| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Puerto Rico 3. Brazil 4. Argentina 5. CANADA 6. Cuba | CANADIANS Steve Nash (Johannesburg, South Africa) Sherman Hamilton (Toronto, Ont.) Rowan Barrett (Scarborough, Ont.) Will Njoku (Accra, Ghana) Martin Keane (Toronto, Ont.) Joey Vickery (Winnipeg, Man.) Wayne Yearwood (Montreal, Que.) Michael Meeks (Patrick City, Jamaica) Peter Van Elswyk (Hamilton, Ont.) Eli Pasquale (Sudbury, Ont.) Rob Wilson (Toronto, Ont.) Pascal Fleury (Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.) Steve Konchalski – coach |
| POOL A | ARG | BRZ | CUB | URU | MEX | Record | ||||
| Argentina | —– | 68-65 | 81-73 | 69-70 | 99-76 | (3-1) | ||||
| Brazil | 65-68 | —– | 78-75 | 84-83 | 101-71 | (3-1) | ||||
| Cuba | 73-81 | 75-78 | —– | 88-63 | 71-68 | (2-2) | ||||
| Uruguay | 70-69 | 83-84 | 63-88 | —– | 81-67 | (2-2) | ||||
| Mexico | 76-99 | 71-101 | 68-71 | 67-81 | —– | (0-4) | ||||
| POOL B | CAN | DOM | VEN | USA | PUR | Record | ||||
| Canada | —– | 109-85 | 119-98 | 97-102 | 78-77 | (3-1) | ||||
| Venezuela | 98-119 | 85-80 | —– | 85-75 | 97-83 | (3-1) | ||||
| United States | 102-97 | 98-70 | 75-85 | —– | 83-82 | (3-1) | ||||
| Puerto Rico | 77-78 | 88-85 | 83-97 | 82-83 | —– | (1-3) | ||||
| Dominican Republic | 85-109 | —– | 80-85 | 70-98 | 85-88 | (0-4) | ||||
| POOL C | CAN | USA | VEN | PUR | CUB | BRZ | ARG | URU | Record | |
| United States | 102-97 | —– | 75-85 | 83-82 | 100-88 | 93-89 | 91-78 | 98-84 | (6-1) | |
| Puerto Rico | 77-78 | 82-83 | 83-97 | —– | 118-81 | 86-81 | 88-83 | 102-81 | (4-3) | |
| Brazil | 94-82 | 89-93 | 88-79 | 81-86 | 78-70 | —– | 65-68 | 84-83 | (4-3) | |
| Argentina | 87-76 | 78-91 | 82-87 | 83-88 | 81-73 | 68-65 | —– | 69-70 | (4-3) | |
| Cuba | 88-75 | 88-100 | 102-100 | 81-118 | —– | 70-78 | 73-81 | 88-63 | (2-5) | |
| Canada | —– | 97-102 | 119-98 | 78-77 | 75-88 | 82-94 | 76-87 | 63-56 | (3-4) | |
| Venezuela | 98-119 | 85-75 | —– | 97-83 | 100-102 | 79-88 | 87-82 | 77-84 | (3-4) | |
| Uruguay | 56-63 | 84-98 | 84-77 | 81-102 | 63-88 | 83-84 | 70-69 | —– | (3-4) | |
| 5th | Canada 92 Cuba 83 | |
| Bronze | Brazil 76 Argentina 75 | |
| Final | United States 95 Puerto Rico 86 | |
Four teams plus defending champion United States to qualify for Worlds in Athens.
In the opener against Puerto Rico, Canada rallies from 12 points down at half to win 78-77. “It was experience, character and defence that did it,” said head coach Steve Konchalski. Steve Nash nailed two free throws with 10 seconds to play to lift Canada to the win. “We kept our heads and showed ourselves we could do it,” Konchalski said. Canada played a horrible first half, committing 15 turnovers and trailing 43-31 at the break. But the team committed just two turnovers in the second half. “Everyone played well but Steve just took over in the last five minutes.” Nash finished with 24 points. Will Njoku added 14 and Michael Meeks 11. Canada trailed 43-31 at the half. Took the lead for the first time with five minutes left to play. Trailing by one with 10 seconds left in the game, Canada ran an inbounds play at Puerto Rico’s end that resulted in a foul to Nash. He calmly drilled both to give Canada the lead for good. “It was a great win for us early in the tournament,” said Konchalski. “To overcome a large deficit and to fight through an adverse first half shows a lot about the character of our athletes.” Jose Ortiz led Puerto Rico with 18.
Canada then dropped a 102-97 decision to the United States. Canada trailed by as many as 10 early in the second half but fought back to take a four-point lead with 10 minutes to play. They maintained the lead until the final two minutes of play. “It was an unfortunate loss for us,” said Konchalski. “Yet again, we overcame a large deficit. The U.S. team was beatable, unfortunately, we did not execute to our potential in the final two minutes.” Nash scored 10 and grabbed 5 boards. Joey Vickery scored 20 and Martin Keane scored 11 and grabbed 11 boards. Travis Williams led the U.S. with 24 points. Jason Sasser added 20.
Rowan Barrett scored 33 as Canada clipped Venezuela 119-98. Steve Nash added 13, Sherman Hamilton 11 and Will Njoku 11. “We shot the ball extremely well in the first half and they just couldn’t keep up with us,” said Konchalski. Canada led 56-40 at the half. Venezuela briefly whittled the lead to 11 before Canada took command. “This is a true team,” said Konchalski. “We’re not relying on one person to carry us.”
Rowan Barrett scored 17 as Canada dumped the Dominican Republic 109-85. Despite playing with a nagging foot injury, for which he daily received acupuncture, electrical stimulation, massage, heat and ice. “I can put up with it,” Barrett said. “Rowan’s really stepped things up for us,” said Konchalski. “He gives us a different dimension with his athleticism, plus he’s just shooting very, very well.” Barrett made 4-4 from the floor and 3-6 from the arc, while adding 5 rebounds. Hadn’t started a single game but was Canada’s leading scorer through the tournament. Steve Nash led Canada with 25 points. Canada fell behind early but rallied to within 52-50 at the break. Michael Meeks scored 13 and grabbed 3 boards. Canada shot .670 from the floor and .570 from beyond the arc. Franklin Western led the Dominican Republic with 19. “We are pretty happy at 3-1,” said Joey Vickery. “We are not going to be satisfied with just qualifying for the World championships. We want the gold medal.”
Canada finishes (3-1) in pool and advances to second round pool
In second round play, against Cuba, Canada lost 88-75. “We felt confident we’d perform well, but we did not,” said coach Steve Konchalski. Cuba led 40-38 at the half and pulled away. Lazaro Borrel led Cuba with 17. Rabdel Hechevarria added 15. Martin Keane led Canada with 26 points and eight rebounds. Steve Nash added 20. “What is critical is the need for us to regroup now,” Konchalski said. “We’re looking forward to coming out strong against a tough opponent.” After taking a 55-47 lead midway through the second half, the Canadians let the Cubans go on a decisive 16-0 run. “We made a couple of turnovers, they hit a couple of shots and it became a landslide after that,” said Konchalski. Nash said “I don’t know what happened. We’d play good defence, they’d take a shot and miss and then they’d get the rebound. We just fell apart.” Throughout the tournament, Canada’s best attribute had been its depth, particularly on offence. Yesterday, however, only Nash and Keane were in double figures. “We didn’t get a lot out of a lot of other people except those two guys,” said Konchalski. “It definitely wasn’t the same type of team effort we had been getting.”
Rowan Barrett scored 15 in Canada’s 63-56 win over Uruguay. Canada fell behind early but rallied to take a 32-30 lead at the half. Toronto’s Martin Keane broke out with 12 points and eight boards. Will Njoku grabbed 10 boards. Luis Pierri led Uruguay with 16. Canada started slowly and trailed by eight early. But went on a 12-2 run just before the half. Uruguay tied the game at 54 with two minutes to play but Canada closed it out with a 9-2 run. “I am thrilled at how we handled an adverse situation,” said Konchalski. “The crowd was very loud and was an obvious lift to the Uruguay team. I thought we handled the pressure well.”
Canada dropped a 94-82 decision to Brazil. The Canadians took an early eight-point lead but Brazil capitalized on several Canadian turnovers and narrowed the gap to three with five minutes to play in the first half. They then scored 13 unanswered points to take a 51-41 lead into the lockers. Canada chipped away at the lead and appeared to be zeroing in on Brazil before another extended run stretch the Brazilian lead to 20. Brazil iced it at the line. Some wretched outside shooting was Canada’s downfall. The team made just six of 24 three-point attempts. Martin Keane had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Canada. Will Njoku added 15, Steve Nash 11 and Michael Meeks 10. Vaderley Mazzuchini led Brazil with 22.
Canada loses to Argentina 87-76 to close out round-robin play at 3-4. The game was tied at 27 late in the first half before Argentina exploded to a 43-36 lead at the half. Argentina came out on fire in the second half, drilling five from beyond the arc, to lead by as many as 25. Sherman Hamilton scored 18, Steve Nash 12, Wayne Yearwood 12. Canada shot 14-37 from the field while Argentina was .560 from the field and 22-24 from the line. “Obviously we are disappointed with tonight’s result,” said Konchalski. “After defeating Argentina last week on their home court, we were feeling pretty confident. They just shot the lights out and we could not match their scoring.”
Facing a must-win situation, Canada avenges an earlier loss to Cuba, winning 92-83 to qualify for the world’s in Athens in 1998. Strong performances by a flu-stricken Nash and Martin Keane proved the difference. “Cuba beat us last time, so we knew we had a tough game ahead of us,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “But the guys played a very focused game and a very smart game.” Canada led by six at the half. “We knew we had to play hard defence and rebound the ball well,” Nash said. “That’s just what we did.” Nash scored 29, grabbed six rebounds and handed out seven assists. Keane added 20 and grabbed eight boards. “We chose this team based on character,” said Konchalski. “Character came through.” Canada forced the ball inside and forced the athletic Cubans to foul. Canada went to the foul line 33 times, while Cuba went 14 times. Nash played a terrific game, Konchalski said. “He saved his best for when it counted the most.” Sherman Hamilton scored 13 and had 5 steals. Lazaro Borrel led Cuba with 22 points. Vickery didn’t play, having broken his hand in an earlier game and Peter Van Elswyk was sick. “When we played that last game against Cuba, it was very quiet. You could hear a pin drop the whole day. When we got on the floor, our warm up was so intensive. We got on that floor and we ran Cuba literally off the floor,” said Wayne Yearwood. Sherman Hamilton said “the team came out and played really hard knowing that our backs were up against the wall.” Joey Vickery noted that “they couldn’t trap (Nash). He was dribbling through it like it was a pylon drill.” Nash said he was sick of Canada’s international failures. “It would have almost been time to pack it in if we hadn’t won. How many times would it have been that we got close and couldn’t get the job done. After Saturday’s game (a loss to Argentina), I didn’t know what was going on. It sure didn’t feel good. I just tried to push the ball up the floor and force the issue down their throats. I think I only took one three-pointer. All my attempts were at the basket because we didn’t think they could stop us if we attacked all the time.”