BEN Fox says his tournament heroics still haven’t hit home after coming away with a gold medal at the U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Toronto.

The 21-year-old, from Westlea, delivered a man-of-the-match performance during Great Britain’s 54-43 win over Turkey in the final.

Throughout GB’s run, Fox had been a consistent scorer, averaging 14.3 points, more than seven rebounds and two assists per game in his team’s superb tournament.

With a record of three wins and one defeat in the group stages, GB finished top of the pool, with a loss to Japan the only blemish on their record, something they put right when the teams met again in the semi-finals.

While it was clear his team were playing well, Fox says he never began to think they could go all the way to the gold medal.

“In the first game, we played really well, but the American team were nowhere near as good as I thought they would be,” said Fox.

“Even though we played well and got off to a flier, we didn’t think anything of it so just took it a game at a time.

“The beauty of the group stage is that you can lose a game and you won’t be out. Even though we lost one game, we still finished top of our group.

“It’s good to lose early on, it keeps you humble and grounded. We knew we had to up our performance and I think it showed in the semi-finals when we played Japan again.”

The former New College student saw his side fall to a nine-point deficit in the opening quarter of the final, only to gradually work their way back to take the lead and seal the win.

“I was lucky enough to be man of the match, but that was down to my team-mates. I think everyone just played amazingly well,” he added.

“A lot of people had written us off but at the team-talk, our coach’s first words were ‘don’t worry and time will tell’ and luckily time told.

“It still doesn’t seem real. I still wake up every morning thinking it was a dream, but then I see my gold medal and realise it has happened.

“The support from my friends and family has been amazing.

“Sometimes my best friends have been on nights out and ended up watching my games on their phones.

“My girlfriend, parents and nan, who is in hospital, were all watching it and then the support we got whilst in Toronto was ridiculous at every match.

“It’s always nice to know that people are watching.” Fox is now enjoying some time off before moving to Sheffield, where he will train full time with the Sheffield Steelers ahead of the 2017/18 season.