In 2017, FIBA revises its qualifying procedures for the 2019 World Cup, slotting teams into regional groups playing home-and-home games, with group winners advancing to the next round of qualification. It creates qualifying windows in which games must be played, i.e., November 20-28, 2017; February 19-27, 2018; June 25 to July 3, 2018; September 10-18, 2018; November 26 to December 4, 2018; and February 20-28 (2019).
Canada was drawn into Group D of the first qualifiers window along with the Virgin Islands, Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.
In the second round, the top three teams from each group will be placed in a group with three other top teams, resulting in two groups of six teams each (Group E and F – Canada will likely reside in Group F). All results from the first qualification round are carried over to the second round. Games will be played in September 2018, November 2018 and February 2019. The top three teams in each group along with the better placed fourth team will qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup proper. After the six windows, the top seven teams from the Americas will reserve a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China from August 31 – September 15.
| FINAL STANDINGS 1. CANADA 1. United States 2. Argentina 2. Venezeula 2. Brazil | CANADIANS Jermaine Anderson (Toronto, Ont.) Joel Anthony (Montreal, Que.) R.J. Barrett (Mississauga, Ont.) Trae Bell-Haynes (Toronto, Ont.) Anthony Bennett (Toronto, Ont.) Aaron Best (Scarborough, Ont.) Khem Birch (Montreal, Que.) Anthony Brooks (Mississauga, Ont.) Ammanuel Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) Melvin Ejim (Toronto, Ont.) Joel Friesen (Abbotsford, B.C.) Grandy Glaze (Toronto, Ont.) Kadre Gray (Toronto, Ont.) Olivier Hanlan (Aylmer, Que.) Brady Heslip (Burlington, Ont.) Justin Jackson (Scarborough, Ont.) Cory Joseph (Toronto, Ont.) Kaza Kajami-Keane (Ajax, Ont.) Owen Klassen (Kingston, Ont.) Kyle Landry (Calgary, Alta.) Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.) Mychal Mulder (Windsor, Ont.) Andrew Nembhard (Aurora, Ont.) Duane Notice (Woodbridge, Ont.) Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.) Kevin Pangos (Newmarket, Ont.) Adika Peter-McNeilly (Toronto, Ont.) Dyshawn Pierre (Whitby, Ont.) Dwight Powell (Toronto, Ont.) Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Scarborough, Ont.) Philip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) Jevhon Shepherd (Toronto, Ont.) Marc Trasolini (Vancouver, B.C.) Kyle Wiltjer (Portland, Ore.) Jay Triano – senior men’s national team program head coach Roy Rana – interim head coach (in Nov/ 2017, Sept/2018, Nov/2018 and Feb/2019) Gordon Herbert – interim head coach (in February, 2018) Michael Meeks – assistant (in Nov/2018 and Feb/2019) Jack Sikma – assistant Dave Smart – assistant Nathaniel Mitchell – assistant J.D. Jackson – assistant (in Sept/2018, Nov/2018 and Feb/2019) Patrick Tatham – assistant (in Sept/2018, Nov/2018, and Feb/2019) James DePoe – manager David Grundman – manager/director of operations John Philpott – team doctor Samuel Gibbs – therapist Jason Meehan – therapist Charlie Weingroff – strength & conditioning Joe Raso – scout Jermaine Anderson – player development Dipesh Mistry – video coordinator Rushiraj Pancholi – video coordinator Phil Jevtovic – performance analyst Peter Jensen – psychologist Rowan Barrett – assistant general manager Marvin Cross – team security manager Matt Walker – communications manager |
| POOL A | ARG | URU | PAN | PAR | Record | ||||
| Argentina | —– —– | 83-88 102-58 | 68-59 87-62 | 96-63 83-61 | (5-1) | ||||
| Uruguay | 88-83 58-102 | —– —– | 86-73 75-86 | 67-49 58-49 | (4-2) | ||||
| Panama | 59-68 62-87 | 73-86 86-75 | —– —– | 82-62 74-67 | (3-3) | ||||
| Paraguay | 63-96 61-83 | 49-67 49-58 | 62-82 67-74 | —– —– | (0-6) | ||||
| POOL B | BRZ | VEN | CHI | COL | Record | ||||
| Brazil | —– —– | 72-60 56-72 | 86-73 83-58 | 84-49 98-71 | (5-1) | ||||
| Venezuela | 60-72 72-56 | —– —– | 77-56 70-51 | 85-71 73-62 | (5-1) | ||||
| Chile | 73-86 58-83 | 56-77 51-70 | —– —– | 74-69 67-71 | (1-5) | ||||
| Columbia | 49-84 71-98 | 71-85 62-73 | 69-74 71-67 | —– —– | (1-5) | ||||
| POOL C | USA | PUR | MEX | CUB | Record | ||||
| United States | —– —– | 85-78 83-75 | 91-55 70-78 | 84-48 93-62 | (5-1) | ||||
| Puerto Rico | 78-85 75-83 | —– —– | 100-80 84-79 | 95-72 84-80 | (4-2) | ||||
| Mexico | 55-91 78-70 | 80-100 79-84 | —– —– | 72-66 75-62 | (3-3) | ||||
| Cuba | 48-84 62-93 | 72-95 80-84 | 66-72 62-75 | —– —– | (0-6) | ||||
| POOL D | CAN | DOM | VGI | BAH | Record | ||||
| Canada | —– —– | 76-88 97-61 | 118-89 99-69 | 93-69 113-67 | (5-1) | ||||
| Dominican Republic | 88-76 61-97 | —– —– | 99-89 113-85 | 96-63 82-83 | (4-2) | ||||
| Virgin Islands | 89-118 69-99 | 89-99 85-113 | —– —– | 93-85 84-74 | (2-4) | ||||
| Bahamas | 69-93 67-113 | 63-96 83-82 | 85-93 74-84 | —– —– | (2-4) | ||||
| POOL E | USA | ARG | PUR | URU | MEX | PAN | Record | ||
| United States | —– —– | 63-80 84-83 | 85-78 83-75 | 114-57 78-70 | 91-55 70-78 | 78-48 111-80 | (10-2) | ||
| Argentina | 80-63 83-84 | —– —– | 106-84 86-87 | 83-88 102-58 | 78-74 85-71 | 68-59 87-62 | (9-3) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 78-85 75-83 | 84-106 87-86 | —– —– | 62-64 65-61 | 100-80 84-79 | 82-73 71-70 | (8-4) | ||
| Uruguay | 57-114 70-78 | 88-83 58-102 | 64-62 61-65 | —– —– | 63-60 77-88 | 86-73 75-86 | (6-6) | ||
| Mexico | 55-91 78-70 | 74-78 71-85 | 80-100 79-84 | 60-63 88-77 | —– —– | 65-76 78-61 | (5-7) | ||
| Panama | 48-78 80-111 | 59-68 62-87 | 73-87 70-71 | 73-86 86-75 | 76-65 61-78 | —– —– | (4-8) | ||
| POOL F | CAN | VEN | BRA | DOM | VGI | CHI | Record | ||
| Canada | —– —– | 76-84 95-55 | 85-77 94-67 | 76-88 97-61 | 118-89 99-69 | 84-61 85-46 | (10-2) | ||
| Venezuela | 84-76 55-95 | —– —– | 60-72 72-56 | 79-78 67-72 | 87-73 77-76 | 77-56 70-51 | (9-3) | ||
| Brazil | 77-85 67-94 | 72-60 56-72 | —– —– | 100-82 71-63 | 2-0 104-80 | 86-73 83-58 | (9-3) | ||
| Dominican Republic | 88-76 61-97 | 78-79 72-67 | 82-100 63-71 | —– —– | 99-89 113-85 | 71-46 74-65 | (7-5) | ||
| Virgin Islands | 89-118 69-99 | 73-87 76-77 | 0-2 80-104 | 89-99 85-113 | —– —– | 63-81 64-59 | (3-9) | ||
| Chile | 61-84 46-85 | 56-77 51-70 | 73-86 58-83 | 46-71 65-74 | 81-63 59-64 | —– —– | (2-10) | ||
Canada opened its bid for a berth at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with a 93-69 home Americas qualifier win over Bahamas at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on November 24, 2017. Canada led 21-11, 45-17 and 66-38 at the quarters. Brady Heslip hit 5 treys in the first half, including one that capped a 15-2 run to start the second quarter. Canada led by as many as 34. Brady Heslip said “all the guys just found me when I was open, I really didn’t have to dribble too much. Phil made a couple of good passes, Xavier did … They did all the work and I just shoot open shots.” Interim coach Roy Rana (head coach Jay Triano was fulfilling duties as associate coach of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns) said “the guys really committed to the game plan and that’s a testament to them. Sometimes your plan doesn’t always go well when guys just aren’t as invested. Tonight we were very, very good communicating with each other on the floor, active with our hands, cutting off driving lanes, and that paid huge dividends.” Rana told the Toronto Star that “I think we were pretty ready, we kind had a feel for what we thought they would do and I guess we guessed right to a certain degree. We stuck to what we were preaching the last four days and what we’ve done in this program for a number of years. It paid dividends tonight. … The one thing with Brady, Phil Scrubb and Olivier (Hanlan) and Kaza (Kajami-Keane), they know the deal, they know what it takes. They’ve played in our national team programs for a number of years, they’ve been in big games, they’ve been in pressure cookers.” Bahamas coach Mario Bowleg said “we came out soft, not ready to play, not able to execute on the offensive end and we struggled to score. Playing poor defence and struggling to score put us inside a hole.” Bowleg told the Nassau Tribune that “we’re an athletic team and we are a better shooting team and a better defensive team than we showed. Not taking anything away from Canada, they played great defence and made their shots. It seemed like we couldn’t stay in front of them on the man to man so I went to the 2-3 zone and kept on switching up from one zone to the next. We want to throw teams off and on. We just didn’t come to play. We won’t elaborate on this loss. We lost, that is a done deal, we didn’t come to play. We need to prepare to beat the Virgin Islands, but this was one loss, we have six games to play. The Virgin Islands have always been our greatest rivalry and at the end of the day, these guys don’t want to go home 0-2 in the hole. They are disappointed that they didn’t come to play and they admit that. The VI will try to bounce back, but so will we.” Brady Heslip paced Canada with 22 on 1-2 from the floor, 6-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 steals. Phillip Scrubb added 17 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Thomas Scrubb scored 12 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 11 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Marc Trasolini added 8 on 3-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Dyshawn Pierre added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 4 boards. Owen Klassen scored 4 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4-6 from the line. Olivier Hanlan added 4 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Anthony Bennett notched 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-3 from the line. Grandy Glaze scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Joel Anthony added 1 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Canada hit 30-64 (.469) overall, 19-35 (.543) from the floor, 11-29 (.379) from the arc and 22-31 (.710) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 23 assists, 19 fouls, 11 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. Jaraun Burrows paced the Bahamas with 15 on 5-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Shaquille Cleare added 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 4 boards. Abel Joseph scored 10 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 2 boards. Dartyn Baker added 10 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 6-6 from the line. Lynden Rose Jr notched 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 8 assists. Michael Carey scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Livingstone Munnings Jr added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Michael Bain Jr added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. David Nesbitt scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 5 boards, while Marc Cornelius Saint Fort, Torrington Cox and Robert Nortmann were scoreless. Nortmann nabbed 2 boards. The Bahamas (coached by Mario Keith Bowleg, assisted by Anton Allan Francis and Wayde Alexander Watson) hit 25-55 (.455) overall, 23-39 (.590) from the floor, 2-16 (.125) from the arc and 17-24 (.708) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 26 fouls, 16 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada fell to 1-1 in pool play after suffering an 88-76 loss to the Dominican Republic at the Arena del Cibao Oscar Gobaira in Santiago de los Caballeros on November 27, 2017. The Dominican Republic led 19-16, 44-30 and 62-46 at the quarters. Canada was plagued by turnovers and the Dominican Republic did an excellent job of denying Brady Heslip looks from beyond the arc, while Victor Liz scored 8 as the Dominican Republic took a quick lead. The Dominican Republic ripped off a 14-4 run in the second quarter as they built a double-digit lead by the break. Canada continued to be plagued by turnovers and were dominated on the boards in the second half, and soon trailed by as many as 24. A late rally only made the score vaguely respectable. “Obviously we came out on the losing side but credit to the Dominican Republic,” interim coach Roy Rana told Canadian Press. “They came out with a lot of energy and intensity and kind of took the game to us. They put us on our heels for most of the night. Proud that our guys fought back and made it a better game.” Philip Scrubb said “they came out with a lot of energy,” said Scrubb. “Initially we had a tough time matching that but like (Coach Rana) said I think we fought back in the end and I think we can learn a lot from this game and get better.” Rigoberto Mendoza De La Rosa led the Dominican Republic with 25 on 6-6 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Edward Santana Pimentel added 16 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Victor Liz notched 14 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Sadiel Rojas added 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 7 boards. Ronald Ramon Guerrero scored 8 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. Eulis Baez Benjamin notched 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Eloy Camacho Vargas scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Dagoberto Pena added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 4 assists. Adris De Leon Jimenez scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc, while Gelvis Solano Paulino, Jonathan Araujo Made and Angel Suero Castillo were scoreless. The Dominican Republic (coached by Melvyn Lopez Guillen, assisted by Nestor David Diaz Henriquez) hit 32-65 (.492) overall, 25-44 (.568) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 25 fouls, 14 turnovers, 14 steals and 3 blocks. Philip Scrubb paced Canada with 22 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Dyshawn Pierre added 15 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Thomas Scrubb scored 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Brady Heslip scored 9 on 0-1 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 3 assists. Olivier Hanlan notched 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Joel Anthony added 4 on 2-2 from the floor. Owen Klassen scored 3 on 3-4 from the line. Marc Trasolini added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 3 boards. Anthony Bennett scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Grandy Glaze notched 1 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Kaza Kajami-Keane and Xavier Rathan-Mayes were scoreless. Rathan-mayes dished 2 assists. Canada hit 26-58 (.448) overall, 18-31 (.581) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 16-26 (.615) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 21 fouls, 5 steals, 22 turnovers and 1 block.
Canada improved to 2-1 in pool D play by thumping the U.S. Virgin Islands 118-89 at Sir Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium in Nassau, Bahamas, on Feburary 22, 2018. The Virgin Islands led 27-21 after one quarter. Canada led 53-48 at the half and 87-70 after three quarters. Canada hit 8 treys in the third frame as they took command. Melvin Ejim paced Canada with 28 on 8-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Brady Heslip added 22 on 1-3 from the floor, 6-13 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Anthony Bennett scored 13 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Jermaine Anderson added 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Javohn Shepherd notched 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Aaron Best scored 9 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kyle Landry added 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Adika Peter-McNeilly notched 9 on 3-6 from the arc and 2 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 4 assists. Joel Anthony added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 2 boards, while Dyshawn Pierre and Thomas Scrubb were scoreless. Canada hit 40-70 (.571) overall, 23-31 (.742) from the floor, 17-39 (.436) from the arc and 21-26 (.808) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 28 assists, 21 fouls, 10 turnovers, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Deon Edwin led the U.S. Virgin Islands with 23 on 9-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Georgio Milligan added 20 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Walter Hodge notched 14 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 2 boards. Xavier Richards scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Jamaal Samuel added 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 5 boards. Leron Smith scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 2 boards. Johnathan Gray added 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc, while Kahlid Gerard was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. The Virgin Islands (coached by Donald Bough), hit 33-76 (.434) overall, 29-52 (.558) from the floor, 4-24 (.167) from the arc and 19-23 (.826) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 17 fouls, 4 turnovers and 5 steals.
Canada improved to 3-1 in pool D play by clocking the Bahamas at the Sir Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium in Nassau, Bahamas, on February 25, 2018. Canada hit 6 treys en route to a 25-21 lead after one quarter. They ripped off an 11-0 run early in the second frame and led 50-29 at the half and 76-51 after three quarters. The Bahamas never threatened. Brady Heslip paced Canada with 19 on 1-4 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Melvin Ejim added 15 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Kyle Landry scored 14 on 5-6 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 8 boards. Thomas Scrubb scored 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 10 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Anthony Bennett scored 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Jermaine Anderson notched 8 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 7 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Jevohn Shepherd scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Aaron Best added 6 on 2-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Joel Anthony notched 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 blocks. Dyshawn Pierre scored 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Canada hit 37-69 (.536) overall, 16-36 (.444) from the arc and 23-31 (.742) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 26 assists, 17 fouls, 8 turnovers, 7 steals and 4 blocks. Jaraun Burrows led the Bahamas with 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Michael Carey added 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 2 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Eugene Bain notched 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 5-5 from the line. Alonzo Hinds scored 8 on 1-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. David Nesbitt notched 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Michael Bain Jr added 4 on 1-3 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Abel Joseph scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Leon Cooper added 2 on 1-4 from the floor. Shavanno Cooper scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Robert Normann notched 2 on 2-2 from the line, while Kentwan Smith and Jonathan Augustin-Fairell were scoreless. Smith nabbed 4 boards. The Bahamas (coached by Mario Bowleg, assisted by Norris Bain and Wayde Watson) hit 26-69 (.377) overall, 22-57 (.386) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 24 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada improved to 4-1 in pool D play by whipping the Dominican Republic 97-61 on June 29, 2018 at Ricoh Stadium in Toronto. Canada led 25-21, 45-33 and 65-54 at the quarters. Canada’s full-court pressure led to a bushel of steals for runouts. Canada led by as many as 36. Cory Joseph said “we haven’t been together for a long time, been a week or so for those guys and I just came in for practice, practice is really important for us. As the game was going on you could see us getting more comfortable, making the extra pass, getting open shots and we started to lock them down.” Canadian coach Jay Triano told Canadian Press “I think that’s one of the things that is our strength is the depth that we have. We’re able to play a lot of players, we’re able to play players who have the unique ability to switch on to smaller players and keep them in front. Our assist-to-field goal ratio was very good tonight, what was it, 27 assists on 35 field goals, so we’re able to share the ball. Talking to the players before the game, it was: trust each other. You don’t have to make the home-run pass, just swing-swing, make the hockey assist. I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight, sharing the ball.” R.J. Barrett had little problem handling the adjustment to playing senior ball in his debut with the national team. “Everyone thinks because I’m the young guy, I’m going to be weak or something,” he said. “I’m still strong, can still play with them, so you know, just try to play my game. This felt good, especially coming in front of my family and friends. A crazy environment, I loved being a part of it.” Kelly Olynyk said playing in Canada was an advantage. “We all have obviously have something in common being from here, I think that’s huge, and to be able to come back and reunite with everybody, after your seasons, and come here and play for one common goal, and try to take this country to somewhere they’ve never been, that’s what we’re trying to do right now … To build that chemistry is not easy, it’s not going to happen overnight, but the more we can get together, the more we can play these games before the world tournament or the Olympics or whatever it is comes up, the better off we’ll be.” Olynyk said of playing with Barrett: “It depends what play you watch,” Olynyk laughed. “Sometimes you feel like you’re playing with an NBA all-star. He does make a few mistakes but he hasn’t had enough reps against high level competition but it’s going to come.” Triano told the Toronto Sun that “well, (the Dominican Republic) leads the FIBA Americas in creating turnovers, (avoiding) that was a big thing for us. Credit Andrew (Nembhard) and (Carleton legend) Phil Scrubb and Cory (Joseph) mostly for just making sure we didn’t turn the ball over. We couldn’t be sloppy against this team. I think they’re averaging 20 turnovers a game, creating that many, and I thought our guys did a good job of showing up for each other, taking care of the basketball.” Triano said Barrett and fellow high schooler Andrew Nembhard were solid. “I think if you were to have watched, I don’t know if you would know they were teenagers the way that they played. I thought both were very composed.” Canada took control down the stretch when Triano re-inserted his veterans and they ripped off an 13-0 run. “You saw it. The vets came in and just took care of business,” said Barrett. Joseph said “as the game was going on, you could see us getting more comfortable, making the extra pass, getting open shots and we started to knock them down.” Triano said timely perimeter shooting early in the fourth quarter proved the difference. “I think we finally hit a three. We had good looks throughout most of the game, and I think it was Phil Scrubb hit one, and that kind of just started everything. e spread the floor, Dwight Powell was excellent screening and rolling and creating space, and he got a couple dunks, they have to respect that. We gotta make threes. We finally made one and I think that just gave us a belief that we could do that. Make a couple of those, then they start closing out, we’re able to attack the rim. I think we finally just made a shot, to be honest.” Triano said of the disappointing attendance: “I think it may take Canadians a little bit of time to understand. If we’re playing this game in the Dominican Republic there are drums in the building and pounding and people standing and singing the whole time, almost like a European soccer atmosphere. We’re gonna need their support, because we’re gonna play games that are meaningful in this country, and we need to fill buildings and we need to have that little extra push. I thought the crowd tonight was very good. It would have been great if it was double the size and the volume was twice what it was. These guys deserve it because they represent Canada, they love to play the game of basketball and they love their country, so I hope more people will come out and celebrate that.” R.J. Barrett paced Canada with 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 6 boards. Dillon Brooks added 14 on 2-6 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kelly Olynyk notched 14 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Melvin Ejim scored 14 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Cory Joseph added 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 8 assists and 2 steals. Dwight Powell scored 11 on 5-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 7 boards. Phillip Scrubb added 6 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 assists. Khem Birch added 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Andrew Nembhard scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Thomas Scrubb added 3 on 1-1 from the arc, while Brady Heslip and Anthony Bennett were scoreless. Canada hit 35-69 (.507) overall, 25-42 (.595) from the floor, 20-17 (.370) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 27 assists, 19 fouls, 8 turnovers, 10 steals and 4 blocks. Rigoberto Mendoza paced the Dominican Republic with 11 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 assists. Edward Santana scored 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Eloy Comacho scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 8 boards. Luis Montero notched 8 on 0-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Juan Coronado added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Adris De Leon scored 5 on 1-5 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Dagoberto Pena added 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Victor Liz scored 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Gelvis Solano notched 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Sadiel Rojas scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Juan Garcia added 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards, while Jhonatan Araujo was scoreless. The Dominican Republic (coached by Melvyn Lopez, assisted by Nestor Diaz) hit 21-75 (.280) overall, 12-45 (.267) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 10-16 (.625) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 18 fouls, 16 turnovers, 2 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada closed out pool D play with a 5-1 record by stomping the U.S. Virgin Islands 99-69 on July 2, 2018 at TD Place in Ottawa after leading 20-16, 46-34 and 77-50 at the quarters. Canadian coach Jay Triano told Canadian Press that “we’ve always said we’ve been a young international team and now we’re starting to reach our prime, and reaching our prime is a big thing right now, and it’s time, because it’s the world championships and the Olympics (coming up). … I’m pleased. I like the fact that we had depth, our guys were locked in, we didn’t play to necessarily win games as we did one possession at a time, and I think that will bode well for us in the future. Play the right way, that was the message so we continue to build and understand each other, and get better and we know how we’re going to play the international game.” Cory Joseph said that in the “second half, we just picked up the energy once again, locked in on our defensive execution, and executed really well, able to get more points on the board … and build a lead. Unlike Andrews Wiggins and Jamal Murray, NBA stars who opted not to play for Canada, Joseph added that he and Kelly Olynyk “have always loved to play for our country, and as we get more talented, and we do bigger things individually and we start showing results, I think it’s definitely contagious. … I have fun, I get better, I see guys that I haven’t seen in a long time, that I grew up with, that I track during the year. It’s very fun for me, and I’ve always made it important to get out here and work with these guys in the summer.” Canada blew open the game with a 9-0 run early in the third quarter. Joseph told Sportsnet that Melvin Ejim’s “got a high IQ for the game, he’s got good feel, he’s tough as nails, a very edgy guy, gets in there, fights for rebounds. He gets us second opportunities and has a good stroke and can knock down shots. He’s a key to our team, for sure. He gets us going.” Ejim said “my role is to be a leader, to be a guy who brings energy, communicates with young guys, old guys, help guys get through. We have so much talent, so just bring everyone together, play the right way and be unselfish and help however I can, rebounding, defending, whatever we need. My role changes depending on what group I’m with. Whether I’m with the NBA guys, the college guys or both, I think being adaptable is one of my skills.” Philip Scrubb paced Canada with 14 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 boards. Kelly Olynyk added 14 on 4-4 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. R.J. Barrett notched 13 on 4-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Dillon Brooks added 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Cory Joseph notched 11 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 6 assists. Dwight Powell scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Khem Birch notched 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Anthony Bennett added 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Aaron Best notched 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Andrew Nembhard scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 6 assists. Brady Heslip scored 3 on 1-4 from the arc. Melvin Ejim added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Canada hit 35-66 (.530) overall, 26-37 (.703) from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 20-27 (.741) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 15 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Craig Williams Jr. led the Virgin Islands with 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Ivan Aska added 10 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Georgio Milligan scored 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Khalid Hart notched 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 3 boards. Cuthbert Victor scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Nicolas Claxton added 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 6 boards. Johnathan Gray added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Angel Rivera scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 assists. Laron Smith added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 2 boards. Justin Gray notched 3 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Deon Edwin added 3 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Phillip Jones was scoreless. The Virgin Islands (coached by Jerome Tang, assisted by Jareem Dowling), hit 27-78 (.346) overall, 20-57 (.351) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 19 fouls, 10 turnovers, 6 steals and 1 block.
Canada finished 5-1 in pool D play and advanced to winners pool F.
In its opener of second round pool play, Canada defeated Brazil 85-77 at Place Bell in Quebec City (attendance 4,512) on September 13, 2018 after leading 22-19, 41-33 and 64-56 at the quarters. Kelly Olynyk dominated the floor with a double-double, while Canada hit 7 treys in the first half and controlled the glass throughout the affair. Olynyk said “obviously, in games like these, we’re going up against some of the best competition in the world. Every game in the Qualifiers is a test. We didn’t start the way we wanted to, but we had a lot of guys contribute for us tonight and it was enough to push us over the edge. I think we had six guys put up double-digits tonight, so obviously when you have a collective effort like that, it gives us a big advantage.” Interim head coach Roy Rana said “it was a great opportunity for us to host the game on home soil, so I’m glad we could win in front of the home fans. We have a lot of guys on this team that can do a lot of different things, so I felt like we had a really complete roster out there tonight. Cory [Joseph] and Kevin [Pangos] got everyone involved offensively, Tristan [Thompson] and Kelly [Olynyk] were obviously huge for us inside, and Melvin [Ejim] did it all for us again like he usually does. It was a good team effort. We still have work to do, but we’re happy about the result.” Canada led for most of the affair and by 13 in the second half but only held off Brazil on a pair of late treys by Kevin Pangos. “Great win for us, in our situation,” said Olynyk. “We haven’t played together a lot, and to come in and put together a squad and get one win against Brazil here is huge … the more we play together the better we’re going to get, and this is one step in the right direction for us. … We have their guys, we have film on them, they’ve played before either with Brazil or elsewhere in the world, so it’s not like a complete mystery. But a lot of these games, you don’t have a lot of time to prepare so you can only focus on yourself and make sure you’re doing the most you can do, offensively, defensively, conceptually and go out there and try to apply it. You just have to go out there and play. It’s one game. You can’t leave anything back. … There’s just lot of pride and lots of passion when you put on a Canadian jersey. There’s something about coming home and being able to wear the red and white and Canada across your chest that kind of inspires you. It’s hard to explain, it brings something else out of you.” Rana said “we talked about playing the right way, trying to play together all week long. Our guys were willing to make the pass, willing to share, it wasn’t about one particular person’s performance, it was about getting the win. If we keep playing this way, I think we have some really special times ahead.” Canada led by as many as 13 in the third before an 8-0 run by Brazil but but Joseph found Thompson for a dunk and Ejim for a lay-up in transition to give Canada an eight-point lead heading into the final frame. Brazil pulled to within six points with two minutes to play, but Pangos replied with a three-pointer for the Canadians, and added another long bomb with seven seconds on the clock. Pangos said “it was a lot of fun” to be back in Canadian jersey, while Olynyk said he enjoyed playing with his former Gonzaga teammate. “It was awesome. We talked about it after the game, it was just amazing to be on the same court with each other again, I love playing with Kev, his game and my game complement each other really well. Hopefully, we’ll have a little more games together than a five-year hiatus.” Pangos led Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas to its first EuroLeague Final Four appearance in 19 years last spring, and then was signed by Barcelona. In his contract negotiations, he insisted on being allowed to play for Canada. “They sent an e-mail saying, ‘We understand the importance of this to you,’” Pangos said. “So it was all discussed, and when I got there it wasn’t easy, but we had to discuss it so both sides could be happy and this was the compromise we came to – less days of camp. … I just wanted to represent the country. Coming back here, it’s like a family, all these guys at a young age I either played with or played for, the coaches, the therapists and stuff, that’s No. 1, just wearing Canada on your chest. It felt like something that was really important, I haven’t had a chance for a while, and it’s always such an honour, and when I saw this window and I saw the importance of these games as well it was something I really wanted to do. … It was a commitment I did every year. I did it from the youngest age group every summer until I was 19 or so and then I just haven’t been able to in a while. For me it was something I always loved to do.” Rana said “it’s just nice to have Kevin back, he’s been with us for so long,” said Rana, who coached the U17 bronze-medal team for which Pangos played. “He’s just such a savvy veteran, now he really understands how to play. With him in the backcourt with Cory [Joseph], whether it’s them sharing it or playing off of each other, it’s a really nice thing to have.” Rana told Canadian Press that “it’s been an absolutely phenomenal … whatever it is, six days we’ve been together. From start to finish, these guys have been unbelievable. It’s a close group that’s getting closer as we move through the windows, and that’s exciting.” Kelly Olynyk paced Canada with 20 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 19 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Cory Joseph added 16 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 10 assists. Melvin Ejim notched 14 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Aaron Best added 12 on 0-1 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. Kevin Pangos scored 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 8 assists. Tristan Thompson added 10 on 5-6 from the floor, 0-5 from the line, 12 boards and 2 assists. Brady Heslip scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc, while Justin Jackson and Khem Birch were scoreless. Dyshawn Pierre, Ammanuel Diressa and Kaza Kajami-Keane did not play. Canada hit 33-65 (.508) overall, 19-32 (.594) from the floor, 14-33 (.424) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 25 assists, 13 fouls, 15 turnovers, 8 steals and 1 block. Leandro Barbosa paced Brazil with 18 on 9-16 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 0-1 from the line. Marcelinho Huertas added 14 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 12 assists and 2 steals. Anderson Varejao scored 10 on 5-8 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 assists. Augusto Lima added 10 on 5-6 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Vitor Benite scored 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 steals. Yago Mateus added 6 on 2-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Leonardo Meindl scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 2 assists. Rafael Mineiro added 4 on 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Lucas Silva, Jhonatan Dos Santos and Marcos Silva were scoreless and Ricardo Fischer did not play. Brazil (coached by Aleksandar Petrovic, assisted by Cesar Guidetti and Bruno Savignani) hit 33-69 (.478) overall, 28-49 (.571) from the floor, 5-20 (.250) from the arc and 6-12 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada improved to 7-1 by pounding host Chile 84-61 at the packed Coliseo Antonio Azurmendy in Valdivia on September 17th, 2018, after leading 23-16, 43-30 and 66-46 at the quarters. Although playing without their NBA and Euro-League players, Canada took command with a 15-1 run to end the third quarter, capped by a Joel Anthony alley-oop slam on a pass from Kaza Kajami-Keane. “Obviously it’s really difficult playing on the road, especially with this format. To have that long travel and have the guys able to take care of their bodies… We stayed mentally and physically focused and came out and executed the game plan. Everyone really stepped up and did a good job securing us a really important win,” said Joel Anthony. Canadian interim head coach Roy Rana said called it a “great and important road win with an electric crowd in Valdivia, Chile. I thought our guys once again showed mental toughness and resilience to win this type of game. We never folded, were always together and proud to be Canadian.” Joel Anthony paced Canada with 17 on 7-10 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 5 boards and 3 blocks. Brady Heslip added 12 on 0-1 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 3-3 from the line. Justin Jackson notched 10 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Melvin Ejim scored 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Duane Notice added 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 7 assists. Kyle Landry notched 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Aaron Best added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 3 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 6 assists. Dyshawn Pierre scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc, while Ammanuel Diressa and Joel Friesen were scoreless. Canada hit 29-56 (.518) overall, 21-31 (.677) from the floor, 8-15 (.320) from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 21 fouls, 9 turnovers, 3 steals and 5 blocks. Franco Morales paced Chile with 17 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Felipe Haase added 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Manuel Suarez scored 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Sebastian Suarez scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Eduardo Marechal notched 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 6 boards. Ignacio Carrion scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 7 boards. Gerardo Isla added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Diego Silva scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Jose Del Solar notched 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 2 boards, while Carlos Lauler, Kevin Rubio and Sebastian Silva were scoreless. Chile (coached by Claudio Jorquera, assisted by Daniel Frola) hit 24-64 (.375) overall, 21-46 (.457) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 10-13 (.769) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 22 fouls, 14 turnovers, 2 steals and 1 block.
Canada fell 84-76 to Venezeula on November 30, 2018, at Parque Miranda in Caracas, dropping to (7-2) in pool play. The Venezeulan’s pressure defence and ball distribution proved Canada’s undoing, along with a failure to box-out on the defensive boards. Gregory Vargas scored five points in the final two minutes to ensure the Venezuelan win, including a bucket that made it 79-71 with 1:35 on the clock and a pair of free throws with 18.8 seconds to play. The score was knotted at 17 after one quarter, and at 37 at the half after Thomas Scrubb drilled a floater as time expired. The Venezeulan’s took a six-point lead in the third quarter and led 59-55 heading into the final frame. Canadian coach Roy Rana said he was “incredibly proud of our guys as we battled through incredible adversity just to make the game. We all understand this is not a one game qualification but part of a larger process. On to the next and we’ll continue to battle for our country.” What was intended to be a nine-hour travel day Thursday from Orlando to Caracas turned into a 25-hour trek, including a 10-hour delay at the Miami airport featuring four hours of sitting on the tarmac. Jose Vargas paced Venezeula with 15 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Dwight Lewis added 14 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 5 boards. Gregory Vargas notched 13 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Jhorna Zamora added 12 on 3-3 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Gregory Echenique scored 10 on 5-10 from the floor and 12 boards. Nestor Colmenares added 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Heissler Guillent added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 3 boards and 8 assists. Luis Bethelmy scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Pedro Chourio added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 assists, while Miguel Ruiz was scoreless and nabbed 6 boards. Windi Graterol and Elder Gimenez did not play. Venezeula (coached by Fernando Hector Duró, assisted by Pablo Daniel Favarel and Nelson Solorzano) hit 33-71 (.465) overall, 24-46 (.522) from the floor, 9-25 (.360) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 21 fouls, 14 turnovers and 4 steals. Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 21 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb added 16 on 2-9 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 5 boards, 4 asssists and 2 steals. Brady Heslip scored 14 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Joel Anthony notched 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards. Thomas Scrubb scored 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Conor Morgan added 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Aaron Best added 3 on 1-2 from the arc. Kyle Landry scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Duane Notice notched 1 on 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 assists, while Dyshawn Pierre, Kadre Gray and Kaza Kajami-Keane were scoreless. Canada hit 27-72 (.375) overall, 16-42 (.381) from the floor, 11-30 (.367) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 16 fouls, 10 turnovers, 8 steals and 5 blocks.
Canada guaranteed itself a berth at the World Cup in 2019 by pounding Brazil 94-67 on December 3, 2018 in Sao Paulo. Canadian coach Roy Rana called it “a great and historic win for our country. Character wins and I could not be more proud of all the guys who helped us through the windows to date as we now advance to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China. We’re especially grateful for the leadership of Joel Anthony. A Canadian basketball treasure!” Anthony said “it’s a great feeling. It’s been a long time since this country has had a chance to be back on the world stage. I remember when we qualified the last time and just a really proud feeling to be able to be back and see us get back there. To be able to be a part of it is extremely special to me. I’m just really happy, grateful, thankful and excited that we’re able to be back where we belong.” Kyle Wiltjer said “it feels amazing to travel all this way and accomplish our goal.” Brady Heslip said “proud of this team and we’ll see you in China.” Kyle Landry said “spectacular. It was a lot of fun to win this game and accomplish our goal of qualifying for the World Cup in China.” Kaza Kajami-Keane said “I’m just excited and honoured to represent our country in qualifying for the World Cup. Just have to continue to strive to become better and put ourselves in position to win a lot more games.” Brazil led 20-18 after one quarter but then Canada took complete control with an 8-0 run. “It’s amazing going down there and doing that,” head coach Jay Triano told the Toronto Star in a text. “(We) know how hard it is to go there and do that.” Canada led 45-34 at the half and 76-52 after three quarters. Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 25 on 6-7 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Philip Scrubb added 15 on 3-4 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 6 assists. Thomas Scrubb notched 14 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Duane Notice added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Kyle Landry scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Aaron Best notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Conor Morgan scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Joel Anthony added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane scored 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 3 boards. Brady Heslip scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 assists, while Dyshawn Pierre and Kadre Gray were scoreless. Canada hit 35-68 (.515) overall, 24-40 (.600) from the floor, 11-28 (.393) from the arc and 13-15 (.867) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 23 fouls, 8 turnovers, 6 stelas and 3 blocks. Marquinhos Sousa paced Brazil with 17 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Vitor Benite added 16 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Leandrinho Barbosa notched 9 on 0-4 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 6-8 from the line and 3 boards. Scott Machado added 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 3 boards and 6 assists. Augusto Lima scored 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Anderson Varejao added 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 3 boards. Lucas Dias added 2 on 0-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Leo Meindl scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Rafa Luz, Rafa Mineiro, Marcos Louzada and Arthur Pecos were scoreless. Pecos nabbed 3 boards and Luz 2. Brazil (coached by Aleksandar Petrovic, assisted by Cesar Guidetti and Bruno Savignani) hit 19-60 (.317) overall, 13-35 (.371) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 23-29 (.793) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 21 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada pounded Chile 85-46 on February 21st,2019 at the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Canada led 16-9, 34-21 and 63-37 at the quarters. Canadian coach Roy Rana said “the tempo started to change in the second half. We had an ok second quarter and made a couple three. Brady and Kyle got hot a little bit and Phil started getting to the rim. That’s when shots started falling and we loosened up and started to have some fun.” Brady Heslip said “in the first half we just weren’t as intense as we needed to be. We didn’t play with enough energy so coach just reminded the guys that you only get so many opportunities to play in front of Canadian fans. We didn’t want to let them down and not play with energy so we just came out with a big second half and took care of business.” Canada’s size and full-court pressure flummoxed the Chileans. The Canadians closed out the first quarter with treys from Heslip and Kaza Kajami Keane. A runout by Kyle Wiltjer extended the margin to 16 in the second quarter but Chile hung around vaguely within reach heading into the lockers. Canada opened the second half with a 13-3 run to dispel any Chilean hopes of an upset.
Brady Heslip paced Canada with 14 on 1-1 from the floor and 4-8 from the arc. Melvin Ejim added 12 on 5-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 9 boards. Kyle Wiltjer notched 12 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 14 boards and 2 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane scored 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 assists and 3 steals. Thomas Scrubb scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Philip Scrubb notched 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Adika Peter-McNeilly scored 6 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Mychal Mulder scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Kyle Landry notched 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 steals. Aaron Best added 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Conor Morgan notched 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Joel Anthony scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 9 boards and 3 blocks. Canada hit 33-72 (.458) overall, 23-39 (.589) from the floor, 10-33 (.303) from the arc and 9-11 (.818) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 19 fouls, 7 turnovers, 8 steals and 6 blocks. Sebastian Herrera paced Chile with 11 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Jose Del Solar added 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Ignacio Arroyo notched 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and 2 boards. Manuel Suarez scored 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 8 boards. Ignacio Carrion added 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Carlos Lauler notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Gerardo Isla scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Javier Barra added 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Sebastian Suarez notched 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Diego Silva added 1 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 2 boards, while Barham Amor and Sebastian Silva were scoreless. Silva nabbed 2 boards. Chile (coached by Daniel Frola, assisted by Leonardo Mauricio and Monsalve Lizama) hit 16-54 (.296) overall, 13-35 (.371) from the floor, 3-19 (.157) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 16 fouls, 12 turnovers, 4 steals and 5 blocks.
Canada closed out its qualifying schedule by whipping Venezuela 95-55 on February 24th at the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Canada broke to a 14-3 lead and led 24-8, 45-23 and 72-40 at the quarters. Kyle Wiltjer paced Canada with 19 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb added 14 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards and 8 assists. Melvin Ejim notched 11 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Joel Anthony scored 10 on 5-6 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Thomas Scrubb added 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 7 boards. Brady Heslip scored 8 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane notched 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 5 assists. Conor Morgan scored 6 on 0-1 from the floor and 6-6 from the line. Aaron Best added 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Kyle Landry scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Mychal Mulder added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc, while Adika Peter-McNeilly was scoreless. Canada hit 33-66 overall, 25-38 (.658) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 21-23 (.913) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 12 fouls, 5 turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks. Yohanner Sifontes paced Venezuela with 10 on 3-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Luis Bethelmy added 8 on 1-1 from the floor and 2-6 from the arc. Gregory Vargas notched 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Windi Graterol scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 9 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Heissler Guillent added 6 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 3 assists. Jose Vargas scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nester Colmenares notched 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-6 from the line. Jose Materan scored 3 on 0-3 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. David Cubillan added 2 on 1-5 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Miguel Ruiz scored 2 on 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Elder Gimenez added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 assists, while Javinger Vargas was scoreless. Venezuela (coached by Fernando Hector Duro, assisted by Jose Humberto Perez and Rodil Nelson Solorzano) hit 19-65 (.292) overall, 12-35 (.343) from the floor, 7-30 (.233) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 22 fouls, 13 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block.
Canada finished (10-2) in pool F play, qualifying automatically for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China (Aug. 31-Sept. 15, 2019). It marked Canada’s first qualification for a World Cup since 2010. Also qualifying were the United States, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic (by virtue of a superior “goal average” to that of fourth-place pool E finisher Uruguay).
Other qualifiers:
Tournament hosts: China
Africa (5): Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia
Asia (7): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea, New Zealand, Philippines
Europe (12): Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Turkey
March 25/2019
Jay Triano steps aside as head coach of the national team. “I can’t thank Jay enough for all he has done for basketball in Canada,” said Glen Grunwald, President & CEO. “As both a coach and player, Jay is a Canadian icon and has played a major role in the development of basketball within our country and we will forever be grateful for his contributions. After speaking with Jay, I’m hopeful we can find a role where he can continue to contribute to Canada Basketball in the future.” The 60-year-old was serving his second stint at the helm of the national team. He first served as head coach between 1998-2004, in which he led Canada to a 7th-place finish at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He returned to the helm in 2012. Triano became the first Canadian born and Canadian trained coach in the NBA when he joined the Raptors in 2002 as an assistant coach. He then was promoted to head coach during the 2008-2009 season and held the position until the end of the 2010-2011 season. At the time of his resignation, he was also the lead assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets. As a player, Triano was a member of Canada’s national team for eleven years (1977-88) and was team captain from 1981-88. He represented Canada in three Olympic Games (1980, 1984 and 1988), serving as team captain in the last two. Triano was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
2017 FIBA AMERICAS CUP, Medellín (Colombia), Bahía Blanca (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay). Finals in Cordoba, Argentina
| PLACINGS 1. United States 2. Argentina 3. Mexico 4. Virgin Islands 5. Puerto Rico Uruguay 7. CANADA Brazil Dominican Republic 10. Panama Venezuela Colombia | CANADIANS Jermaine Anderson (Toronto, Ont.) Joel Anthony (Montreal, Que.) Richard Amardi (Toronto, Ont.) Murphy Burnatowski (Kitchener, Ont.) Junior Cadougan (Toronto, Ont.) Ammanuel Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) Grandy Glaze (Toronto, Ont.) Olivier Hanlan (Gatineau, Que.) Brady Heslip (Oakville, Ont.) Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Scarborough, Ont.) Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga, Ont.) Dyshawn Pierre (Whitby, Ont.) Roy Rana – coach Craig Beaucamp – assistant Jack Sikma – assistant Michael Meeks – assistant Nathaniel Mitchell – assistant Jay Triano – SMNT program head coach Kelly Forbes – performance consultant David Grundman – manager Dipesh Mistry – video coordinator Phil Jevtovic – performance analysts Samuel Gibbs – therapist Jason Meehan – therapist Charlie Weingroff – strength & conditioning coach John Philpott – doctor |
| POOL A | MEX | PUR | BRZ | COL | Record | ||
| Mexico | —– | 69-66 | 99-76 | 82-70 | (3-0) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 66-69 | —– | 89-80 | 91-72 | (2-1) | ||
| Brazil | 76-99 | 80-89 | —– | 76-74 | (1-2) | ||
| Colombia | 70-82 | 72-91 | 74-76 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | ARG | VGI | CAN | VEN | Record | ||
| Argentina | —– | 104-58 | 92-86 | 67-62 | (3-0) | ||
| Virgin Islands | 58-104 | —– | 83-71 | 84-86 | (1-2) | ||
| Canada | 86-92 | 71-83 | —– | 75-66 | (1-2) | ||
| Venezuela | 62-67 | 86-84 | 66-75 | —– | (1-2) | ||
| POOL C | USA | URU | DOM | PAN | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 74-66 | 72-56 | 97-56 | (3-0) | ||
| Uruguay | 66-74 | —– | 66-57 | 79-68 | (2-1) | ||
| Dominican Republic | 56-72 | 57-66 | —– | 86-64 | (1-2) | ||
| Panama | 56-97 | 68-79 | 64-86 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| Semi | United States 90 Virgin Islands 62 | |
| Semi | Argentina 84 Mexico 67 | |
| Bronze | Mexico 79 Virgin Islands 65 | |
| Final | United States 81 Argentina 76 | |
The tournament has no impact on FIBA qualifying for the 2019 World Cup.
In its opener, Canada was stunned 83-71 by the Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands led 20-16, 35-30 and 63-49 at the quarters. Canadian coach Roy Rana said “tough first game for us at the AmeriCup. We look forward to building this group and the valuable international experience it’s providing our team.” Xavier Rathan-Mayes said “we didn’t play well and we have to do a better job of coming out with a lot of energy. We came out sluggish and didn’t execute the way we should have. We just have to go back and regroup, come back and win two.” Walter Hodge paced the Virgin Islands with 25 on 6-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 4 boards and 8 assists. Justin Gray added 14 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Deon Edwin scored 12 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Khalid Hart added 12 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Phillip Jones added 9 on 3-4 from the floor. Cuthbert Victor scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 5 blocks. Javier Martinez added 2, along with 2 boards, Stephaun Adams 1, along with 3 boards and Jahmia Simmons 1, while Angel Rivera, Johnathan Gray and Rashawn Fredericks were scoreless. The Virgin Islands (coach Sam Mitchell Jr., assistants Jareem Dowling and Micheal Leeroyal Evans) hit 28-65 (.431) overall, 17-39 (.436) from the floor, 11-26 (.423) from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 17 fouls, 13 turnovers, 5 steals and 6 blocks. Olivier Hanlan paced Canada with 10 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Brady Heslip added 9 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 assists. Andrew Nicholson scored 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Ammanuel Diressa scored 8 on 1-3 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Junior Cadougan scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 3 boards. Richard Amardi scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Joel Anthony scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 8 boards. Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 10 boards and 6 assists. Murphy Burnatowski added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Jermaine Anderson added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Dyshawn Pierre scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards, while Grandy Glaze was scoreless. Canada hit 24-76 (.316) overall, 17-44 (.386) from the floor, 7-32 (.219) from the arc and 16-19 (.842) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 20 fouls, 8 turnovers, 5 steals and 5 blocks.
Canada fell to 0-2 after losing 92-86 to Argentina in overtime. Canada led 25-16 after one quarter and 42-40 at the half. Argentina led 55-53 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 69 after regulation. Facundo Campazzo paced Argentina with 23 on 2-6 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 2 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Gabriel Deck added 20 on 8-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-7 from the line and 9 boards. Patricio Garino added 20 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Lucio Redivo scored 17 on 1-2 from the floor, 5-11 from the arc and 2 boards. Javier Saiz added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Marcos Delia scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals, while Luca Vildoza, Luis Scola, Nicolas Brussino, Tayavek Gallizzi and Maximo Fjellerup were scoreless. Argentina (coached by Sergio Hernandez, assisted by Diego Oscar Lifschitz and Miguel Santander) hit 32-74 (.432) overall, 20-36 (.556) from the floor, 12-38 (.316) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 20 fouls, 8 turnovers, 10 steals and 1 block. Brady Heslip paced Canada with 24 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 2 boards. Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 17 on 6-13 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Olivier Hanlan added 16 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Andrew Nicholson added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 18 boards and 2 blocks. Junior Cadougan scored 7 on 3-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Grandy Glaze scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 7 boards. Grandy Glaze added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 7 boards. Ammanuel Diressa added 2 on 0-1 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Dyshawn Pierre scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 9 boards. Joel Anthony scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards, while Jermaine Anderson, Richard Amardi and Murphy Burnatowski were scoreless. Anderson dished 2 assists. Canada hit 32-72 (.444) overall, 25-49 (.510) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 24 fouls, 14 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada closed out pool play at 1-2 by defeating Venezuela 75-66. Despite eight points from Xavier Rathan-Mayes in the opening frame, Canada found themselves trailing Venezuela 23-18 at the end of the first quarter. A back-and-forth second saw Canada reclaim the lead with 2:49 to play in the half and enter the break up 29-27. The see-saw battle continued in the third as the lead changed hands several times before the quarter came to a close tied 48-48. Canadian coach Roy Rana said “a pretty talented group of teams here and there were no easy games. This is a very experienced and tough Venezuela team, so it was nice for us to get a chance to grow every game. I take tremendous pride in our growth and result from today. … Watching our young players get better every day and watching a group that really began to understand how much we have to fight in every game to win. These games are about passion as much as they are about tactics and strategy. I think we got better and better and it’s been nothing but a positive experience here. … With the new format, it’s going to take a lot of players. It’s going to take our NBA players like Andrew and it’s going to take some of our young players that have made their first appearances for our country. I think that’s the beauty of what we saw these past three days here is that we are really starting to show our depth as far as our players are concerned, as we have young players here. Hopefully that’s going to pay dividends going into November and February.” Andrew Nicholson said “we all got better collectively as a team from the start of training camp to the last game today. Great group of guys, always on the same page and fighting for the same goals. Great leadership from Coach Rana and the coaching staff. I think we did a good job this week showing how we played with pride and a lot of energy.” Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced Canada with 22 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards and 8 assists. Andrew Nicholson added 12 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Olivier Hanlan scored 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 steals. Dyshaun Pierre added 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 11 boards. Brady Heslip scored 7 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Joel Anthony scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 10 boards and 3 blocks. Ammanuel Diressa scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Jermaine Anderson added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Junior Cadougan scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Richard Amardi, Murphy Burnatowski and Grandy Glaze were scoreless. Canada hit 29-63 (.460) overall, 22-40 (.550) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 16 fouls, 12 turnovers, 6 steals and 7 blocks. John Cox paced Venezuela with 22 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Windi Graterol added 16 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Gregory Vargas scored 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Nestor Colmenares added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 13 boards and 2 assists. Cesar Garcia scored 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. Heissler Guillent added 3 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists, while Pedro Chourio, Jose Vargas, Miguel Ruiz, Anthony Perez, Jose Bravo and Luis Carrillo were scoreless. Venezuela (coached by Nestor Garcia, assisted by Daniel Seonane and Nelson Solorzano) hit 25-66 (.379) overall, 18-40 (.450) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 20 fouls, 11 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks.
The all-tournament team included MVP Jameel Warney (United States); Facundo Campazzo (Argentina); Francisco “Paco” Cruz (Mexico); Nicolás Brussino (Argentina); and Darrum Hilliard (United States).