| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Argentina 3. Brazil 4. Uruguay 5. Puerto Rico 6. Cuba 7. Panama 8. Venezuela 9. CANADA 10. Costa Rica | CANADIANS Keith Vassell (Scarborough, Ont.) Peter Walcott (Montreal, Que.) Brendan Graves (Victoria, B.C.) David Williscroft (Vancouver, B.C.) Derek Welsh (Maple Ridge, B.C.) Rick Rosu-Myles (Arkona, Ont.) William Njoku (Halifax, N.S.) John Ryan (Sussex, N.B.) Deon George (Pierrefonds, Que.) Steve Anderson (Nepean, Ont.) Joey Walker (Quispamsis, N.B.) Sean Van Koughnett (Kitchener, Ont.) Ken Olynyk – coach Tim Artemenko – assistant Eddie Pomykala – assistant Chuck Mooney – therapist Dave Wells – manager |
| POOL A | USA | BRZ | VEN | PAN | COS | Record | |||||
| United States | —– | 87-79 | 120-68 | 143-103 | 89-44 | (4-0) | |||||
| Brazil | 79-87 | —– | 94-49 | 120-64 | 101-62 | (3-1) | |||||
| Venezuela | 68-120 | 49-94 | —– | ||||||||
| Panama | 103-143 | 64-120 | —– | ||||||||
| Costa Rica | 44-89 | 62-101 | —– | (0-4) | |||||||
| POOL B | ARG | URU | PUR | CUB | CAN | Record | |||||
| Argentina | —– | 100-68 | (4-0) | ||||||||
| Uruguay | —– | 90-79 | (3-1) | ||||||||
| Puerto Rico | —– | 97-91 | |||||||||
| Cuba | —– | 89-83 | |||||||||
| Canada | 68-100 | 79-90 | 91-97 | 83-89 | —– | (0-4) | |||||
| QF | United States 124 Puerto Rico 68 | |
| QF | Uruguay | |
| QF | Argentina | |
| QF | Brazil 96 Cuba 64 | |
| Semi | United States 97 Uruguay 73 | |
| Semi | Argentina 85 Brazil 82 | |
| 9th | Canada 89 Costa Rica 54 | |
| 7th | Panama d’d Venezuela | |
| 5th | Puerto Rico d’d Cuba | |
| Bronze | Brazil 69 Uruguay 61 | |
| Final | United States 105 Argentina 73 | |
In their opener, Canada gets thrashed 90-79 by Uruguay. Playing before 6,000 passionate fans in the game which began at 11:50 p.m., the Canadians fell behind early and were never able to regain the lead. They made two runs in the second half, narrowing the margin to four points, but couldn’t get closer. “We battled hard in extremely adverse conditions,” Canadian coach Ken Olynyk told the Lethbridge Herald. “It was a learning experience for us in our first international game.” Will Njoku led Canada with 17. Point guard Peter Walcott added 12, while David Williscroft nabbed 8 boards. Canada was whistled for 39 fouls while Uruguay had 23. Uruguay outrebounded Canada 47-31. “The kids have to learn how to deal with an experience where everyone in the gym wants you to lose,” said Olynyk.
In game two, Puerto Rico clocked Canada 97-91 as John Cotte scored 25 and Louis Ayala 19. Keith Vassell paced Canada with 25. Deon George added 21, along with 9 boards, Peter Walcott 19 and David Williscroft 17. With 6:13 to play, the match was literally washed out, when water began cascading onto the floor of the Cilindro Municipal Stadium. The drainage system sprung three major leaks and couldn’t handle a torrential rainstorm and water collected on the concave stadium roof. The game was postponed for a day, with Puerto Rico leading 17-9. When the game resumed the temperature in the gym was 5 degrees and players could see their breath. “We came out tentatively,” Canadian coach Ken Olynyk told the Lethbridge Herald. “We worked hard but we couldn’t get it done early.” Canada fell behind 43-24 before cutting the halftime deficit to 53-40. “We showed great improvement as the game went along,” said Olynyk. “Our kids battled; but we’ve got into quite a hole.” Cotte “controlled the game,” said Olynyk. “He also hit some unbelievable crucial shots.”
Cuba clipped Canada 89-83 despite trailing 45-31 at the half. “We played well for 30 minutes,” Canadian head coach Ken Olynyk told the Lethbridge Herald. “Eventually their tenacity and the difficult environment we are playing in caught up to us. I am pleased we are improving, but we could have won this game.” Oscar Varona led Cuba with 24. Keith Vassell led Canada with 25 points and 12 boards. “Keith has great physical ability and a variety of skills,” said Olynyk. “It is very encouraging to see his improvement here. He has become a very important player on our team.” William Njoku and Sean Van Koughnett each added 12. “William played tougher,” said Olynyk. “He can really help us when he’s on his game. Sean has been struggling. Tonight, he worked hard for some easy hoops, then hit three, three-pointers. … Good young players aren’t pushed to play hard all the time. You can’t imagine how difficult this is until you’ve been here.”
In Canada’s last round robin match, they were smacked 100-68 by Argentina.
Canada finished (0-4) in pool play and failed to make the quarterfinals.
In the 9th place playoff, Canada earned its first victory by defeating Costa Rica 89-54 as Joe Walker of Quispamsis, N.B. scored 20. Keith Vassell added 18 and Deon George 13, while nabbing 6 boards. Gabriela Cocha led Costa Rica with 12. “It’s great to get a win,” Canadian coach Ken Olynyk told the Lethbridge Herald. “We had no experience at the international level coming in and we’ve grown during this tournament. There’s no question we would have done better in the other pool,” said Olynyk. “Right now, Argentina and the United States are ahead of us, but we’re in the same class as Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Brazil. With more preparation, I’m sure we would have been at least third here. … I was happy for Joe. He works very hard and today he was rewarded.”