| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Turkey 3. Lithuania 4. Serbia 5. Argentina 6. Spain 7. Russia 8. Slovenia 9. Brazil 10. Australia 11. Greece 12. New Zealand 13. France 14. Croatia 15. Angola 16. China 17. Germany 18. Puerto Rico 19. Iran 20. Lebanon 21. Ivory Coast 22. Canada 23. Jordan 24. Tunisia | CANADIANS Jermaine Anderson (Toronto, Ont.) Joel Anthony (Montreal, Que.) Ryan Bell (Orleans, Ont.) Denham Brown (Toronto, Ont.) Jermaine Bucknor (Edmonton, Alta.) Aaron Doornekamp (Napanee, Ont.) Olu Famutini (Toronto, Ont.) Levon Kendall (Vancouver, B.C.) Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.) Andy Rautins (Syracuse, N.Y.) Robert Sacre (Vancouver, B.C.) Jevohn Shepherd (Toronto, Ont.) Leo Rautins – coach Jim Todd – assistant Wayne Yearwood – assistant Renato Pasquali – assistant Steve Mix – guest coach Greg Francis – guest coach David DeAveiro – guest coach Sam Gibbs – therapist Michelle Bell – student therapist Jeremy Cross – manager Travis Hind – manager Fatih Asker – video coordinator Maurizio Gherardini – managing director Roy Rana – advance scout |
| POOL A | ARG | SER | AUS | GER | JOR | ANG | Record | ||
| Argentina | —– | 82-84 | 74-72 | 78-74 | 88-79 | 91-70 | (4-1) | ||
| Serbia | 84-82 | —– | 94-79 | 81-82 | 112-69 | 94-44 | (4-1) | ||
| Australia | 72-74 | 79-94 | —– | 78-43 | 76-75 | 76-55 | (3-2) | ||
| Germany | 74-78 | 82-81 | 43-78 | —– | 91-73 | 88-92 | (2-3) | ||
| Jordan | 79-88 | 69-112 | 75-76 | 73-91 | —– | 65-79 | (0-5) | ||
| Angola | 70-91 | 44-94 | 55-76 | 92-88 | 79-65 | —– | (2-3) | ||
| POOL B | USA | SLO | BRZ | CRO | IRN | TUN | |||
| United States | —– | 99-77 | 70-68 | 106-78 | 88-51 | 92-57 | (5-0) | ||
| Slovenia | 77-99 | —– | 80-77 | 91-84 | 65-60 | 80-56 | (4-1) | ||
| Brazil | 68-70 | 77-80 | —– | 92-74 | 81-65 | 80-65 | (3-2) | ||
| Croatia | 78-106 | 84-91 | 74-92 | —– | 75-54 | 84-64 | (2-3) | ||
| Iran | 51-88 | 60-65 | 65-81 | 54-75 | —– | 71-58 | (1-4) | ||
| Tunisia | 57-92 | 56-80 | 65-80 | 64-84 | 58-71 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| POOL C | GRE | RUS | TUR | PUR | CHN | CIV | |||
| Greece | —– | 69-73 | 65-76 | 83-80 | 89-81 | 97-60 | (3-2) | ||
| Russia | 73-69 | —– | 56-65 | 75-66 | 89-80 | 72-66 | (4-1) | ||
| Turkey | 76-65 | 65-56 | —– | 79-77 | 87-40 | 86-47 | (5-0) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 80-83 | 66-75 | 77-79 | —– | 84-76 | 79-88 | (1-4) | ||
| China | 81-89 | 80-89 | 40-87 | 76-84 | —– | 83-73 | (1-4) | ||
| Ivory Coast | 60-97 | 66-72 | 47-86 | 88-79 | 73-83 | —– | (1-4) | ||
| POOL D | LTH | FRA | SPN | NZL | LEB | CAN | Record | ||
| Lithuania | —– | 69-55 | 76-73 | 92-79 | 84-66 | 70-68 | (5-0) | ||
| France | 55-69 | —– | 72-66 | 70-82 | 86-59 | 68-63 | (3-2) | ||
| Spain | 73-76 | 66-72 | —– | 101-84 | 91-57 | 89-67 | (3-2) | ||
| New Zealand | 79-92 | 82-70 | 84-101 | —– | 108-76 | 71-61 | (3-2) | ||
| Lebanon | 66-84 | 59-86 | 57-91 | 76-108 | —– | 81-71 | (1-4) | ||
| Canada | 68-70 | 63-68 | 67-89 | 61-71 | 71-81 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| R-16 | Serbia 73 Croatia 72 | |
| R-16 | Spain 80 Greece 72 | |
| R-16 | Slovenia 87 Australia 58 | |
| R-16 | Turkey 95 France 77 | |
| R-16 | United States 121 Angola 66 | |
| R-16 | Russia 78 New Zealand 56 | |
| R-16 | Lithuania 78 China 67 | |
| R-16 | Argentina 93 Brazil 89 | |
| QF | Serbia 92 Spain 89 | |
| QF | Turkey 95 Slovenia 68 | |
| QF | United States 89 Russia 79 | |
| QF | Lithuania 104 Argentina 85 | |
| 5-8th | Spain 97 Slovenia 80 | |
| 5-8th | Argentina 73 Russia 61 | |
| semi | United States 89 Lithuania 74 | |
| semi | Turkey 83 Serbia 82 | |
| 7th | Russia 83 Slovenia 78 | |
| 5th | Argentina 86 Spain 81 | |
| 3rd | Lithuania 99 Serbia 88 | |
| Final | United States 81 Turkey 64 | |
In their opener, Canada was dumped 81-71 by Lebanon after being dominated 24-13 in the final quarter. Lebanon forward Fadi El Khatib and point guard Rony Fahed and Matt Freije took control in the second half. Canada broke free after quarter time and consecutive Anthony baskets gave them a 30-25 lead. But Lebanon answered to draw even to set the trend for the next two quarters. Canada started the third term with a 7-1 run, but Lebanon answered immediately through back-to-back threes from El Khatib and Fahed. Canada then responded with two of their own to take a 52-44 lead with 4:45 to play, but El Khatib would not let his team lie down, scoring at will near the basket on his way to 16 points for the quarter to bring Lebanon within one. The last quarter was all Lebanon, who executed in the half court and coolly converted important free throws, leaving Canada coach Leo Rautins to lament his team shooting 2/9 from the perimeter in the final term and a 26-11 foul count. Canada had a 58-57 lead going into the fourth quarter but Matt Freije nailed a three-pointer to put Lebanon up 66-64 with about five minutes left, and Canada never led again. “For our team to be successful, we cannot be out-hustled in a game,” Canada coach Leo Rautins said. Fahed said “it was a very tough, very tough game. Both teams were playing very physical.” Rautins also said “I don’t think there is one easy game in our pool. … I don’t think anyone is saying we lost the easy one. The biggest thing we talked about and the biggest we learned is you can’t (get too discourage) on this and if we had won, you can’t be too high either. You just have to find a constant. … We’ve just got to grind it out.” Montreal native Joel Anthony said “we played three hard fought quarters but in the fourth we let the game get away from us.” Lebanese coach Tab Baldwin said “Joel Anthony is one of the best post defenders in this tournament and he gave Jackson (Vroman) a very hard time.” Rautins added. “We weren’t 100 per cent confident and lost focus, and everybody went into panic mode a bit. We definitely lost our composure. (El Khatib) is a beast. I’ve watched him for years and he used to be a point guard. He responded to everything we threw at him tonight. For our team to be successful, we cannot be out-hustled in a game. El Khatib, known as “The Tiger” to his countrymen, scored 16 points, making all five field goal attempts and three free throw attempts. “They got to the line 21 more times,” said Rautins. “It’s difficult to win a game when the other team goes to the line 21 more times than you.” Baldwin said that the one-on-one abilities of El Khatib and his teammate Jackson Vroman make opponents “pick their poison” when assessing whom to key on. Lebanon’s Rony Fahed help seal the win by barrelling into the lane and bouncing off a Canadian defender before banking in a shot to make it 75-68. Canada used a 9-0 run to jump out to a 20-12 lead, but Lebanon tied it with an 8-0 streak. “In the first half the focus was great. Get the ball into Joel, go inside, then outside,” said Rautins. “There was a nice mix. Second half, especially late in the game, we lost that focus. Everyone kind of went into panic mode, which we can’t do.” Guard Andy Rautins scored all 10 of his points in the first half. “He seemed to be moving pretty fluidly. I saw him grimace a few times,” Leo Rautins said, adding his son should tone his game down while his knee heals. “A couple of times he tried to block shots or go for a loose ball and he has to realize in this scenario he can’t do that.” Fadi El Khatib paced Lebanon with 31 on 8-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 9-11 from the line and 8 boards. Rony Fahed added 17 on 1-7 from the floor and 3-6 from the arc. Matt Freije added 12 on 4-7 from the arc and 4 boards. Jackson Vroman scored 8, along with 8 boards, Jean Abdelnour 7 and Elie Rustom 6, while Ali Mahmoud, Elie Stephan, Ali Kanaan, Rodrique Akl, Ali Fakhreddine and Ghaled Reda were scoreless. Lebanon hit 16-39 (.410) from the floor, 9-21 (.429) from the arc and 22-32 (.688) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 11 fouls, 10 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Joel Anthony paced Canada with 17 on 8-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards and 3 blocks. Denham Brown added 13 on 2-6 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 6 assists. Jevohn Shepherd notched 10 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Andy Rautins scored 10 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 assists. Jermaine Bucknor added 6 on 2-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Levon Kendall added 6 on 1-6 from the floor and 11 boards. Olu Famutimi added 4 and Jermaine Anderson 3, along with 4 assists. Robert Sacre scored 2, while Kelly Olynyk, Ryan Bell and Aaron Doornekamp were scoreless. Canada hit 17-33 (.515) from the floor, 10-30 from the arc an d7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 26 fouls, 14 turnovers, 3 steals and 4 blocks.
Canada dropped its second round-robin game, 70-68 to Lithuania, with Jermaine Anderson missing a three pointer at the buzzer that would have yielded an upset. Canada appeared to have the game secured midway through the third quarter when they led by 17, but the physicality of Lithuania at both ends of the court literally locked the Canadians down and set up the dramatic run that brought the 2000 travelling Lithuanian fans to fever pitch. Tomas Delininkaitis, Linas Kleiza and Martynas Pocius led the Lithuania rally. Canada led by 10 at half time, securing their break with a fast start where they led 7-0 after less than 90 seconds. The Canadians unpredictable trapping defence and transition offence was giving the structured Lithuanians trouble, shooters Andy Rautins and Brown with five points each in a 20-12 quarter time lead. Lithuania upped the physicality in the second quarter and created a half court affair. Behind Kleiza’s seven points for the quarter they closed to 29-32 with 3:31 to play in the half. But three consecutive field goals from Anthony, including a strong tip in, triggered an 11-4 Canada run to finish the quarter. When Canada peeled off 13-6 in the first five minutes of the third term behind six points from Anderson the game was almost over at 56-39, but Delininkaitis sparked the Lithuanian surge that brought their fans to life, and Kleiza finished it, nailing a buzzer beating three to have Lithuania within two, 57-55. Lithuania’s half court execution was superior in the final quarter. Canada coach Leo Rautins said “a lot of credit to Lithuania, they played a really good game. They’re a real difficult opponent for us to play against. We tried a few different things, and I thought we did enough to win the game, but unfortunately in the end we didn’t get it done. With our team, every game at this level hopefully makes us better. I haven’t seen Jermaine (Anderson) miss too many shots where he had the chance to win the game for us. He had a great game today.” Lithuania coach Kestutis Kemzura said “we are just approaching each game. Results in this championship, a lot of people call surprises but they are not. The basketball level around the world is getting very, very close. Canada played well, they played great. It took us some time to figure out the ways how to win. We got some good open looks and we missed, and we missed foul shots. Rebounding again – finally our guys got it, if you don’t get the ball you don’t win, and I think we did a better job of defensive transition in the second half of the game. It was a very difficult and very tough game and not a good day for us with so many missed shot opportunities. I credit the Canadian team coaching staff and players as they prepared tactically for this match. Canada played well.” Rautins said “we continue to learn every time we step on the floor and we are battling many things this tournament. Our expectation for the worlds was to get through the pool, and a lot of things have changed due to injury and health, but we don’t plan on giving up and the players are not going to give up.” Lithuania used a 24-3 run to wipe out the 56-39 deficit with 5:19 to play in the third quarter. Tomas Delininkaitis’ three-pointer from the corner early in the fourth quarter gave Lithuania its first lead, 58-57. “I don’t think we have to change a lot,” Canadian forward Aaron Doornekamp said. “We just have to avoid the ups and downs and stay more level. We have to continue to have confidence in our ability and in what we are doing.” Rautins said of Anderson’s last shot: “Honestly, I can think off the top of my head the last three times he’s taken that shot, he’s made it. When he’s got it, I’m convinced he’s going to make it.” Anderson said was undecided about whether to take the shot. “I knew if I had to drive, it would still be a tough shot. I thought I would pull up when I had a little bit of daylight and the shot just didn’t drop.” It was a contested look, Lithuania had a couple of guys close to ‘Rock’ Anderson and that may have thrown him off a bit. “He didn’t have that Rock rhythm. It wasn’t a normal Rock release,” said Rautins. “It looked like maybe he was thinking of driving, thinking of shooting, or maybe lifting someone first (to draw a foul) and it wasn’t the normal (Anderson) release on the shot. But I still think every time he releases it, I think it’s going to go in.” After Ryan Bell, playing alongside fellow backups Denham Brown, Jevohn Shepherd, Levon Kendall and Robert Sacre, made one free throw to put Canada up 13, Lithuanian went on an 11-0 run to finish the quarter, took the lead in the first minute of the fourth and hung on. “You’re managing,” Rautins said of the decision to give his starters a rest, with Andy Rautins hobbled with a sore knee and saddled with three fouls. “You’re trying to figure out how much we can use Andy, he started limping pretty early and so now you’re just trying to figure out how much and where.” It was too much at the worst time but a fact of life with this team. “That’s part of this whole process, you’re trying to juggle some different guys,” said Rautins. “The problem in some of these games is you get on a little bit of a run and you’re trying to sustain that run, give yourself a cushion and you might tax your guys a little bit and now you have to sub and get them some blows.” Canada started the game blazing with back-to-back three-pointers by Anderson. Andy Rautins gave Canada a 15-4 lead with 5:30 left in the first quarter, and the team hit four three-pointers in the quarter. Canada used a 10-0 advantage in second chance points as it built a halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Lithuanians couldn’t get on track as they missed 12-of-15 three-pointers. Canada was able to expand its lead in the first minutes of the second half with the aid of stout defence from centre Joel Anthony. With seven minutes left in the third, Anthony intimidated a Lithuanian big away from attempting a putback layup after corralling an offensive rebound underneath the basket. A minute later, Mantas Kalnietis weaved to the basket and unspooled an open layup that was blocked by a hustling Anthony from behind, drawing cheers from the crowd and preserving Canada’s 53-39 lead. “Defensively, he was a big factor,” said Lithuanian coach Kestutis Kemzura of Anthony. Anthony was involved in so much rough interior play that by the middle of the fourth quarter he was patrolling the lane with the first couple letters of his name on the back of his jersey nearly ripped off. Unfortunately for Canada, his offence looked at times just as ragged as he shot a couple of airballs and struggled to finish post moves. That struggle carried over to the whole team, which endured a decisive 27-3 run by Lithuania over the end of the third quarter and into the fourth. Lithuania took its first lead when Tomas Delininkaitis made a corner three-pointer to make it 58-57 a few seconds into the fourth. “We did everything we could,” said Anderson, who led the team with 15 points and five assists. “We fought for 40 minutes, but unfortunately we fell short tonight.” Linas Kleiza paced Lithuania with 18 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 10 boards. Martynas Pocius added 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 4 assists. Tomas Delininkaitis notched 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6-9 from the line and 3 boards. Jonas Maciulis added 8, along with 6 boards, Mantas Kalnietis 7, Tadas Klimavicius 7, along with 6 boards, Paulius Jankunas 4, along with 9 boards, Renaldas Seibutis 2 and Simas Jasaitis 2, while Martynas Gecevicius, Martynas Andriuskevicius and Robert Javtokas were scoreless. Lithuania hit 13-31 (.419) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 17 fouls, 13 turnovers, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Jermaine Anderson paced Canada with 15 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 4 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Joel Anthony added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 4 blocks. Denham Brown added 11 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Levon Kendall scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 11 boards. Andy Rautins added 7, Jermaine Bucknor 5, Jevohn Shepherd 5, Aaron Doornekamp 3, along with 6 boards and 2 assists, Ryan Bell 1, while Kelly Olynyk, Olu Famutimi and Robert Sacred were scoreless. Canada hit 15-36 (.417) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 22 fouls, 11 turnovers, 9 steals and 5 blocks.
Canada then dropped its third consecutive game 68-63 to France as they were outfired from the free throw line, missing three of six in the final five minutes, while Nicolas Batum and Mickael Gelabale each hit a pair for France in the final 17 seconds. Canada started strongly, with Levon Kendall scoring five quick points to set up an 8-3 lead. In a physical struggle, Canada held that lead until a 6-2 France run in the final minute tied the scores at 15-15 at quarter time. The arm wrestle continued in the second term, with Canada pushing the ball but struggling to break the French transition defence, while France had no answer for the tough interior defence of Joel Anthony and Kendall. A 28-28 deadlock at half time was the result. France threatened to slip away in the third term when they led by four, but Kendall and Kelly Olynyk strung together important buckets to give their country a 48-46 three quarter time lead. French coach Vincent Collet said “what was great was that we had the courage to stay in the game. We held them to seven points in the last quarter, only a couple of drives by Brown and rebounds by Anthony allowed them to score. That’s why we won the game, and Nico (Batum) had a great game.” Canadian coach Leon Rautins said “I thought most of the game we did a decent job of doing what we were trying to do. Occasionally they found a couple of holes, as good teams do. Denham Brown’s game tying attempt was blocked by Alain Koffi as France held on to win. Canada led France 48-46 heading into the fourth however were outscored 22-15 in the final quarter. Olynyk said “I thought we played them pretty well, for the most part, for the whole game. But it sort of fell apart at the end. We had our shots but just didn’t capitalize.” Collet said two losses to Canada in exhibition play helped focus his squad. “If it wasn’t for those two losses, we probably wouldn’t have won today. Those two games helped us understand our problems. Today our defence was more efficient and organized. We knew they needed this game. And they gave everything to win it.” Kendall said 19-year-old Olynyk was exceptional. “It shows a lot of character for a guy at his age to come here and play without a fear. It was great for him and hopefully he can do that on a consistent basis.” Canada played without Andy Rautins, who was on the bench nursing a knee injury. The game included 11 lead changes and 12 ties and started off with both teams struggling to score. Three minutes in, centre Joel Anthony of Montreal helped preserve Canada’s 5-2 lead. The left-hander first blocked centre Ali Traore’s baby hook shot, then spiked guard Nando de Colo’s three-point attempt as the shot clock expired. Still, France scored 18 of its 28 first-half points in the paint and tied Canada at halftime. “We tried to mix things up, a little man and little zone,” Leo Rautins said. “They found some holes here and there, as good teams do.” Batum became the game’s first double-digit scorer when he sliced through the lane and extended his six-feet-eight frame to finger roll in a layup with 6:58 left in the third quarter. The Portland Trailblazer gave France a 34-30 lead. France trailed 46-48 going into the last 10 minutes. “I have to be good sometimes to take over the game, and that’s what I did tonight,” said Batum. France took the lead for good when Boris Diaw of the Charlotte Bobcats hit a three-pointer to make it 62-60 with 1:55 left. Diaw finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Ali Traore helped preserve Frances’ 66-63 lead with 18 seconds left when he blocked a sweeping bank shot by Denham Brown. French centre Nicolas Batum grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit both free throws to ice the win. Rautins said Brown’s decision to try a layup when the team needed a trey was costly. “We needed a (three-pointer) and the emotion got to him a little. …Initially, I thought he was going to drive and kick but then he went all the way. That’s the game of basketball. You hope to make the right decision and unfortunately that one kind of bit us,” Rautins said. “Unfortunately, again we fell short but I’m pleased with the effort.” Rautins said of Olynyk: “I was kicking myself in the rear end, we didn’t bring him here to sit him on the bench. This kid’s a big part of what I think our future is going to be. He’s a talented kid; he plays with balls. He’s not afraid and there’s not been one game where I’ve put him in and he’s been timid, and we’ve had some other guys who’ve been timid at times.” Olynyk said “you pick up things (watching) but you don’t realize the pace of the game or the speed of the game or how physical it is. That’s a big thing with my learning curve that I discovered (Tuesday): just how important everything is, how much every possession means.” Levon Kendall “today was one of those games you wish you had a rewind button. France played well down the stretch. We missed some open shots and that was the difference.” Nicolas Batum paced France with 24 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Boris Diaw added 8, along with 6 boards and 5 assists, Mickael Gelabale 8, Alain Koffi 7, along with 7 boards, Yannick Bokolo 6, Ali Traore 6, Nando De Colo 5 and Ian Mahinmi 4, while Andrew Albicy, Fabien Causeur, Edwin Jackson and Florent Pietrus were scoreless. France hit 18-34 (.529) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 16 fouls, 14 turnovers, 10 steals and 2 blocks. Levon Kendall paced Canada with 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kelly Olynyk added 13 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Jermaine Anderson added 11 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Denham Brown added 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 3 boards. Joel Anthony added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 5 boards. Jevohn Shepherd added 5, Jermaine Bucknor 3 and Ryan Bell 2, while Olu Famutimi, Aaron Doornekamp and Robert Sacre were scoreless. Canada hit 18-34 (.529) from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 20 fouls, 16 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada dropped its fourth consecutive game and was eliminated from playoff contention by being dumped 71-61 by New Zealand. “I feel like the last few games have taken a toll,” Canadian coach Leo Rautins said. “It’s like we were running in quicksand. Nothing would get going.” Both teams struggled in a scrappy first quarter, with New Zealand taking an 11-8 lead despite committing five turnovers in the first five minutes. Canada was able to get to the line consistently in the third quarter but only made seven of 13 free throws. They closed the gap to 47-43 on a layup by Ryan Bell with 9:15 left in the game, but couldn’t finish off the comeback. “They just came out, New Zealand played aggressive,” Toronto’s Denim Brown said. “We didn’t play until the second half. They got an early lead on us in the first half and that’s how it stayed throughout the game.” New Zealand coach Nenad Vucinic said “it wasn’t a pretty game. But those pressure, must-win games for both teams are never really pretty. Today was a hard defensive battle. It was physical. Teams don’t get bigger than Canada. They are very tall. It’s not easy to outrebound those teams.” Denham Brown said the grind of the tournament has hurt the Canadians. “I just think guys are worn out physically. As a team we’ve made a lot of mistakes coming down the stretch of games where one situation, one bad play cost us the game.” Both teams looked fatigued early in the game, and after two quick baskets each the score sat at 4-4 until four minutes to play. The quarter time score was just 11-8 to New Zealand at quarter time, Abercrombie dominating the boards to give Canada no second chances, while the Road Warriors zone took New Zealand’s high scoring offence out of its rhythm. Canada kept superstar Penney scoreless in the first term, but in the second a former superstar in Jones stepped up for the Tall Blacks, hitting six quick points off the bench to establish a break. When Penney finally found his range – seven points for the quarter – the half time score was 35-28. New Zealand started the second half on a Lindsay Tait fast break and then went on a 7-1 tear, establishing a double figure lead. But as foul trouble built on Penney, Thomas Abercrombie, Pero Cameron and Craig Bradshaw, Canada were able to eek their way back from the foul line and trailed 47-41 at three quarter time. The fourth quarter was another tight affair, with both teams’ defence well prepared for their opponents. New Zealand played it cool though, using the clock and late triples from Abercrombie and Penney to secure a hard-fought victory. Jevohn Shepperd said “it was really hard game. They improved their defence today and that was probably why we lost. We struggled the whole game, we never gave up but we couldn’t get the result. We have improved and this will help us in future tournaments. … I think New Zealand had more respect of what they were fighting for than we did. It wasn’t a matter of X’s and O’s. In a game like this this, you have to gut it out. You have to keep fighting no matter what the situation is.” Rautins said “New Zealand did a good job, and I think they were more prepared to play than us. We are talking about World Championship. If you come here without your best players and got a team of mostly young players, something like our results can be happen. We are a young team and still we have to improve ourselves. But I am happy that we have made some progress even without the results.” Vucinic said “we found it difficult to get open shots from outside. Both teams applied pressure, but Canada were better on the rebounds than us. Pero Cameron did not play a (club) season because of his injury, which is a tough situation. But still he is very important for us both physically and mentally. Finally, we improved our defence today and I am happy about this.” Frank Casey said “I think we played very well on defence today. It was important to win this game for us. We struggled hard as a team. We are really happy to win.” Rautins added that “nobody’s defence is an issue right now, it’s us. We’re playing with what we have so the ball’s not moving the same, the shots aren’t the same. The reality is we’re not good enough yet to compensate. Period. Hopefully we can continue to develop and expand our pool so that when injuries do come or players can’t make it, we have enough to compensate, but you can see where we are.” Kirk Penney paced New Zealand with 18 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 3-6 from the line and 2 boards. Casey Frank added 14 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Phill Jones added 11 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Thomas Abercrombie added 7, along with 10 boards, Lindsay Tait 5, along with 5 boards, Pero Cameron 5, Craig Bradshaw 4, Mika Vukona 4 and Michael Fitchett 3, while Jeremy Kench, Benny Charles Anthony and Alex Pledger were scoreless. New Zealand hit 13-26 from the floor, 9-28 (.321) from the arc and 18-22 (.818) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 22 fouls, 18 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block. Jevohn Shepherd paced Canada with 15 on 3-7 from the floor, 9-13 from the line and 3 boards. Joel Anthony added 13 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Denham Brown notched 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kelly Olynyk added 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Jermaine Anderson added 5, Aaron Doornekamp 4, Ryan Bell 2, Robert Sacre 2 and Levon Kendall 2, along with 7 boards and 4 assists. Jermaine Bucknor and Olu Famutimi were scoreless. Canada hit 20-48 (.417) from the floor, 2-12 (.167) from the arc and 15-25 (.600) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 11 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada closed out round robin play winless after being stomped 89-67 by Spain. Both teams ran free early in the game in an open and fast affair, with 23 three-point shots taken in the first half. Canada hit 6-11 and used triples from Shepherd, Kelly Olynyk and Anderson to fight back from a double figure deficit to 32-34 late in the second term. Spain extended the lead to five by halftime and then to 11 on a Felipe Reyes layup with three minutes to play in the third. When Alex Mumbru scored on a fast break just before the three-quarter time buzzer the score was 63-48 and the Canadian challenge effectively over. Jermaine Anderson said “we fought hard. Unfortunately, we could not have a win but we improved ourselves and our development as a team will continue. We also need to improve ourselves individually. We are still too young and learning something in every match. Canada will be more ready by the next tournament. We can learn our different sides if we spend more time as a team.” Coach Leo Rautins said “we played serious games against powerful teams with a very young squad. This was very experienced for us even we could not have a win. All of my players did their best in this week. Our ratings are low in official tournaments while we have NBA players. We need more time, if you think even Jermaine attended a tournament as a point guard first time.” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said “I think we were successful on offense. I preferred to rest players like Navarro and use young ones. We played good matches in this group, but we have to keep our concentration for our next match. Canada were successful but they must unite as a team which will raise their performance in my opinion. They were capable of winning two matches in tournament. They will be better in the next tournament. … It was a very good defensive game for us. We kept their two-point shooting percentage very low. We gave them trouble to finish their set offence when they couldn’t run. We gave the court to a lot of players who normally play on the bench.” Spain guard Alex Mumbru said “it was an important game to prepare for the next match. We are happy to play a good game, Canada has promising young players. They play hard and because of this they can achieve good results in the future.” Canada closed it to 40-37 after point guard Jermaine Anderson’s jumper with 50 seconds to go in the first half. On its next possession, however, Fernandez blocked a Canadian shot into the hands of Spain forward Alex Mumbru, who sent an arcing full-court pass to Sergio Llull. The guard then tipped the ball to Fernandez for a layup and a 42-37 Spanish halftime lead. Canada missed 14 of 17 shots in the third quarter as it fell behind 63-48 going into the fourth. “Our inexperience kind of hurt us,” said Anderson. “We lost most of our games late or in the fourth quarter.” Rudy Fernandez paced Spain with 19 on 1-1 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Fran Vazquez scored 19 on 9-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 blocks. Jorgeb Garbajosa added 9, Alex Mumbru 8, Felipe Reyes 8, along with 9 boards, Ricky Rubio 8, along with 6 boards and 8 assists, Fernando San Emeterio 6, Victor Claver 5, Marc Gasol 4 and Sergio Llull 3, while Juan Carlos Navarro and Raul Lopez were scoreless. Spain hit 25-39 (.641) from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 21 fouls, 17 turnovers, 3 steals and 9 blocks. Kelly Olynyk paced Canada with 14 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 7-9 from the line and 4 boards. Jevohn Shepherd added 12 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4-6 from the line. Jermaine Anderson added 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists. Robert Sacre added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jermaine Bucknor scored 7 on 2-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Levon Kendall added 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Ryan Bell added 5, Joel Anthony 4, along with 6 boards, and Aaron Doornekamp 2, while Denham Brown and Olu Famutimi were scoreless. Canada hit 12-45 (.267) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 15 fouls, 9 turnovers, 9 steals and 1 block.
Canada finished (0-5) and was placed 22nd. Kelly Olynyk noted that “you can’t fear anyone. You can’t come in thinking they’re better than you. You have to believe you’re going to win. We didn’t always have that. We got a little star struck at the start of the tournament. But we shouldn’t because we’re just as good as them.” Robert Sacre noted that “the key is having more professionalism. Coming in and taking it to a level where’s it’s just like you have a job.” “If you simply look at the progress and what we did on the floor over these games, my sense is we made progress,” said Basketball Canada executive director Wayne Parrish said. “It’s reflected in the youth of the team. It’s reflected in those five guys that were on the floor in the last five minutes in that game (Thursday) against Spain. We did all that in the context of not having our best guys. When we sat down in the fall of this past year and figured out the guys who would be the core of the team for this world championship, we had a list of 16 and of the top eight on that list 11 months ago, four of them were not on the floor in this tournament and I include Andy (Rautins) in that list. We had Matt Bonner (who didn’t get his Canadian passport pushed through as hoped). We thought we would get that done. We had Andy, we had Carl English and we had Jesse Young.” Coach Leo Rautins said Canada’s inexperience showed. “You have to go through it and it’s hard. But I thought the guys gave a great effort this whole week.” Parrish said the fate of head coach Leo Rautins will be decided sooner rather than later. “Maurizio (Gherardini, the program’s managing director) and I will sit down and walk through that and we’ll sit with Leo and the staff and I would suspect we’ll be able to come to a very early decision. Technically the contract . . . runs until Dec. 31 but we’ll sit down and go through it very quickly.”
Rautins, hired in February, 2005 after Canada Basketball fired current Raptors coach Jay Triano, was given a one-year contract extension with an option year in 2008 and the option was picked up when he coached Canada to a berth in the worlds for the first time since 2002. The former NBAer and current Raptors broadcaster has worked in lockstep with Parrish and Gherardini in trying to rebuild a moribund program. And there’s no way he wants to walk away now. “This is exciting now,” he said. “It’s fun, it’s exciting. These (losses) are tough to take when this happens but the hardest part is you feel bad because if people really took time to understand, hopefully they do see (improvement). If you don’t take the time, there’s nothing we can do about it.” The oft-stated goal before Canada got to the worlds was to get out of the group stage and be among the top 16 teams in the world championships. But at 0-5, they finished dead last in their pool. “If you simply look at the progress, my sense is what we did on the floor over these five games — is that we made progress,” said Parrish. “It’s reflected on the youth on the team . . . and it’s reflected in the fact we fought significantly and scared significantly Lithuania, France and, for a shorter period of time, Spain. The fact we were in those games, that we were competitive in those games means a lot. It will take a few weeks to digest and sit back but when you look at the progress, I think we’ve made with the program. … I think it’s been a good summer.” One of the criticisms of Rautins when he got the job was that he’d never been a head coach at any level. But he has surrounded himself with a solid staff and believes he’s made great strides in the tactical part of the game. “I think the last couple of years there’s been a technical growth in terms of the European game,” said Rautins. “I think Renato (Pasquali, who just finished his second season as an assistant) has been great with that. When we sat down and decided we were going to do this together he’s been great with that. And I think there’s a lot more room. I try to watch different scenarios and environments to see what I can do to continue to grow.” With program now dormant on the court until next summer’s qualification event for the 2012 London Olympics, Parrish warned against measuring progress simply by the record in one tournament. “When you look at this tournament . . . I think our guys were prepared, I think we fought hard,” he said. “We didn’t have all the horses here and we didn’t get the goal that we wanted but, again, there was progress and I think the evidence of that progress was in how we played those games over the last week.”
Kevin Durant of the United States was named tournament MVP. Joining him on the all-star team were Milos Teodosic (Serbia), Hidayet Turkoglu (Turkey), Linas Kleiza (Lithuania) and Luis Scola (Argentina).
2010
Wayne Parrish quits his executive-director and CEO job at Canada Basketball to work for Postmedia Network after two years at the helm at the national organization. Helped cut a $1.3 million deficit to $800,000 by cutting staff from 18 to 8, and negotiated a $1.5 million deal with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. “By getting those two pieces in place, we’ve got a stable profit-and-loss picture in place for the next few years,” Parrish said. “So much of my day-to-day was to keep the doors open and keep the ship afloat and that’s done now.”
2011
Former U.B.C. star John Mills is named the new chair of Canada
Basketball, taking over from Therese Quigley. Mills was general manager of the
Richmond Olympic Oval, the legacy facility of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter
Games. He was also former president of the Calgary Olympic Development
Association and former executive director of Sport B.C. and Basketball B.C. As
a player, he won two CIAU (now CIS) championships with UBC and was part of
Canada’s University Games team in 1970 and national team that toured China in
1972. He was first elected to the Canada Basketball Board of Directors in 2008.
“I doubt there is any single more deeply-respected and universally-liked
administrator working in sports anywhere in this country,” said Wayne Parrish. “John
travels effortlessly and seamlessly from the dressing rooms to the board rooms
and has a keen sense of basketball’s challenges from the grass roots on up. He
also shares a vision of how great, with all the young talent in the pipeline,
this country can again be on the international stage and the drive to help us
get there.”
Hours after the FIBA Olympic
qualifying tournament, Leo Rautins resigned as coach of the national team. “I’ve
thoroughly enjoyed working with the team, watching them grow and improve, but
change is a good thing and it is time for a new voice in the locker room,”
Rautins said after Panama put the final nail in the coffin of Canada’s hopes of
qualifying for London 2012. Wayne Parrish, CEO of Canada Basketball, said he
respects Rautins’ decision but that he and Maurizio Gherardini, Managing
Director of the men’s program, are anxious to have him continue to be involved
in some capacity. “Leo has been the heart and soul of this program; he has
built the team and made significant progress,” said Parrish. “Despite this disappointing
loss, we’ve played some great basketball here in Argentina, which is result of
Leo’s work with the team over the past years.” He continues, “this team is
going in the right direction and our focus is 2016. We would very much like Leo
to be involved in some capacity.” Rautins said “this hasn’t been a job, this
has been a passion … something that I’ve loved doing. … I love this program.”
Rautins, whose contract was set to run through to October 2012, resigned after
Panama upset Canada 91-89 at the FIBA Olympic Americas tournament. “The players
have given me everything that I’ve asked (but) I think for the benefit of this
program going forward, a new voice in the locker-room will be the best thing,”
said Rautins, who has coached the national team since 2005. “We could very
easily be in the final four of this tournament. A shot here, a couple of stops
there, maybe a little luck as opposed to what we’ve had, but I think it’s time
(to step down).” Parrish said “we have said going back three years that the
real focus is (the Olympics) in 2016. “That hasn’t changed, but I think we’ve
built in elements and features that have got us along that trajectory. I know
the success this program is going to have in the future is going to be tied in
large part to what Leo has achieved.” The 51-year-old Toronto native has been
frustrated by the inability to use all his talent, including two-time NBA MVP
Steve Nash. “It would be wonderful if our country was able to put the best
players we have on the floor,” Rautins said. “(But) I don’t ever question
players that don’t. Everybody’s got careers, families, injuries … a lot of things
that they have to consider before playing. I just think that somehow in our
country we have to look at playing for the national team as an honour and
something that is very special. One of the things I’ve told the players is I
didn’t take this job to enhance my reputation, to become an NBA coach, to use
this as a launching pad,” said Rautins, who also played in pro leagues in Spain
and France from 1985 to 1992. “I took this job because I love this program and
I want to see this program succeed. I know what this program can become and I
think we’ve done a lot of very, very positive things.”
May/2012
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is appointed general manager of Canada Basketball. Nash said the opportunity to help what might be the most talented group of young players the country has ever produced was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. “It really is a beautiful thing to see our kids and the game grow and the talent continue to reach new heights, it’s amazing. I have a lot of excitement generated for the young kids in this country, many of which are making a name for themselves already, and many of which are coming up behind them.” Nash’s former Canadian teammate Rowan Barrett was named assistant GM. “We’ve talked about this since we played for the national team, of how we could impact the program, how we could improve it, how we could hopefully leave it in a better place than when we got involved,” Nash said. “I guess it was a long time coming, but I didn’t foresee it being this early.” Canada Basketball President Wayne Parrish said ““We believe this is our equivalent to the moment more than a decade ago when Wayne Gretzky took charge of our hockey fortunes leading up to the Salt Lake City [2002 Winter] Olympics. In a basketball context, this is one of the most important moments in the history of the sport in Canada since the day Dr. Naismith invented the game. Steve’s basketball IQ and background are unparalleled in the sport, and we are tremendously fortunate to have him. We have a perfect marriage here of incredible burgeoning talent within our men’s program and we feel we have in place the right structure and leadership at this point.” Nash, a 15-year NBA veteran with Phoenix and Dallas, helped Canada to a seventh-place finish — one win away from the medal round — at the Sydney Olympics, with Jay Triano as coach. “This program has meant so much to me,” Nash said. “I owe a lot of my development to the program and feel that the success I’ve had in my career is in large part due to my time with the national team.” The 38-year-old, who was already a member of Canada Basketball’s Council of Excellence, won’t be paid for the position. “I’m really proud of the success we’ve seen from our players at all levels, and if I can use my experience and whatever wisdom I’ve accumulated in the game to help them, that’s really exciting for me, and I’m passionate about it,” said Nash. “Playing for Canada at the Olympics was the greatest experience of my career, bar-none. It’s no secret what this country means to me and to be a part of Canada Basketball again is a huge honour and pleasure. Now the work starts. … I’m thrilled to be able to take on this challenge. We have lots of work to do and I’m excited to get started. With the talent we are developing in this country, Canada has an opportunity to become one of the top basketball nations in the world. There is no reason why, if we nurture and support these great young players and give them the tools they need, that we can’t be a medal contender at the Olympics. … I think we’ve got a chance to ignite the next generation. Now we start to change the perception, the level, the success and the standard and turn it into a program that demands excellence in a country that is a basketball country in its own right.” The Canadian program has long been hamstrung by a lack of money, said Parrish. A last-minute private donor had to cough up the $50,000 for the team’s insurance last summer. Nash’s stature among the basketball community, Parrish said, has already improved the program’s bank balance. The team has operated on a budget of between $400,000 and $500,000 a season, while top-10 countries in the world have budgets of between $1 and $2 million. One team boasts a budget of almost $5 million. Parrish said a group of private donors — known as the “6th Man” — have thrown their financial support behind Nash. The goal is to raise $4 million over the next five years, and Parrish said they’re already halfway there. “It’s amazing how powerful Steve getting on a conference call … how galvanizing that is for these individuals,” Parrish said. “It’s absolutely fair to say that without their passion and work behind the scenes, we could not have gotten to this point. They have been able to give Steve the confidence that the funding that is necessary to do this job in the right way will be available.” Nash has been one of the top point guards in the NBA for 16 seasons, being named to eight all-star teams. In 1,152 career games, he has averaged 14.5 points and 8.6 assists per game. He was MVP honours in 2005 and ’06 and was named the Lou Marsh Trophy winner in 2004 as Canada’s top athlete. “We could have just gone out and hired a head coach — we’ve had overtures from a number of world-class candidates — but we really wanted to take the time to review our overall approach to the program,” Parrish said. “In that process, we came to understand that in order to compete at the highest level internationally we needed to strengthen the entire structure, from both the personnel and financial perspectives.” Former national team player Rowan Barrett will act as assistant GM and executive vice-president of the senior men’s program. Maurizio Gherardini, meanwhile, will retain in his role of managing director.
August/2012
Canada Basketball general manager Steve Nash names Jay Triano head coach of the men’s national team. “I know that Jay is the right man for this job,” declared Nash. “He is a confirmed and respected leader in the basketball community and he has the experience and knowledge to lead us towards our goal of becoming one of the leading basketball nations.” Triano, 53, becomes the 10th head coach of the senior men’s national team since 1954. The Niagara Falls native, a three-time Olympian, first worked with the senior men’s national team as assistant coach and in 1998 he took on the role as head coach, which he kept until 2004, posting a 52-42 (.553) record. During this time, Triano led the national team to compete at Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. 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. To add to his international recognition, in 2010 he was named assistant coach for the 2010 USA Basketball Team, becoming the first non-American coach in USA basketball history. As a player, Triano was on the 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. “Being an athlete on three different Olympic teams was a great honour, but being able to lead 12 players and a dedicated staff to the Sydney Olympics was even more special,” said Triano. “I look forward to working with Steve and Rowan again to put together a staff that will help grow the game of basketball and make our way back to the Olympic Games and prominence on the world stage. This is an exciting time for basketball in Canada and I am excited to embrace the challenge.” Triano also announced his coaching staff that will assist him with the senior men’s national team. The coaches include; Greg Francis (University of Waterloo head coach), Kelvin Sampson (Houston Rockets assistant coach), and Dave Smart (Carleton University head coach). “Jay’s expertise, experience, passion and absolute commitment to Canada make him the ideal head coach,” said President and C.E.O. of Canada Basketball, Wayne Parrish. “Jay Triano is a great Canadian and he understands the importance of a strong basketball program and the influence that will have on the development of basketball in Canada.”