Wheelchair Basketball World Championships: GB men and women reach finals

Helen Freeman was part of the Britain team that reached the Paralympic bronze medal match at Rio 2016

The Great Britain women's and men's wheelchair basketball teams were both celebrating after reaching their respective World Championship finals.

The women got into their first ever final thanks to a superb 60-37 success over hosts Germany.

Co-captain Helen Freeman led the team with 31 points and 12 rebounds.

They were joined by the men who defeated surprise packets Iran 86-63 to set up a gold-medal match against the USA on Sunday.

The women, whose previous best finish at the Worlds was fifth in 2014, looked the hungrier from the start against the Rio silver medallists, with their defence causing the Germans all sorts of problems.

It allowed Freeman and Amy Conroy to capitalise at the other end of the court and GB went in at the break 35-14 ahead and maintained their intensity throughout the second half to claim a famous win.

They will face Netherlands in Saturday's final, after they beat China 54-29 in their semi-final.

"It was important to get at Germany from the first minute," Freeman, the team's longest-serving player, told BBC Sport.

"They have some world-class players who have won Paralympic and European titles so it was important to make a good start and play a 40-minute game.

"But our team defence was just amazing and our press stopped them getting any easy chances.

"To reach a final is an incredible feeling."

George Bates scored 21 points against Iran in the semi-final

'We knew we could make our mark'

The men's team went in as favourites against Iran as they chased a first final appearance since 2002, when they lost to the USA.

They edged ahead midway through the opening quarter and never let the lead slip after that.

Gregg Warburton, one of the stars of the GB team at the tournament, finished as top-scorer on 22 points and the 21-year-old wants to complete the job in Sunday's final.

"We knew coming here we that we could make our mark on this tournament," he said.

"Our preparations went well and we have carried that into the tournament game by game and have stuck together and kept improving.

"Our morale is so high and we believe we can go all the way.

"We are the only team to have come close to the USA so we are going in full of confidence and believe we can challenge and win that gold medal."