2010 Americas qualifier San Antonio, USA – Junior men

FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Brazil 3. CANADA 4. Argentina 5. Uruguay 6. Puerto Rico 7. Virgin Islands 8. Mexico

CANADIANS Sim Bhullar (North York, Ont.) Khem Birch (Montreal, Que.) Julian Clarke (Toronto, Ont.) Kenny Fred-Cherry (Montreal, Que.) Myck Kabongo (Toronto, Ont.) Nic Langley (Golden, B.C.) Junior Lomomba (Madison, Wisc.) Emerson Murray (Surrey, B.C.) Kemy Osse (Montreal, Que.) Phil Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) Kevin Thomas (Ajax, Ont.) Kyle Wiltjer (West Linn, Ore.) Greg Francis – coach Pete Guarasci – assistant Shawn Swords – assistant Minh Nguyen – therapist Dean McCord – manager Faith Asker – video coordinator

	POOL A	BRZ	CAN	URU	PUR	Record
	Brazil	—–	83-78	71-64	78-53	(3-0)
	Canada	78-83	—–	76-52	100-83	(2-1)
	Uruguay	64-71	52-76	—–	67-54	(1-2)
	Puerto Rico	53-78	83-100	54-67	—–	(0-3)
	POOL B	USA	ARG	VGI	MEX	Record
	United States	—–	88-67	131-63	114-38	(3-0)
	Argentina	67-88	—–	82-50	78-53	(2-1)
	Virgin Islands	63-131	50-82	—–	88-78	(1-2)
	Mexico	38-114	53-78	78-88	—–	(0-3)

	5-8th	Puerto Rico 87 Virgin Islands 79
	5-8th	Uruguay 106 Mexico 63
	Semi	Brazil 70 Argentina 56
	Semi	United States 122 Canada 89
	7th	Virgin Islands 89 Mexico 86
	5th	Uruguay 78 Puerto Rico 64
	Bronze	Canada 86 Argentina 83
	Final	United States 81 Brazil 78

        In their opener, Canada routed Uruguay 76-52 after opening with a blistering 21-0 run. Forward Kyle Wiltjer believed a quick start and defence set the tone for Canada. “I felt we came out strong in the first quarter. we played a strong defensive game, which led us to taking a 21-4 lead after the first quarter.” Defensive pressure was key for Canada as they forced Uruguay to take tough shots throughout. “There was a point in the third quarter there and they were going make a little run and you knew they were going to make a little run,” said Canadian coach Greg Francis. “I thought Kyle Wiltjer really stepped up and took some shots against their zone that sort of deflated them a little bit. They made a little run and tried to get it under 20.” Canada led 21-4 at the end of the 10-minute first quarter, and 34-12 at halftime. Wiltjer said “the key to success is to play solid team defense. When we play solid defense, our offense comes naturally.” Uruguay had a 9-0 run in the second half but Canada led by as many as 30. “To tell you the truth, there in the second half I don’t think we had the poise,” added Francis. “I understand the concentration is tough and we have to demand that these guys, even if they get a lead, still have to play better.  That was the hard thing. I don’t think we did a good job in the second half of keeping that intensity and playing our game for forty minutes. We let them go on the back foot a little bit, that was tough.” Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 14 on 1-2 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc and 7 boards. Kevin Thomas added 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 5 boards. Lukusa Kabongo notched 10 on 1-6 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Philip Scrubb scored 10 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Khem Birch added 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 9 boards and 5 blocks. Albert Junior Lomomba added 7, Kemy Ossy 7, Emerson Murray 3 and Nicolas Langley 3, while Kenny Fred-Chery, Julian Clarke and Gursimran Bhullar were scoreless. Canada hit 17-40 (.430) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 13 fouls, 16 turnovers, 7 steals and 8 blocks. Ivan Sebastian Loriente Perez paced Uruguay with 18 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Matias Guerra Monetti added 13 on 6-8 from the floor, 6 boards and 3 assists. Luciano Parodi Gonzalez added 7, along with 5 assists, Diego Garcia Salort 4, Mathias Keny Calfani Persincula 3, Rodrigo Brause Label 2, Alex Nicolas Alvarez Silva 4, Juan Ignacio Modernell Gretler 2 and Juan Pablo Alvarez 1, while Santiago Tolosa Navarro, Damian Andres Blazina Otero and Jose Ignacio Cambon Consoladich were scoreless. Uruguay hit 16-44 (.360) from the floor, 5-26 (.190) from the arc and 5-11 (.450) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 21 fouls, 16 turnovers, 10 steals and 1 block.

        Canada improved to (2-0) by dusting Puerto Rico 100-83 to ensure a berth at the 2011 Under19 FIBA world championships. “This was a great team effort win for us,” said Canadian coach Greg Francis. “It is always a tough game against Puerto Rico. I think we met their intensity for most of the game. Our leadership from our captains, Myck and Kyle, was outstanding. … We have always had tough games with Puerto Rico whether it’s the senior men’s, or the junior team, we know each other pretty well, and we play the same style. We really try to get after it. I take my hat off to them.  We have some pretty good players, but they [Puerto Rico] played really hard.” Kyle Wiltjer said “overall, we did well. They made some runs and but we went right back at them and got the win. They’re a very scrappy team, very physical. They were in it the whole game, pressing us, so we responded well.” University of Texas-bound Myck Kabongo added that “every day we are growing as a team. The more we continue to play together, the better the chance we have to achieve something special as a group. … We knew it was going to be a hard game. As a team, everyone contributed and that’s why we won today. We’re taking it one game at a time, and hopefully, we’ll continue to play well.” Canada led 55-45 at the half. The second half was tighter, as Puerto Rico pulled to within seven points, 66-59, on two free throws by Ortiz Andujar at 2:49 in the third period. The closest Puerto Rico would get after this point was eight points, 74-66, at 9:16 in the fourth. “I just think Myck is getting comfortable with these guys, just like they are getting used to him,” added Francis when asked about Kabongo’s play. “And I know Myck is going to get his points, it’s just a matter of time for him, and he gives us a lot of confidence against a tough Puerto Rico team.” Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 31 on 7-9 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Myck Kabongo added 22 on 7-13 from the floor, 8-12 from the line, 10 boards and 8 assists. Kemy Osse notched 20 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals. Philip Scrubb scored 17 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 5-5 from the line. Khem Birch notched 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 10 boards and 6 blocks. Gursimran Bhullar added 3, Kevin Thomas 2 and Kenny Fred-Cherry 1, while Junior Lomomba and Emerson Murray were scoreless. Canada hit 25-50 from the floor, 8-17 (.470) from the arc and 26-33 (.790) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 17 fouls, 26 turnovers, 12 steals and 10 blocks. Gary Browne Ramirez paced Puerto Rico with 19 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 3-6 from the line. Angel Luis Matias De Leon added 12 on 6-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Luis Joel Quinones Mendez added 10, Christopher Ortiz 9, along with 7 boards, Matthew Tyler Lopez 8, De Juan Miguel Marrero 7, Carmelo Betancourt Carbonell 6, along with 7 assists, Emmanuel Adjujar Ortiz 6 and Rasham David Suarez Donis 6, while Michael Alexander Alvarado was scoreless. Puerto Rico shot 28-70 (.400) from the floor, 5-18 (.280) from the arc and 12-19 (.630) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 25 fouls, 20 turnovers, 14 steals and 6 blocks.

Canada closed out round robin play with an 83-78 loss to Brazil as they had no answer to Raul Neto. “Our guys played hard today,” said coach Greg Francis. “We went up against a good team that was playing its best basketball of the tournament. The qualification round has been a great chance for our team to field.” Canada jumped out to an early lead, but the defensive pressure and 3-point shooting led Brazil to a 20-16 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Canada was able to make several runs in the game to cut the Brazilian lead down from as many as 12; however, Neto’s offense and Nogueira’s defense kept the Canadians at bay. Foul trouble hurt Canada early as their leading scorer for the tournament, Kyle Wiltjer, was forced to sit after committing two early fouls. Despite the early foul trouble, Wiltjer continued his strong play by finishing with 18 points. “I thought today’s game was well fought by both teams,” said Kevin Thomas. “We played with our hearts and left everything on the floor. The team that wants it more will win. You might not get everything your way, but you have to play through it.” Brazil led as many as 10 in the second quarter, but Kenny Fred-Cherry and Sim Bhullar were sparks off the bench that helped Canada cut the lead to 6 at halftime. “We just played hard. Canada is a fantastic team. We knew it was going to be a tough game all the way to the end. In this group, everyone is good. Now we can focus on the United States or Argentina”, said Brazil coach Walter Roese. Raul Togni Neto said “everybody was focused on their assignment and we played very good defense and that is what kept us in the game.” Canada had the lead early in the game, starting up with a 7-1 run but Brazil recovered with a 13-2 run and finished the first quarter up 20-16. Then Brazil continued to be led by Raulzinho who used his passes to set up his teammates to maintain the offensive flow as they led at halftime 39-36. The Brazilians continued on top in the third quarter and Canada did a good job defensively, but could not convert on the offensive end. The third quarter finished 59-53 in favor of Brazil. In the final quarter the three pointers by Raulzinho and the dominance inside by Lucas sealed the game. Raul Togni Neto paced Brazil with 34 on 6-9 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 10-10 from the line, 8 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Felipe Taddei added 13 on 2-3 from the floor and 3-6 from the line. Lucas Riva Amarante Nogueira notched 13 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 9 boards and 6 blocks. Felipe Andre Vezaro added 6, Bruno Irogoyen 5, Durval Alves Prado Cunha 3, Arthur Jose Da Luz Casimiro 3, Davi Rossetto De Oliveira 2, Gabriel Darin Aguirre 2 and Olintho Pereira Abrao Silva 2, while Icaro Parisolto was scoreless. Brazil hit 21-45 (.470) from the floor, 8-17 (.470) from the arc and 17-23 (.740) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 20 fouls, 13 turnovers, 6 steals and 10 blocks. Myck Kabongo paced Canada with 20 on 3-14 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 12 boards. Kyle Wiltjer added 18 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 5 boards. Kenny Fred-Chery scored 14 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Kevin Thomas added 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 10 boards. Gursimran Ghullar notched 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Khem Birch scored 6 on 3-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Phillip Scrubb added 3 on 1-7 from the arc, while Junior Lomomba and Kemy Osse were scoreless. Canada hit 19-59 (.320) from the floor, 10-27 (.270) from the arc and 10-14 (.710) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 21 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks.

        Canada finished (2-1) in round robin play and advanced to a semi-final against Pool B champion USA.

        In the semis, Austin Rivers broke several American and FIBA Americas U18 records by scoring 35 and hitting 9 consecutive treys to lead the United States to a 122-89 win over Canada. In the first quarter Rivers opened the game with a three pointer and paced the USA with a total of 5 three-point shots and they won the first ten minutes 37-10. Then in the second quarter Canada had their best offensive performance with 29 points but could not stop the United States as they made 31 to finish the first half 68-39. Rivers made one three pointer in the quarter. Rivers made three baskets from long range in the third quarter before he missed and the game was out of range for the Canadians at that point. At the end of the third quarter the lead was 100-61. In the final ten minutes the long-distance shots from Trevor Cooney and the dominance inside by his teammates closed the game. “That’s the goal and that’s what we came here for,” said USA coach Jeff Capel. “Not trying to sound conceited, but we expected to be in this position and this is what we’ve worked for. We’ve been together for three weeks and we’ve worked for this moment. Hopefully, we can come out and seize the opportunity tomorrow.” Rivers said “sometimes I just get in grooves where I hit a couple shots. You feel like the basket’s real wide. I know I hit a couple shots and then everything started going from there. After that it felt like any shot I threw up would go in, so it’s kind of like a lot of adrenaline. It felt like I had ultimate energy. Everything was falling.” Additionally, the team set a new single-game record at this event with 14 made 3-point field goals, breaking the previous record that was set in 2002, and tied in 2008 and again in the USA’s first contest this year. “I thought we played well,” added Capel. “We did a good job defensively early. I thought our guys respected Canada and we knew they were a very good team. We came out and jumped on them early. I thought we did it with our defense. One of the things was a huge key for us was (Kyle) Wiltjer. He’s their leading scorer and we wanted to try to take him out of the game. We did a very, very good job of that. He was shooting about 68 percent from three coming into this game. One of our main goals was to not even let him get a 3-point attempt and our guys did a good job of following through on that.” The red, white and blue, which has trailed for a total of 1:24 through four games, led wire-to-wire against Canada. Appropriately, Rivers got the scoring started with a 3-pointer 52 seconds into the game. By the 3:33 mark the U.S. was up 22-2 and at 2:51 Canada scored its first field goal of the night. “I love it. I love it,” stated Capel on Rivers’ performance. “It’s just really neat to watch him go through that. Really, the best part about it was watching his teammates. Seeing how excited they are. These are some of his peers, some guys that are a little bit older than him, but just seeing how excited they were for him was really pretty neat.” Rivers tied the former U.S. 3-point record with his fifth trey to close the first quarter scoring and put the U.S. up 37-10. Less than two minutes into the second quarter, Rivers, who was perfect from beyond the arc in his first nine attempts, had the record with his sixth made three. Rivers came out of the game late in the third quarter with 31 points. Knowing he was close to the record, Capel inserted Rivers back into the lineup to start the fourth quarter. At 9:09 Rivers drove in for two points and after a pair of treys from Trevor Cooney, Rivers tipped in a Hairston miss at 6:56 for the record. “No. When he told me to go in, he was smiling at me and I was wondering what it was about,” Rivers recalled when asked if he knew about the record. “Then he told me about two minutes later ‘we want you to get the record.’ So I got a little follow-up tip and then he took me out of the game. It’s just awesome to get that. I’m excited. The USA led 68-39 at halftime, and widened the lead to 100-61 at the end of three periods. At one point in the game, USA led by 51 points in the second half. Austin Rivers paced the US with 35 on 3-6 from the floor, 9-12 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Tony Mitchell Jr. added 13 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 9 boards. Kyrie Irving added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 assists and 2 steals. Jerome Richmond notched 11 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 boards. Joshua Hairston scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Vander Lee Blue II added 9, Abdul Kehandi-Basit Gaddy Jr. 8, Trevor Cooney 8, Quincy Miller-Scott 7, Tracy Abrams Jr. 5, Amir Williams 2 and Patrick Young 2. The US hit 30-58 (.520) from the floor, 14-24 (.580) from the arc and 20-24 (.830) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 19 fouls, 9 turnovers, 12 steals and 4 blocks. Myck Kabongo paced Canada with 32 on 8-11 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 7-9 from the line, 7 boards and 9 assists. Gursimaran Singh added 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Kyle Wiltjer notched 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 5 boards. Khem Birch scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 7 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Kenny Fred-Chery added 6, Julian Clarke 6, Kemy Osse 6, Philip Scrubb 5, Kevin Thomas 2, along with 5 boards, Emerson Murray 2 and Nicolas Langley 2. Canada hit 28-58 (.480) from the floor, 5-20 from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 20 fouls, 20 turnovers, 4 steals and 5 blocks.

        In the bronze medal match, Kyle Wiltjer hit the game winner with 1.7 seconds to play in overtime as Canada defeated Argentina 86-83. “It’s a great feeling. These guys battled Argentina, and for these guys to make a lot of shots it was not an easy game, and I am really proud they fought the way they did,” said Canadian coach Greg Francis. Julian Clarke added that “Argentina is always tough and this game was no exception. We really came through in the clutch as a team. If Kyle and I don’t hit those late threes without Myck kicking it out at the right time, Khem [Birch] blocking shots, Kevin Thomas working his butt off. Everyone played an important role.” The South Americans led for most of the game until Canada made a 12-1 run in the fourth quarter with a field goal by Kevin Thomas at the 3:28 mark putting the Canadians up by one. Kabongo, who was relatively quiet throughout the first three quarters, made key plays in the fourth quarter to bring the team back as they outscored Argentina 26-19. Clarke added, “we are looking forward to the worlds! Congratulations to everyone and keep up the good work Canada!” Argentina led 15-10, 34-27 and 52-45 at the quarters. Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 27 on 4-6 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 boards. Myck Kabongo added 15 on 3-13 from the floor, 9-12 from the line, 7 boards and 12 assists. Julian Clarke notched 14 on 4-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kevin Thomas scored 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 10 boards and 3 blocks. Kenny Fred-Chery added 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Gursimran Singh scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Khem Birch scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 6 boards and 7 blocks. Philip Scrubb added 4 and Kemy Osse 3. Canada hit. …………………………. Carlos Fernando Paredes paced Argentina with 28 on 3-5 from the floor, 6-11 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 8 boards. Marcos Nicolas Delia added 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Pablo Ignacio Perez added 10, Fernando Ariel Podesta 10, Nicolas Copello 9, Mateo Bolivar 4, Lucas Machuca 4, Juan Jose Giaveno 4 and Joel Alexis Comba 3, while Cristian Jose Scaramuzzino was scoreless.