

I retired from international basketball in 2006, after winning more than 90 caps, and this time around I will be commentating on the sport for the 大象传媒.

I enjoy travelling and a couple of years ago I took part in the 大象传媒's Beyond Boundaries series across Nicaragua and also starred in the .