Canada's Alison Levine, Iulian Ciobanu claim pairs bronze at World Boccia Championships

Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu of Montreal won bronze in BC4 pairs at the World Boccia Championships on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Levine and Ciobanu, both members of the last two Paralympic Games teams, defeated Japan 3-1 in the third-place match to capture Canada's lone medal at the event. Colombia beat Slovakia 4-3 for gold.

"We knew it wouldn't be an easy game but we were ready," Levine told Sportcom. The Canadian duo were eliminated in the preliminary round at last year's Paralympic Games and were sixth at the last worlds in 2018.

"We didn't play our best boccia but we got the job done."

Levine and Ciobanu went undefeated in the preliminary round with victories over Japan, Brazil, and Croatia. They scored a 4-3 win over Ukraine in the quarter-finals before a 6-2 defeat to Slovakia in the semifinals ended the Canadians unbeaten run.

"This result is due to great teamwork not only between me and Iulian but the entire national squad training in Montreal," said Levine. "We all deserve this medal and that was our way to thank everybody."

In the BC1-2 team event, Danik Allard of Bois-des-Filion, Que., Krystin Collins of St. John's N.L., and Lance Cryderman of Sudbury, Ont. failed to advance to the playoff round.