| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Argentina 3. Brazil 4. CANADA 5. Puerto Rico 6. Uruguay 7. Bahamas | CANADIANS Juevol Myles (Pickering, Ont.) Junior Cadougan (Toronto, Ont.) Devoe Joseph (Pickering, Ont.) Mutshi Lukusa (Scarborough, Ont.) Etoile Imama (Montreal, Que.) Kai Williams (Regina, Sask.) Brent Malish (Langley, B.C.) Johnathon House (Guelph, Ont.) Oluseti Ashaolu (Toronto, Ont.) Anaclet Mulumba-Mbayi (Laval, Que.) Curtis Trotter (Toronto, Ont.) Robert Sacre (North Vancouver, B.C.) Greg Francis – coach Craig Beaucamp – assistant Roy Rana – assistant Chris Cheng – manager Minh Nguyen – therapist |
| POOL A | USA | BRZ | URU | Record | |||
| United States | —– | 90-66 | 111-64 | (2-0) | |||
| Brazil | 66-90 | —– | 71-66 | (1-1) | |||
| Uruguay | 64-111 | 66-71 | —– | (0-2) | |||
| —– | |||||||
| POOL B | ARG | CAN | PUR | BAH | Record | ||
| Argentina | —– | 90-79 | 79-77 | 99-59 | (3-0) | ||
| Canada | 79-90 | —– | 90-73 | 77-70 | (2-1) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 77-79 | 73-90 | —– | 79-77 | (1-2) | ||
| Bahamas | 59-99 | 70-77 | 77-79 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| 5-8th | Uruguay 79 Bahamas 60 | |
| Semi | United States 92 Canada 66 | |
| Semi | Argentina 90 Brazil 73 | |
| 7th | Bahamas | |
| 5th | Puerto Rico 95 Uruguay 92 | |
| Bronze | Brazil 79 Canada 70 | |
| Final | United States 104 Argentina 82 | |
Just prior to the start of the tournament, the Dominican Republic withdraws, leaving just three teams in pool A.
In their opener, Canada defeated Puerto Rico 90-73 after breaking open an 18-18 tied with a 30-17 second quarter. Canada led by double digits for the entire second half. Puerto Rico got no closer than 11, when they used an 10-5 run to climb back with five minutes to play, but Mutshi Lukasa drilled a trey to quell comeback hopes. “We’ve been talking about this game for a long time and we knew it was gonna be a big one,” said coach Greg Francis. “Our objective was just to set the tempo for the tournament, as well as remembering that Puerto Rico is a tough team.” Devoe Joseph paced Canada with 27 points on 10-18 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Oluseyi Ashaolu added 24 on 11-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the line, 10 boards and 2 steals. Junior Cadougan added 21 on 8-11 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 7 boards and 11 assists. Brent Malish scored 8 on 2-5 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Mutshi Lukasa notched 7 on 2-6 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Jonathan House scored 2 and Robert Sacre 1, while A. Mulumba-Mbayi, Curtis Trotter, Juevol Myles and Etoile Imama were scoreless. Canada shot 34-68 (.500) from the floor, 12-26 (.462) from the arc and 10-19 (.526) from the arc, while garnering 42 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 23 assists, 16 turnovers, 7 blocks and 6 steals. Luis Damian Morales paced Puerto Rico with 18 points on 8-17 from the floor and 8 boards. Angel Luis Garcia added 16 on 6-12 from the floor and 6 boards. Gilberto Clavell notched 14 on 6-14 from the floor and 10 boards. Mario Roman added 5, Jose Ramon Lopez 4, Carlos Figueroa 4, Guillermo Andino 3, Andres Torres 3, Carlos Martinez 3, Carlos Lopez 3 and David Menendez 0. Puerto Rico shot 30-78 (.385) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 11 assists, 13 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals.
Canada then edged Bahamas 77-70 after scoring the final seven points. “With a tournament like this there is no such thing as a bad win. So, if you get a win that’s ground to build character, if you’re winning, then that’s making the job easier for me,” said coach Greg Francis. “If we had to build character from losing a game like this, that would have been tough to rebound. The Bahamas played a great game.” Canada led 18-17 after one quarter but Dartyn Baker rallied the Bahamas to a 40-33 lead at the half. The Bahamians retained a slim margin at 52-39 heading into the final quarter. Canada took its first lead of the second half at 65-64 on a jumper by Jonathan House with 4:50 to play. With the score knotted at 70, with 2:08 to play, Junior Cadougan hit a jumper with 1:24 to play. Mutshi Lukasa added a pair of free throws with 53 seconds on the clock and Devoe Joseph added a free throw, before House closed out the scoring with a dunk at the buzzer. “We came out flat,” said Cadougan. “The team was down a little bit but we bounded back and got the victory which was the important thing. We learned our less and next time, we won’t underestimate a team.” Devoe Joseph paced Canada with 21 points on 9-22 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 assists. Jonathan House added 11 on 5-11 from the floor. Junior Cadougan scored 9 on 4-14 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc and 9 assists. Robert Sacre scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor and 9 boards. Mutshi Lukasa notched 7 on 5-8 from the line and 6 boards. Juevol Myles added 5, Curtis Trotter 4, Oluseyi Ashaolu 3 and Kai Williams 0. Canada shot 31-73 (.425) from the floor, 7-27 (.259) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 17 assists, 17 turnovers, 10 blocks and 3 steals. Darshtyn Baker led the Bahamas with 25 points on 8-19 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 6 boards. Davaughn Jackson added 22 on 8-22 from the floor, 6-12 from the line and 14 boards. Chrishad Thompson added 6, Marco Cooper 5, David McPhee 4, Kyle Grant 4, Scott Farrington 2, Jeffrey Adderley 2, Garvin Hunt 0 and Dario Pratt 0. Bahamas shot 26-85 (.306) from the floor, 3-16 (.188) from the arc and 15-25 (.600) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 10 assists, 15 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals.
In decisive third game of pool play, Argentina captured first place by dumping Canada 90-79. “It was going to be a game where we would go over plays on the marker boards,” said Argentina coach Guillermo Narvate. “It was going to be a game where we played from the heart and where our true character would be shown on the court.” Canada entered the final quarter leading 60-57 but collapsed down the stretch and were outscored 33-19 in the final frame. Argentina led 74-73 with 2:50 to play and ripped off 10 unanswered points before Canada finally responded with a free throw and a trey by Junior Cadougan to make the score 84-77 with a minute to place. Diego Gerbaudo iced it with four free throws in the final minute. The teams had traded runs at the start. Canada was plagued by eight turnovers and a 3-17 effort from the floor in the first quarter, while Cecchi hit consecutive treys to spark a 9-0 run as Argentina took an early lead. Cadougan hit a bucket but then Argentina ripped off another 9-0 run. In the second quarter, the roles reversed. Oluseyi Ashaolu hit six consecutive points and Canada put together a 20-7 run to take its first lead with five minutes remaining and then headed into the lockers with a 39-34 edge. Canada led by as many as 15 in the third quarter but then Cecchi again hit consecutive treys. Gonzalo Treverso added a bucket and Gerbaudo a trey as Argentina cut the deficit to 60-57 heading into the final quarter. Coach Greg Francis dismissed the loss. “I am really proud of the effort of our team tonight. We had a great contribution from our bench but Argentina had the last run of the game and that decided the outcome.” Leandro Cecchi paced Argentina with 29 points on 10-12 from the floor, 9-11 from the arc, 10 boards and 3 steals. Federico Aguerre added 12 on 4-6 from the floor and 4-8 from the line. Diego Gerbaudo notched 12 on 2-10 from the floor, 7-7 from the line and 13 assists. Sebastian Vega notched 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 20 boards. Gonzalo Treverso scored 8, Nicholas Santos 7, Sebastian Morales 6, Sebastian Uranga 4, Fabian Sahdi 2, Enzo Ruiz 2, Pablo Orlietti Chera 0 and Facundo Pinero 0. Argentina shot 30-65 (.462) from the floor, 11-26 (.423) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 25 assists, 18 turnovers, 5 blocks and 11 steals. Junior Cadougan paced Canada with 16 points on 6-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 5 boards, 8 turnovers and 2 steals. Robert Sacre added 16 on 5-6 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 8 boards. Oluseyi Ashaolu added 13 on 4-9 from the floor and 5-8 from the line. Devoe Joseph scored 11 on 4-14 from the floor and 5 assists. Jonathan House notched 7 on 2-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Mutshi Lukasa added 6 on 4-6 from the line. Kai Williams scored 4, Brent Malish 3, Juevol Myles 3, Anaclet Mulumba-Mbayi 0, Curtis Trotter 0 and Etoile Imama 0. Canada shot 26-67 (.388) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 8 assists, 17 turnovers, 5 blocks and 12 steals.
Canada finished (2-1) in pool play and advanced to the semi-finals. With the second-place finish in pool play, Canada also qualifies for a berth in 2007 Worlds.
In the semis, the United States pounds Canada 92-66. The Americans suffocating defence and rebounding prowess completely unraveled Canada. Canada led 7-5 early but the U.S. responded with a 12-0 run and then took a 21-10 lead after a quarter. With Canada continuing to struggle from the floor, the Americans quickly put the outcome out of reach. The ran off 16 unanswered points and led 44-17 at the half. Canada got no closer than 18 in the second half. “I was proud of our guys. The guys came out and set the tempo, set the tone really early on the defence end,” said U.S. coach Lorenzo Romar. “We try to pressure and we try to play relentless defence for 40 minutes. We don’t always accomplish it but that’s the goal. We didn’t shoot the ball well but if you can do a decent job defensively, it will compensate for any lack of offence that you have and it will even generate offence for you. Even with that, we scored over 90 points.” Kyle Singler, 6-9 post, added that “I think our defence is more of an athletic defence. We’re long and big and we contest every shot. We’re a tough defence to get a shot off against.” Canadian coach Greg Francis said that “we played a talented team tonight and our players fought hard even though it was not their day. Now we have to look towards Brazil. I know our players are already looking forward to getting back on the court.” Anaclet Mulumba-Mbayi said that “our shots were not falling tonight but we still played hard.” Jerryd Bayless led the U.S. with 16 on 5-12 from the floor, 7 boards and 3 steals. Kyle Singler added 13 on 5-11 from the floor and 9 boards. Taylor King scored 12 on 5-9 from the floor. Nolan Smith scored 11 on 5-11 from the floor. DaJauan Summers notched 11 on 5-8 from the floor. Michael Beasley scored 11 on 4-10 from the floor and 10 boards. Spencer Hawes added 7, Johnny Flynn 6, Lance Thomas 2, Donte’ Greene 2, Stanley Robinson 1 and Chris Allen 0. The U.S. shot 36-85 (.424) from the floor, 5-16 (.313) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 62 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 19 assists, 19 turnovers, 7 blocks and 10 steals. Devoe Joseph led Canada with 12 points on 6-21 from the floor and 2 steals. Oluseyi Ashaolu added 11 on 3-14 from the floor, 5-10 from the line, 5 boards and 3 blocks. Juevol Myles notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 6 boards and 4 steals. Anaclet Mulumba-Mbayi notched 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 steals. Jonathan House scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Robert Sacre notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor and 11 boards. Mutshi Lukasa scored 6 on 1-6 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Kai Williams notched 4, while Brent Malish and Etoile Imama were scoreless. Canada shot 24-81 (.296) from the floor, 3-19 (.158) from the arc and 15-25 (.600) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 8 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals.
In the bronze-medal match, Brazil defeated Canada 79-70 after rallying from a six-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. Brazil ripped off a 13-0 run to the open the frame as Paulo Prestes began firing missives. The Brazilians outscored Canada 21-6 in the final frame. Jose Duartes had given Brazil a first-quarter lead but Junior Cadougan hit six consecutive points to ignite a 10-3 run which pulled Canada within 29-25 with 4:28 remaining in the first half. Cadougan then launched a trey at the buzzer to knot the score at 34 heading into the lockers. With Devoe Joseph scoring 9, Cadougan 6 and Robert Sacre 6 in the third quarter, Canada moved ahead 64-58. But they shot a dreary 2-14 from the floor in the final quarter as they passively relinquished the bronze medal. “Brazil did a good job of being aggressive, especially in the fourth quarter,” said coach Greg Francis. “Brazil played a great game and I know our guys will take this as a learning experience for the World Championships next year.” Oluseyi Ashaolu added that “We are looked at as the underdog but we worked hard and got better as the tournament wore on. We have worked hard the last two years and our hard work paid off by reaching the semi-final game. Now we have to keep continuing to mature as a team and keep improving for next year’s World championship.” Jose Roberto Duarte paced Brazil with 29 points on 10-21 from the field, 8-17 from the arc, 4 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Paulo Sergio Prestes added 27 on 12-22 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 26 boards and 5 blocks. Marcel Campos added 9, Renan Leichtweix 6, Rafael Souza 3, Rodrigo Souza 2, Thomaz Melaazzo 2 and Bruno Jose Ferreira 1, while Andre Felipe Almeida, Marcellus Camara and Jose Anibal Silva were scoreless. Brazil shot 31-82 (.378) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 18 assists, 15 turnovers, 9 blocks and 14 steals. Junior Cadougan paced Canada with 21 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 12 boards, 4 assists and 9 turnovers. Oluseyi Ashaolu added 15 on 7-21 from the floor, 8 boards and 3 steals. Robert Sacre scored 13 on 6-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Devoe Joseph notched 11 on 4-15 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Brent Malish scored 4, Mutshi Lukasa 2, Jonathan House 2 and Anaclet Mulumba-Mbayi 2, while Juevol Myles, Kai Williams and Curtis Trotter were scoreless. Canada shot 28-76 (.368) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 9-11 (.828) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 9 assists, 19 turnovers, 6 blocks and 8 steals.
In July, Basketball Canada announces that Vancouver has been selected as the host of the 2007 under-19 worlds. “Canada Basketball is extremely proud to host an event that has always been a showcase of the best young basketball talent on the globe,” said president Fred Nykamp. “I think it’s going to raise the profile of the international game in this country. This tournament will give us a real focus and the whole country a first-hand exposure to this type of game – the fast pace, the more inspirational play, the higher level of decision making by the athlete on the court. This is a real opportunity to display that.” FIBA also received bids from China and Italy.
Basketball Canada later withdraws the offer to host and the worlds are moved to Serbia.