| FINAL STANDINGS POOL F 1. CANADA 2. Dominican Republic 3. Venezeula 4. Argentina 5. Panama 6. Bahamas POOL E 1. United States 2. Puerto Rico 3. Mexico 4. Brazil 5. Uruguay 6. Colombia | CANADIANS Kyle Alexander (Milton, Ont.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22 Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Toronto, Ont.) – July/22, Aug/22 Trae Bell-Haynes (Toronto, Ont.) – Feb/22, July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Anthony Bennett (Toronto, Ont.) – Nov/21 Aaron Best (Scarborough, Ont.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22, Nov/22 Jahvon Henry-Blair (Oakville, Ont.) – Nov/22, Feb/23 Kenny Chery (Montreal, Que.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Zach Edey (Toronto, Ont.) – July/22, Aug/22 Melvin Ejim (Toronto, Ont.) – July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Hamilton, Ont.) – July/22, Aug/22 Kadre Gray (Toronto, Ont.) – Nov/21, Feb/23 Cory Joseph (Toronto, Ont.) – Aug/22 Kaza Kajami-Keane (Ajax, Ont.) – Feb/22, July/22 Abu Kigab – (Khartoum, Sudan) Aug/22 Owen Klassen (Kingston, Ont.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, Nov/22 A.J. Lawson (Brampton, Ont.) – Nov/21 Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.) – Nov/22, Feb/23 John-Victor Mukama (Hamilton, Ont.) – Feb/22, Aug/22, Nov/22 Prince Oduro (Toronto, Ont.) – Feb/23 Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.) – July/22, Aug/22 Lloyd Pandi (Ottawa, Ont.) – Feb/23 Kevin Pangos (Holland Landing, Ont.) – Aug/22 Chad Posthumus (Winnipeg, Man.) – Feb/23 Dwight Powell (Toronto, Ont.) – July/22, Aug/22 Kassius Robertson (Toronto, Ont.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22 Jackson Rowe (Toronto, Ont.) – Feb/23 Phillip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Kyle Wiltjer (Portland, Ore.) – Nov/21, Feb/22 Kalif Young (Toronto, Ont.) – Nov/21, Feb/22, Aug/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Nick Nurse – coach July/22, Aug/22 Nate Bjorkren – associate/coach Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Nathaniel Mitchell – assistant Nov/21, Feb/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Michael Meeks – assistant Nov/21, Feb/22, July/22, Aug/22, Nov/22, Feb/23 Jon Goodwillie – assistant July/22, Aug/22 Philip Jevtovic – assistant Nov/22, Feb/23 |
| POOL A | ARG | VEN | PAN | PAR | Record |
| Argentina | —– | 58-71 69-66 | 65-58 88-77 | 93-67 82-43 | (5-1) |
| Venezeula | 71-58 66-69 | —– | 77-56 71-53 | 97-48 87-59 | (5-1) |
| Panama | 58-65 77-88 | 56-77 53-71 | —– | 81-59 81-54 | (2-4) |
| Paraguay | 67-93 43-82 | 48-97 59-87 | 59-81 54-81 | —– | (0-6) |
| POOL B | BRZ | URU | COL | CHI | Record |
| Brazil | —– | 85-66 73-60 | 119-73 78-104 | 77-53 81-55 | (5-1) |
| Uruguay | 66-85 60-73 | —– | 83-75 82-69 | 78-67 75-65 | (4-2) |
| Columbia | 73-119 104-78 | 75-83 69-82 | —– | 76-90 67-66 | (2-4) |
| Chile | 53-77 55-81 | 67-78 65-75 | 90-76 66-67 | —– | (1-5) |
| POOL C | CAN | DOM | BAH | VGI | Record |
| Canada | —– | 85-79 95-75 | 115-73 113-77 | 94-46 113-67 | (6-0) |
| Dominican Republic | 79-85 75-95 | —– | 90-65 88-80 | 87-65 100-56 | (4-2) |
| Bahamas | 73-115 77-113 | 65-90 80-88 | —– | 86-74 97-80 | (2-4) |
| Virgin Islands | 46-94 67-113 | 65-87 56-100 | 74-86 80-97 | —– | (0-6) |
| POOL D | USA | MEX | PUR | CUB | Record |
| United States | —– | 88-97 89-67 | 93-76 83-75 | 95-90 87-64 | (5-1) |
| Mexico | 97-88 67-89 | —– | 90-86 87-97 | 82-72 75-66 | (4-2) |
| Puerto Rico | 76-93 75-83 | 86-90 97-87 | —– | 69-60 65-62 | (3-3) |
| Cuba | 90-95 64-87 | 72-82 66-75 | 60-69 62-65 | —– | (0-6) |
| POOL E | CAN | DOM | VEN | ARG | PAN | BAH | Record |
| Canada | —– | 85-79 95-75 | 94-56 74-57 | 99-87 72-83 | 106-50 112-71 | 115-73 113-77 | (11-1) |
| Dominican Republic | 79-85 75-95 | —– | 72-76 72-68 | 80-69 79-75 | 70-61 93-67 | 90-65 88-80 | (9-3) |
| Venezeula | 56-94 57-74 | 76-72 68-72 | —– | 71-58 66-69 | 77-56 71-53 | 86-81 115-70 | (8-4) |
| Argentina | 87-99 83-72 | 69-80 75-79 | 58-71 69-66 | —– | 65-58 88-77 | 95-77 80-76 | (8-4) |
| Panama | 50-106 71-112 | 61-70 67-93 | 56-77 53-71 | 58-65 77-88 | —– | 79-83 88-66 | (3-9) |
| Bahamas | 73-115 77-113 | 65-90 80-88 | 81-86 70-115 | 77-95 76-80 | 83-79 66-88 | —– | (3-9) |
| POOL F | USA | PUR | MEX | BRZ | URU | COL | Record |
| United States | —– | 93-76 83-75 | 88-97 89-67 | 79-94 76-83 | 105-71 88-77 | 95-77 88-81 | (9-3) |
| Puerto Rico | 76-93 75-83 | —– | 86-90 97-87 | 75-72 92-90 | 70-78 76-68 | 91-79 87-70 | (8-4) |
| Mexico | 97-88 67-89 | 90-86 87-97 | —– | 82-72 56-102 | 80-60 82-69 | 89-93 113-54 | (8-4) |
| Brazil | 94-79 83-76 | 72-75 90-92 | 72-82 102-56 | —– | 85-66 73-60 | 119-73 78-104 | (8-4) |
| Uruguay | 71-105 77-88 | 78-70 68-76 | 60-80 69-82 | 66-85 60-73 | —– | 83-75 82-69 | (5-7) |
| Colombia | 77-95 81-88 | 79-91 70-87 | 93-89 54-113 | 73-119 104-78 | 75-83 69-82 | —– | (3-9) |
In their Window 1 qualifiers opener, held at the Palacio de los Deportes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on November 28/2021, Canada torched the Bahamas 115-73. Canada drained 17 treys, while opportunistically and repeatedly capitalizing on Bahamas turnovers for transition runouts. “For us to get this win in this group against a good team, for us it’s a great start. We’re not going to be complacent, there’s a lot of things we can improve on,” said Kyle Wiltjer. Coach Nate Bjorkgren said “the players are doing the things that we’re asking them as a coaching staff. There was a lot of good communication and talking out there. Most importantly, effort. I thought the effort on both ends of the floor was very good. The physicality that we played with was excellent. … I thought our team was very well connected today. Everybody was playing hard for each other and shared the ball very nicely, stepped right in and really contributed defensively for us tonight.” Canada trailed 13-11 early but Anthony Bennett and Kenny Fred Chery hit back-to-back treys and then Aaron Best notched a pair from beyond the arc as Canada took a 32-22 lead after one quarter. Treys from Best and Kassius Robertson, along with layups from Bennett and Phil Scrubb gave Canada a 43-26 lead. Kyle Alexander and Chery each hit a pair of free throws, A.J. Lawson added a bucket and then Scrubb stole the ball for a runout dunk by Alexander as Canada extended its lead to 61-38 at the half. Wiltjer opened the second half with a trey and a fallaway jumper and then fed Chery for a trey as Canada extended its lead to 31. They led 92-51 after three quarters and romped. “Kyle’s been proudly representing Canada for years, but he makes it look like it’s his first,” said Bjorkgren. “He plays with passion, leads by example out on the floor with his communication and is just an all-around smart player.” Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 23 on 4-4 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Aaron Best added 21 on 5-5 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Kenny Fred Chery notched 18 on 2-4 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Kyle Alexander scored 12 on 4-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 12 boards and 3 assists. Kassius Robertson added 9 on 0-2 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Thomas Scrubb scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Anthony Bennett notched 8 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Phil Scrubb added 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 11 assists and 2 steals. Owen Klassen scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kadre Gray notched 3 on 1-1 from the arc and 2 assists. Kalif Karl Young added 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the line. A.J. Lawson scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Canada hit 42-78 (.538) overall, 25-35 (.714) from the floor, 17-43 (.395) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 31 assists, 14 fouls, 11 turnovers, 13 steals and 3 blocks. Domnick Bridgewater paced the Bahamas with 13 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 0-3 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. David Nesbitt added 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Mychel Thompson notched 11 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. J.R. Cadot scored 9 on 4-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Kentwan Smith added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 assists. Willis Mackey Jr notched 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 blocks. Mark Cornelius Saint Fort scored 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Rashad Roger Davis added 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Travis Munnings added 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 5 assists. Michael Carey scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 5 assists, while Shakwon Davos Lewis and Kemsy Sylvestre were scoreless. Lewis dished 2 assists. The Bahamas (coached by Johnson Anton Moses, assisted by Dexter Cambridge), hit 29-68 (.426) overall, 21-39 (.538) from the floor, 8-29 (.276) from the arc and 7-15 (.467) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 23 assists, 17 fouls, 17 turnovers, 8 steals and 4 blocks.
In its second qualifier, again held at the Palacio de los Deportes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on November 29/2021, Canada whipped the Bahamas 113-77 after leading 34-26, 58-46 and 83-59 at the quarters. Canada ripped off an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 17 in the second quarter. Bahamas never again seriously threatened. “We knew they were going to come out and play tough,” said point guard Philip Scrubb. “They gave us a good run, in the first half, especially. I think we responded really well and it was a good team effort.” Canadian coach Nate Bjorkgren said “we felt that in the first half that the Bahamas were getting some open looks and we needed to challenge their shots better, make it more difficult for them. In the first half, there were some trips where we weren’t quite as organized as we would have liked to have been on the offensive end but coming out of halftime these guys did a great job of communicating that with each other, and we got the shots that we wanted, the paint touches and the kick outs. We got shots within the offence. I thought that was an important part going from the first half to the second. … Any time you play a team like that, an aggressive team like the Bahamas, in a back-to-back situation, [you know they will compete]. We had a very thorough film session, detailed walkthrough this morning, that our guys did a very good job of executing when it came to game time. There were some runs in that game, some highs and lows, but overall, for the most part of that game, our guys were very, very well connected again. That’s been two days in a row that they’ve shown that unselfish play and the connectivity on the defensive end.” Scrubb said “I think we have a really good group of guys and good coaches that kept us focused after the first game. I think we learned a lot [from watching] film between the first and second games and I think we had a really good attitude. … We have a lot of good shooters. We really shared the ball and played unselfishly and I think we just took the shots that we were given. We made a high percentage of shots so I think for us those are really great shots.” Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 25 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Kassius Robertson added 15 on 3-4 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. Phil Scrubb notched 13 on 2-2 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kenny Fred Chery scored 11 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Thomas Scrubb added 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 8 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Aaron Best scored 10 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 2 boards and 3 steals. A.J. Lawson notched 9 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Anthony Bennett added 8 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 8 boards and 2 assists. Kyle Alexander scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Owen Klassen added 4 on 1-3 from the floor and 5 boards. Kadre Gray scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 3-4 from the line, while Kalif Karl Young was scoreless. Canada hit 38-75 (.507) overall, 21-41 (.512) from the floor, 17-34 from the arc and 20-26 (.769) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 15 fouls, 12 steals and 2 blocks. David Nesbitt paced the Bahamas with 18 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Domnick Bridgewater added 12 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Mychel Thompson notched 12 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Travis Munnings scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards and 6 assists. Rashad Roger Davis added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Kentwan Smith notched 8 on 1-4 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. J.R. Cabot added 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Mark Cornelius Saint Fort scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, while Michael Carey, Shakwon Davos Lewis and Kemsy Sylvestre were scoreless, and Willis Mackey Jr did not play. The Bahamas (coached by Johnson Anton Moses, assisted by Dexter Cambridge) hit 28-66 (.424) overall, 20-36 (.556) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 13-16 (.812) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 19 fouls, 19 turnovers and 5 steals.
In Window 2 and Canada’s third game, again held at the Palacio de los Deportes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on February 19, 2022, Canada improved to (3-0) by clipping host Dominican Republic 85-79. Canada overcame a tremendous disparity in fouls in a very physical game. “It’s not easy out there,” coach Nate Bjorkgren told Canadian Press. “We talked about it before the game that we want to play through the hits. We might not get every whistle, but we’ve just got to keep our composure and keep playing and go to the rim like you’re not going to get the whistle and finish it anyway. I thought our guys did a great job with that.” Bjorkgren told Canada Basketball. Canada opened with 10-0 run and led 22-20 after one quarter. They hit four treys in the second quarter, including one from Aaron Best with two minutes to play and another from Kaza Kajami-Keane to take a 42-36 lead at the half. Canada led 64-56 after three quarters and by 11 after a trey from Wiltjer with 6:21 to play but went scoreless for more than three minutes as the Dominicans rallied within six before a layup from Wiltjer and one from Bell-Haynes with 2:24 remaining rebuilt a double-digit lead. Kazami-Keane said Canada was able to withstand the various Dominican runs because of their cohesion. “When they went on a run, [we] maintain[ed] our composure and then got back. … I think we maintained that for 40 minutes and it helped us out. We moved forward. … We said we wanted to make sure we stayed composed in an arena like this,” Kajami-Keane said. “The fans were pretty loud and they understood the game. We wanted to stay consistent, just kind of lay, brick-by-brick, every possession. … I just think that we have a good group of guys that have been together. If you look back, all of us have been playing together on the national team for the last five, six years. So, we kinda understand each other and understand how we can depend on each other.” Bjorkgren said “we talked about it a lot before we got here and I thought our guys did one heck of a job of sticking together through all of the ups and downs of the game. They really came out fighting, every dead ball. I liked our team’s composure tonight. … Kaza, sitting next to me here, to my left, I’m asking him to bring the ball down the court … and there’s a lot of hits going on out there and we talked about it before the game, that we wanted to play through the hits. It was very physical out there, they did shoot a lot of free throws, but I really enjoyed the physicality of that game. It showed a lot of our depth. There’s a number of guys on this team that can play. We’re very deep at multiple positions and the credit is to the players on that.” Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 15 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Phil Scrubb added 14 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane notched 13 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 assists. Kassius Robertson scored 10 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Thomas Scrubb added 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Kyle Alexander notched 8 on 4-5 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 steals. Kalif Karl Young added 4 on 0-1 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Aaron Best scored 3 on 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 assists, while Owen Klassen was scoreless and Kenny Fred Chery (after testing positive on Covid protocols) and Jean-Victor Mukama did not play. Canada hit 31-59 (.525) overall, 22-35 (.629) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 14-16 (.875) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 32 fouls, 15 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Victor Liz paced the Dominican Republic with 29 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 13-16 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Angel Delgado added 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 3-9 from the line, 13 boards and 2 assists. Eloy Vargas notched 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-10 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Andres Rafael Feliz Sarita scored 8 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Rigoberto Mendoza added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 assists. Sadiel Rojas scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 0-3 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Juan Guerrero notched 5 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Juan Miguel Suero added 1 on 1-2 from the floor, Gelvis Solano scored 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 4 assist and 3 steals, while Luis Montero and Adonis Henriquez were scoreless, and Angel Thomas Nunez Castillo did not play. The Dominican Republic (coached by Melvyn Lopez, assisted by David Diaz and Jose Mercedes Rosario) hit 24-56 (.429) overall, 17-37 (.459) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 24-44 (.545) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 21 fouls, 13 turnovers, 10 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada improved to (4-0) in pool play by dusting the Virgin Island 94-46 at the Palacio de los Deportes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on February 20, 2022. Greg Wiltjer scored 8 of Canada’s first 10 points as they broke to a 10-4 lead and then led 27-14, 43-21 and 65-37 at the quarters during the rout. Canada led by as many as 51. “We have a program where it doesn’t matter who’s scoring or who’s doing what because we just have an unselfish team,” Wiltjer told a post-game video press conference. “But when I get in a rhythm, the basket feels really big and I just try to be aggressive and do what I do well. … “It starts with this guy to my right, Coach [Bjorkgren] and Coach Nurse have an incredible system. It takes the pressure off of us players and we just make reads. We have a program where it doesn’t matter who is scoring, who is doing what, we have an unselfish team. For myself, when I get in a rhythm, the basket feels really big and I just try to be aggressive and I try to score and do what I do well.” Canadian coach Nate Bjorkren said “it was a big challenge for our team. We played a real physical, hard-fought game last night against the Dominican Republic. For the guys to turn around and play again today here at 3 o’clock against another feisty team, our guys just did such a great job of approaching these two games. Their approach to game one and then obviously today’s game, the approach that they had, the relentlessness that they had in how they were attacking, it’s really fun to watch this group play. It’s fun to watch them play defence and share the basketball. … At halftime, we talked about [there being] 20 minutes to go in this game against the U.S. Virgin Islands, how we wanted to come out and set the tempo in the second half and play our defence. And they did. They’re extremely active, extremely intelligent, so much fun to coach, and it is an honour. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of. … I mention the approach with this team a lot,” Bjorkgren said. “Their focus, their edge that they bring into every practice, every game, you can really feel it out here. They’re always down to business and want to win and do it in the best way possible.” Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 24 on 2-3 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Trae Bell-Haynes added 13 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Aaron Best notched 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Thomas Scrubb scored 11 on 1-1 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 3 assists. Owen Klassen added 8 on 3-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Kaza Kajami-Keane notched 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 6 assists. Kalif Karl Young added 7 on 1-1 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 9 boards and 3 steals. Kassius Robertson scored 6 on 2-6 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Jean-Victor Mukama added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Kyle Alexander scored 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 7 boards, while Phil Scrubb was scoreless and Kenny Fred Cherry did not play. Phil Scrubb had 3 boards and 3 assists. Canada hit 30-59 (.508) overall, 15-26 (.577) from the floor, 15-33 (.455) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 25 assists, 17 fouls, 15 turnovers, 13 steals and 3 blocks. Rakeem Christmas paced the Virgin Islands with 15 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 10 boards. Xavier Richards added 13 on 2-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards. Quennel Francis notched 9 on 0-1 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 assists. Laron Smith scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 6 boards. Jamaal Samuel added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 steals, while Kyle Clarke, Jalal Johnson, max Amaro and Kwame McBean were scoreless. Amaro dished 3 assists. Ivan Aska did not play. The Virgin Islands (coached by Donald Bough, assistant Ja Ja Richards) hit 16-60 (.267) overall, 10-37 (.270) from the floor, 6-23 (.261) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 19 fouls, 19 turnovers, 4 steals and 1 block.
In Window 3, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander debuted with the national team by driving the paint for a slam dunk. It proved an omen as he notched 32 while Canada improved to (5-0) in pool play by spanking the Dominican Republic 95-75 on July 1, 2022, at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. Kelly Olynyk and Nikeal Alexander-Walker added treys as Canada took an early 8-4 lead. But they soon began coughing up the ball against a zone and the Dominicans slowed the tempo to a crawl as they rallied within one before a buzzer-beating midcourt trey from Alexander-Walker gave Canada a 21-16 lead after one quarter. Kyle Alexander dominated the boards, hit a bucket in the blocks and four free throws, while Olynyk notched a pair of buckets and Alexander-Walker another trey as Canada ripped off a late 11-1 run to take a 46-36 lead at the half. Dwight Powell exploded for four buckets as Canada dominated the paint early in the second half and then Gilgeous-Alexander took control, scoring 15 during a 22-4 run which gave Canada a 76-48 lead after three quarters. Gilgeous-Alexander kept finding seams in the zone which had periodically befuddled Canada earlier in the affair, as the Canadians coasted to the win. Gilgeous-Alexander told Canadian Press that “I surprised myself a little bit. I never had a left-hand dunk in my career. That was a good way to start, good way to start for sure. . . but probably won’t happen again.” Olynyk, who along with Powell and Kyle Alexander, proved formidable foes in the paint, told the Athletic that “it’s fun to get back out here, especially in front of fans on home soil. You don’t get that opportunity every day. … This group of guys, young guys especially, I feel like I’m the oldest guy out here now. They’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of skill, and it’s fun to be out there.” Olynyk added that Gilgeous-Alexander is “up there with the best of them for sure. … It’s a privilege to play with a guy like that. We’ve had a lot of them coming through this program now. He’s not alone. It’s fun to play with him, fun to watch, fun to witness. … His IQ is high. He knows the game, sees the game, is unselfish. He gets off the ball, gets it back, takes his spots when they’re there. He really knows how to play in the flow of the game. That’s something that’s kind of lost sometimes. He’s really good at it. Obviously, he’s a high-level player, super skilled on both ends of the floor. He changes the game, like you saw there in the third quarter. He just changed the game for us.” Canadian coach Nick Nurse said “got to feel each other as the game went, built some chemistry as the game went, and I was pretty happy with our defensive effort in general.” Shae Gilgeous-Alexander paced Canada with 32 on 6-11 from the floor, 5-11 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Kelly Olynyk added 17 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 11 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Nickeil Alexander-Walker notched 17 on 0-2 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Dwight Powell scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 6 boards. Kassius Robertson added 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Kyle Alexander scored 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Phillip Scrubb notched 3 on 1-3 from the arc. Thomas Scrubb added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Zach Edey scored 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 1 on 0-1 from the arc and 1-1 from the line, while Melvin Ejim and Trae Bell-Haynes were scoreless. Ejim nabbed 2 boards. Canada hit 31-71 (.437) overall, 17-35 (.486) from the floor, 14-36 (.389) from the arc and 19-28 (.679) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 20 fouls, 15 turnovers, 13 steals and 6 blocks. Adonys Henriquez paced the Dominican Republic with 14 on 0-2 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Victor Liz added 12 on 0-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Rigoberto Mendoza notched 10 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals. Jhonatan Araujo scored 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Angel Delgado added 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 10 boards and 2 assists. Gelvis Solano notched 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 2 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Eloy Vargas scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Sadiel Rojas added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Andres Feliz scored 2 on 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Miguel Dicent, Eddy Polanco and Michael Torres were scoreless. The Dominican Republic (coached by Melvyn Lopez, assisted by David Diaz) hit 26-61 (.426) overall, 16-50 (.400) from the floor, 10-21 (.476) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 23 fouls, 22 turnovers, 12 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada closed out phase one pool play with a (6-0) record after thrashing the Virgin Islands 113-67 in St. Thomas on July 4, 2022. Canada exploded to a 7-0 lead on a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jumper, a Kelly Olynyk cut for a layup and a Nikeal Alexander-Walker trey. After relinquishing an 8-4 run, they promptly buried the Virgin Islands with a 17-0 run, including a pair of treys from Kassius Robertson, to take a 28-8 lead after one quarter. The second frame featured yeoman work in the paint by Dwight Powell and Olynyk, as well as an ongoing a barrage of treys, including a pair by Alexander-Walker and a singleton by Gilgeous-Alexander, as Canada took a 52-21 into the lockers. Kassius Robertson kept draining treys as Canada extended its margin to 89-48 after three quarters and romped to the easy win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Canada with 24 on 10-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Kassius Robertson added 24 on 0-2 from the floor and 8-13 from the arc. Dwight Powell notched 15 on 6-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Thomas Scrubb scored 13 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 11 on 1-11 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 5 boards and 7 assists. Kelly Olynyk notched 11 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Zach Edey added 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 blocks. Kaza Kajami-Keane scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Trae Bell-Haynes added 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Melvin Ejim scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 6 boards, while Phil Scrubb and Aaron Best were scoreless. Scrubb dished 5 assists. Canada hit 41-71 (.577) overall, 25-39 (.641) from the floor, 16-32 from the arc and 15-18 (.833) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 27 assists, 16 fouls, 13 turnovers, 12 steals and 4 blocks. Laron Smith paced the Virgin Islands with 14 on 6-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Ivan Aska added 11 on 3-5 from the floor, 5-5 from the line and 6 boards. Romani Hansen notched 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Guy Ragland scored 6 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Earl Willard Baker added 6 on 2-3 from the floor and 2 assists. Walter Hodge notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. Shaquan Jules scored 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Xavier Richards added 5 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Miguel Angel Lopez Jr scored 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Georgio Milligan added 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Aubrey Daniel added 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Deon Edwin was scoreless, nabbed 2 boards and dished 2 assists. The Virgin Islands (coached by Ja Ja Richards, assisted by Aaron Patterson) hit 20-65 (.308) overall, 13-37 (.351) from the floor, 7-28 from the arc and 20-23 (.870) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 21 fouls, 22 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada finished (6-0) in phase one pool play, qualifying for phase two.
In its opening phase two match of Window 4, Canada clocked Argentina 99-87 at the Save-On-Fools Memorial Centre in Victoria, B.C. on August 25/2022. Canada took the lead for good on a Dwight Powell layup that made it 16-15 with 3:24 to play in the opening quarter. Shae Gilgeous-Alexander found Kevin Pangos for a trey with nine seconds remaining in the opening quarter to give Canada a 28-21 lead after one frame. They opened the second quarter with a steal from Pangos leading to a pair of free throws by Dwight Powell and a nine-point lead. They extended the margin to 14 on a trey from Kassius Robertson and led 52-39 at the half on the strength of extensive ball pressure on the Argentinian guards. Canada led 83-68 after three quarters and by as many as 23 in the physical affair. “We knew it was going to be like that,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “We just tried to be the aggressors tonight. I think that’s one of our strengths. When we’re the aggressors, good things usually happen for us. … We know these games are important. Every night we try to go in there and execute, take care of our game plan, play the right way and hopefully end up on the right side of things. … It’s always easy to play with the crowd behind you. You know people have your back, supporting you, getting you through the tough times in the games.” Kelly Olynyk told Canadian Press that “we can score. We have a lot of talent and it doesn’t surprise me a ton. We can score with the best of them and we probably could’ve had more. We missed some easy ones. I know I did.” Olynyk said the key was getting a good start in each half. “That helped us out. We were locked in at the beginning. We pushed our lead to 20 (in the second quarter) and it gave us a bit of a cushion.” Canadian coach Nick Nurse said “this is probably our biggest challenge playing a team like this. They’ve got something we’re trying to build which is longevity, experience and chemistry and that goes a long way in this game. We’ve seen it, we’ve faced it, we’ve felt it. … I think our goal was to disrupt some of that chemistry, and we had to match their physicality and now we got some experienced guys too, some guys that have been able to play a little bit together. So that means we’re making progress, right? We’re making progress.” Nurse added that Gilgeous-Alexander again proved a critical component. “I think that when you’re as good a scorer and as hard to keep in front as Shai is, he’s gonna get into the paint. I like him to be aggressive early and that kind of forces them to collapse a bit. He made a lot of great spray-outs to guys that were just such good looks early and I think that built a ton of confidence for everybody. That’s kind of a momentum thing and they were just on time, on target, in rhythm. Great, great, great reads and gave us a lot of confidence. I think that momentum kept building for everybody that came in.” Gilgeous-Alexander told Sportsnet that “we were aware of who we were playing. But I think for us, we’re also aware of who we are. And we know that they got to beat us just like we got to beat them. So it was no different for us as playing the Dominican and Virgin Islands. It’s a basketball team in front of us. They have strengths and weaknesses and we want to take away their strengths and make them play to their weaknesses. I think we do enough of that tonight.” Nurse said “it was the performance we needed. I thought everybody that hit the floor contributed. I thought everybody looked back about who played well and everybody did something good out there.” Shae Gilgeoux-Alexander paced Canada with 23 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Kelly Olynyk added 2 1on 5-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 11-13 from the line and 7 boards. Dwight Powell notched 12 on 5-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 8 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Kassius Robertson added 8 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Cory Joseph scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Melvin Ejim notched 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Kevin Pangos scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 assists. Thomas Scrubb added 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Philip Scrubb scored 4 on 1-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Zach Edey and Kalif Karl Young did not play. Canada hit 33-66 overall, 21-37 (.568) from the floor, 12-29 (.414) from the arc and 21-28 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 24 fouls, 10 turnovers, 6 blocks and 5 steals. Nicolas Laprovittola paced Argentina with 30 on 3-8 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 12-14 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Facundo Campazzo added 17 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 7 boards and 8 assists. Gabriel Deck notched 16 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Carlos Francisco Delfino added 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 3-3 from the line. Jose Vildoza scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Leandro Nicolas Bolmaro added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Marcos Delia scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 9 boards, while Juan Pablo Vaulet, Tomas Chapero, Tayavek Gallizzi and Nicolas Brussino were scoreless and Patricio Garino did not play. Brussino nabbed 3 boards. Argentina (coach Nestor Garcia, assistant Gonzalo Garcia, assistant Leonardo Martin Gutierrez) hit 26-56 (.464) overall, 16-35 (.457) from the floor, 10-21 (.476) from the arc and 25-30 (.833) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 24 fouls, 15 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada improved to 8-0 in qualifying play and all but assured itself of a berth at the 2023 World Cup by thrashing Panama 106-50 at the Arena Robert Duran in Panama City on August 29, 2022. Kevin Pangos notched a layup and a trey to ignite a 16-0 run to open the affair. Canada led 33-7, 64-25 and 92-36 at the quarters, reeling off a host of runs, including a 13-0 run late in the first half and a 15-0 run in the third quarter. Canada led by as many as 56. Kelly Olynyk paced Canada with 18 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Kevin Pangos added 17 on 1-1 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 5 boards and 5 assists. Zach Edey notched 15 on 5-9 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 7 boards. Melvin Ejim scored 15 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Kassius Robertson added 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 2 steals. Kalif Karl Young notched 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Jean-Victor Mukama added 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Dwight Powell scored 4 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Phil Scrubb added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 4 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Thomas Scrubb scored 3 on 1-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Abu Haef El Magid Sultan Kibab added 3 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Canada hit 33-66 overall, 17-30 (.567) from the floor, 16-36 (.444) from the arc and 24-27 (.889) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 23 assists, 17 fouls, 16 turnovers, 15 steals and 5 blocks. Jhiyvan Jameel Jackson Melendez paced Panama with 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Eric Alexander Romero Jones added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Trevor Gaskins notched 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Josimar Ayarza scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Gil Alberto Atencio Yearwood added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Edward Lopez scored 3 on 1-3 from the arc. Alejandro Grant added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Isaac Hall Machore scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 steals. Aaron Adonai Gedeon Layne added 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Jesus Lombardo, Jonathan Salazar and Jose Montenegro were scoreless. Salazar nabbed 2 boards. Panama (coach Flor Melendez Montanez, assistant Adriano Macias) hit 18-68 (.265) overall, 14-41 (.341) from the floor, 4-27 (.341) from the arc and 10-13 (.769) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 23 fouls, 20 turnovers, 11 steals and 3 blocks.
In Window 5, Canada qualified for a World Cup berth by defeating Venezeula 94-56 in the Edmonton Expo Centre on November 10/22 to improve its pool record to (9-0). Canada exploded to a 15-5 lead on treys by Philip Scrubb, Thomas Scrubb and Aaron Best. They notched a 10-0 run on aggressive defence, particularly by Thomas Scrubb, and drives by Trae Bell-Haynes and Kassius Robertson to take a 25-10 lead after one quarter. Although Venezeula opened the second frame with 14-7 run to draw within eight, Canada closed out the first half with a 14-7 run to take a 46-31 lead into the lockers. Canada put the outcome well out of Venezeula’s reach by continuing to drain treys, including a pair by Keny Chery and singletons from Kassius Robertson and Conor Morgan. Canada led 70-42 after three quarters and by as many as 40. “The [World Cup] qualification, that’s what we were here for,” Canadian associate coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “We’ve taken every game one game at a time. All of our focus here has been on Venezuela for the last couple of months and our guys showed up and played that way today.” Thomas Scrubb told Canadian Press that “it’s obviously a good feeling. It’s a lot of different windows, a lot of travel, so, to be able to do it at home and pretty early in the process is good for us. Now we can focus on the World Cup going forward.” Kassius Robertson said “it means a lot. A lot of us come from far away to play these games. For me, and I can speak for a lot of guys on the team, this is almost like a vacation for us. It’s super focused of course, but being with our country men, especially being on Canadian soil, it’s amazing for us. Being able to play for our country, it’s super fun. … It’s been a long time coming for our country and we’ve been at it for over a year with these windows.” Bjorkgren said the quick 7-0 start was instrumental in the win. “We said we wanted to come out and hit first and hit again and again and they did. I love coaching this team. I really do. They just kept coming at them. … One of the big things that we talk about is the shot contest. We really want to contest every shot with everything that we’ve got. I love how we disrupted the things that they were trying to get in, the sets that they were trying to do. I can’t say enough about Kassius about his focus on defence, how physical he plays and the pace at which he plays. He’s very hard to guard and he knows how to guard other shooters. … Our team defence was really locked in there. We gave up [25] points in the second half, I think it was 11 in the third and [14] in the fourth, but it doesn’t happen unless you start the game in that way.” Robertson said “we have a saying, Coach said before the game, we have to prove and reprove. Regardless of if we qualified or if we’ve got a couple more games to go, we’re still out for blood. We’re not letting up.” Owen Klassen said “we really talked about rebounding in preparing for this game. We looked at the two big guys they have and they were averaging four offensive rebounds per game. It was our focus to take their games away and let the guards get the rebounds if they have to. We wanted to make sure those guys didn’t get second chances. … It’s five guys rebounding every time.” Kassius Robertson paced Canada with 16 on 3-3 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Thomas Scrubb added 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Conor Morgan notched 12 on 3-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Kenny Chery scored 12 on 0-4 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 7 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Owen Klassen added 11 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards and 3 assists. Philip Scrubb scored 8 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Trae Bell-Haynes notched 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Melvin Ejim added 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 7 boards. Aaron Best scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 2 boards. Kalif Young added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Thomas Kennedy scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards, while Jean-Victor Mukama was scoreless. Canada hit 36-70 (.524) overall, 22-39 (.564) from the floor, 14-31 (.452) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 18 fouls, 17 turnovers, 8 steals and 4 blocks. Jhornan Zamora paced Venezeula with 14 on 1-5 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 3 boards. Nestor Colmenares added 6 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Gregory Vargas notched 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Windi Graterol scored 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Yohanner Sifontes added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. David Cubillan notched 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4 assists and 2 steals. Harol Cazorla added 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Edgar Martinez scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Miguel Ruiz added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 blocks, while Fabrizio Pugliatti was scoreless. Venezeula (coached by Fernando Hector Duro, assisted by Pablo Daniel Favarel) hit 22-64 (.344) overall, 16-43 (.372) from the floor, 6-21 (.600) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 18 fouls, 15 turnovers, 11 steals and 4 blocks.
Canada improved to (10-0) by torching Panama 112-72 at the Edmonton Expo Centre on November 13/22. Canada took a 30-21 lead after one quarter, despite shooting poorly from the floor, primarily by dominating the defensive boards. Panama trimmed the margin to 32-28 before Canada clamped down on defence and exploded for a 17-0 run, featuring a pair of treys by Kassius Robertson and singletons by Philip Scrubb and Aaron Best. Canada led 52-32 at the half and 64-32 in the third frame after opening the second half with a 12-0 run and holding the Panamanians without a field goal for a 12-minute stretch bridging the quarters. Canadian coach Nate Bjorkgren promptly began exploring the depths and dimensions of his bench as Canada coasted to the easy win. Best said “I think from start to finish we just wanted to come out and set the tone defensively. I think we were able to do that, consistently, throughout the game and we were able to come out with the win. … There’s 12 guys that dressed tonight, but there’s about 40 players that are a part of this whole process. Each and every one of them are locked in and committed to the goal and they understand that we all have the next man up mentality. If it’s not me it’s somebody else. If it’s not somebody else, then the next guy is going to step in. We all know what the goal is and we all have the same level of focus. Whatever 12 guys put on the jersey, we all have the same mentality. … With the continuity we’ve been able to build among the group, you get a feel for the guys. You know where certain guys are going to be, you know where certain guys like the ball and when we get that kind of synergy going, and we play defence the way that we do, it just makes everything easier for everyone, offensively. That’s why you see the alley-oop plays and the backdoor cuts and all that.” Melvin Ejim told Canadian Press that “It’s always fun when you’re playing well, and executing and doing the things that you want to do. We went out, we executed our game plan, we did what we wanted to do and we were able to enjoy that.” Bjorkgren said “after coming off our first game against Venezuela where we clinched, we [said] we were going to enjoy it that evening. The very next day at our film session [we were locked in on Panama]. The approach that this team has put into every one of these games, all 10 of them, is elite. It’s unmatched. … Panama has a good coach and a good team and they’ve been right in there. You could see our guys, they kept coming and coming. I know I’ve said the word relentless a lot, but that’s what this team is. Their approach to the game, their approach to the details and number one, how hard they play and how hard they play for each other. It’s really fun to watch.” Bjorkgren added that Aaron Best “can really play basketball. He gets asked a lot out there on the floor. He gets asked to guard the best player on the other team. We ask him to pick up full, we ask him to run the floor, we ask him to crash the glass. He shoots the three. He does everything that a coach wants him to do, that a team wants him to do. He’s always making the right play. It was Aaron Best tonight with 22, but we had six or seven guys in double digits around that 10, 15 points and that’s what is special about this team, their ability to share the ball. … It says a lot about Team Canada. And, I’ll tell you this: We talk about 10 of them, and we’ve had the same approach for every single one of them. The focus, the continuity of this group, they come right in and I wish we could be together longer. It goes really quick. … And here we are again. We’ve got another one to play. All of our focus is on February 24 against Argentina [now].” Panamanian coach Flor Melendez Montanez told Canadian press that he was happy that the Panamanians were able to keep the Canadians close for a quarter-and-a-half, but after that, “they just destroyed us.” Panamanian guard Trevor Gaskins said “coach said in the locker room, even though they were up by 30 or 40, they were playing as a team and running the system and the things that they’ve worked on. It’s so they can be better in the future or play in the World Cup. So I think [Panama’s players] can take from that, to see how you need to play with intensity, to see how you need to play hard.” Aaron Best paced Canada with 22 on 2-3 from the floor, 6-9 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. Kassius Robertson added 13 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Conor Morgan notched 12 on 34- from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 12 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Melvin Ejim added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb scored 10 on 0-2 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Jahvon Henry-Blair notched 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jean-Victor Mukama added 7 on 2-6 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Thomas Scrubb scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Owen Klassen notched 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 8 boards and 5 assists. Kalif Young added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 7 boards. Thomas Kennedy scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Canada hit 41-77 (.532) overall, 22-37 (.595) from floor, 19-40 (.475) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 27 assists, 22 fouls, 8 turnovers, 10 steals and 2 blocks. Carlos Rodriquez paced Panama with 13 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Ernesto Ogilvie added 14 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 9 boards. Josimar Ayarza notched 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Trevor Gaskins scored 11 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Eugenio Bocaz added 10 on 5-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Tyler Gaskins scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Eric Romero added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 9 boards. Randal Aguilar scored 1 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Daniel King, Jose Montenegro, Hunter Armani Cotton and Arturo Molina were scoreless. Panama (coached by Flor Melendez Montanez, assisted by Adriano Macias) hit 24-61 (.393) overall, 16-37 (.432) from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 15 fouls, 16 turnovers, 2 steals and 1 block.
In the final window, host Argentina handed Canada its first loss by an 83-72 count at the Polideportivo Islas Malvinas in Mar del Plata on Feb 23/2023. Canada led 18-17 after one quarter. Jahvon Henry-Blair made a pair of free throws to give Canada its first lead with 7:41 remaining in the half. But Juan Vaulet notched a layup to extend Argentina’s lead back to five. A Facundo Campazzo steal led to a Marcos Delia runout that built Argentina’s lead to 31-2. Maximo Fjellerup soon added a dunk before Thomas Scrubb found Keny Chery for a trey. Chery added a bucket to draw Canada within 40-31 at the half. Argentina opened the second half with a 5-0 run for Patrick Garino as they extended their lead to 45-31. Argentina built its lead to as many as 22 before Canada drew within 61-50 after three quarters on a late 11-0 run, featuring a turnaround jumper by Prince Oduro, a step-back trey from Scrubb, two free throws from Oduro and a trey, and-one, from Trae Bell-Hayes. A pair of treys by Phil Scrubb drew Canada within nine with 2:49 to play but Argentina had the answers down the stretch. “I think the turnovers gave us a bit of trouble in transition defence,” Thomas Scrubb said. “Once they got in transition it was hard for us to get set on defence so they got a few more open shots and easy layups.” Associate coach Nate Bjorkgren said “for both teams out there it was hard to get shots up. There was a lot of physicality and challenging plays and shots were challenged and contested. … We ask a lot of Tommy Scrubb,” Bjorkgren said. “We ask him to guard multiple positions, many different players. He’s capable of doing all that. He can guard 1-5 on the floor. He’s a heck of a rebounder. We asked him to guard [Facundo] Campazzo some, we ask a lot of Tommy. He’s been with us for all 11 games that we’ve played. There have been two guys, Tommy Scrubb and Phil Scrubb [who have played in all 11 games of qualifiers]. … Campazzo’s a really good player and he’s got really good pieces around him. He’s tough because he can score, he gets to the foul line a lot. He passes it, he makes the right play. You’ve just got to keep trying to give him different looks. … It was tough out there. I thought our guys fought. I liked our defence. I wish we would have finished a little bit better on offence, but it was a hard-fought game. Give Argentina a lot of credit. Great fans, great players, great coaches. It was a fun atmosphere to play in today.” Facundo Campazzo paced Argentina with 13 on 4-5 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards, 22 assists and 2 steals. Nicolas Brussino added 13 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Carlos Delfino notched 12 on 3-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Marcos Delia scored 10 on 5-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Patricio Garino added 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Juan Fernandez scored 9 on 3-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Juan Vaulet notched 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Leandro Bolmaro added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Maximo Fjellerup scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Tavavek Gallizzi added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Jose Vildoza was scoreless and Tomas Chapero did not play. Argentina (coached by Pablo Prigioni) hit 31-65 (.477) overall, 25-40 (.625) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 14 fouls, 11 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. Thomas Scrubb paced Canada with 18 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Philip Scrubb added 12 on 0-3 from the floor and 4-7 from the arc. Kenny Chery notched 12 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Jackson Rowe added 8 on 4-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Prince Oduro scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Kadre Gray notched 4 on 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Kalif Young added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 9 boards. Jahvon Henry-Blair scored 2 on 0-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while Lloyd Pandi and Conor Morgan were scoreless. Pandi nabbed 2 boards. Chad Posthumus did not play. Canada hit 26-65 (.400) overall, 16-36 (.444) from the floor, 10-29 (.345) from the arc and 10-16 (.625) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 20 fouls, 18 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada closed out FIBA qualifiers play by spanking Venezeula 74-57 at the Poliedro de Caracas on Feb. 26/2023. Argentina built an early six-point lead by dominating the offensive boards. But a layup from Jackson Rowe and a trey by Kadre Gray rallied Canada and they ripped off an 8-0 run to close out the first quarter leading 22-17. “We had to adjust to their physicality,” Associate coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “Their bigs can really move. I think our guys did a really good job at adjusting to that pressure and trying to play through that physicality. There were a lot of hits out there. I thought both teams were really, really getting after it. Venezuela has very active bigs. It was hard to keep them off the glass as well.” Canada pushed its lead to 11 but Michael Carrera drew Venezeula within three with a layup. Rowe countered with another trey as Canada took a 37-30 lead after the turnover-plagued first half. Phil Scrubb said “I think the good thing is we were getting good shots. We’re confident in our team that even if we’re missing, it’s a good possession if we’re getting good shots. We have confidence in our guys to share the ball, move the ball and create the best shots for us.” Both squads struggled to score in the third quarter as Canada slowly built a 53-38 lead heading in the final frame. Scrubb notched another trey as Canada extended its lead to 18, and invariably had the answer in the form of another trey whenever Venezeula attempted to rally. “Phil Scrubb hit some huge shots,” Bjorkgren said. “When you’ve got a guy out there that makes big plays, makes huge shots, it makes it more fun and easier to coach. … I can’t say enough about Phil Scrubb here. He’s played in all 12 of our window qualifying games. The loyalty, commitment and toughness that he has, the ability to knock down those shots in that tough environment tonight was outstanding. I think very highly of him and the rest of this team and everybody that has contributed to these wins.” Bjorkgren added that “it was a really big win for us. An important win in the way we came in here to finish out the road trip. … I thought our guys did such a great job of responding from our previous game [against Argentina]. … I thought the bigs for Venezuela were doing some nice things. This Venezuela team really comes out and plays well.” Phil Scrubb paced Canada with 14 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Kalif Young added 14 on 5-7 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Trae Bell-Haynes notched 12 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 4 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Jackson Rowe scored 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Thomas Scrubb added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kadre Gray scord 6 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 steals. Prince Oduro notched 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. Conor Morgan scored 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Lloyd Pandi added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Kenny Chery scored 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Jahvon Henry-Blair and Chad Posthumus did not play. Canada hit 25-60 (.417) overall, 16-33 (.485) from the floor, 9-27 (.333) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 20 fouls, 19 turnovers, 11 steals and 7 blocks. Nestor Colmenares paced Venezeula with 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Michael Carrera added 10 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 11 boards and 3 blocks. Gregory Vargas notched 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Garly Sojo scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 3 steals. Windi Graterol added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Jhornan Zamora notched 3 on 0-4 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 3 boards. David Cubillan added 3 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 assists. Heissler Guillent scored 3 on 0-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Miguel Ruiz added 2 on 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Yohanner Sifontes scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Pedro Chourio and Jose Materan were scoreless. Venezeula (coach Fernando Duro, assistant Pablo Favarel, assistant Ronald Guillen) hit 19-67 (.284) overall, 15-44 (.284) from the floor, 4-23 (.174) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 23 fouls, 23 turnovers, 13 steals and 5 blocks.