FINAL STANDINGS
1. Lithuania
2. Greece
3. CANADA
4. Australia
5. United States
6. Argentina
7. Puerto Rico
8. Slovenia
9. Nigeria
10. Israel
11. China
12. Iran 		CANADIANS
Levon Kendall (Vancouver, B.C.)
Aaron Doornekamp (Napanee, Ont.)
Kingsley Costain (Toronto, Ont.)
Vladimir Kuljanin (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina)
Tristan Blackwood (Toronto, Ont.)
Garry Gallimore (Spaldings, Jamaica)
Majak Kou (Khartoum, Sudan)
Kevin Francis (Toronto, Ont.)
Andy Rautins (Jamesville, NY)
Neil MacDonald (Sydney, N.S.)
William Galick (Nanaimo, BC)
Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes (Montreal, Que.)
Dave Crook – coach  
  POOL A AUS GRE ARG CAN ISR IRN Record  
  Australia —– 94-81 82-76 88-71 105-104 2-0 (5-0)  
  Greece 81-94 —– 63-59 62-53 79-75 2-0 (3-2)  
  Argentina 76-82 59-63 —– 86-46 71-58 2-0 (3-2)  
  Canada 71-88 53-62 46-86 —– 78-66 2-0 (2-3)  
  Israel 104-105 75-79 58-71 66-78 —– 2-0 (1-4)  
  Iran 0-2 0-2 0-2 0-2 0-2 —– (0-5)  
                   
  POOL B USA LIT PUR SLO NIG CHN Record  
  United States —– 103-83 94-79 82-79 113-78 117-50 (5-0)  
  Lithuania 83-103 —– 97-81 92-74 110-75 96-75 (4-1)  
  Puerto Rico 79-94 81-97 —– 61-41 90-72 101-65 (3-2)  
  Slovenia 79-82 74-92 41-61 —– 63-54 66-63 (2-3)  
  Nigeria 78-113 75-110 72-90 54-63 —– 87-81 (1-4)  
  China 50-117 75-96 65-101 63-66 81-87 —– (0-5)  
                   
  QFs Canada 93 United States 90
  QFs Greece 88 Puerto Rico 63
  QFs Australia 89 Slovenia 80
  QFs Lithuania 76 Argentina 63
  9-12th Nigeria 2 Iran 0
  9-12th Israel 95 China 74
  5-8th Argentina 70 Slovenia 43
  5-8th United States 99 Puerto Rico 79
  Semi Greece 74 Canada 61
  Semi Lithuania 76 Australia 63
  11th China 2 Iran 0
  9th Nigeria 110 Israel 104
  7th Puerto Rico 86 Slovenia 77
  5th United States 111 Argentina 85
  Bronze Canada 79 Australia 74
  Final Lithuania 65 Greece 63
     

In their opener, Canada earns a 2-0 forfeit against Iran. Iran withdrew at the last minute because it refused to play in a tourney in which the draw includes Israel. All games are forfeited by 2-0 count.

        In their next outing, Australia defeated Canada 88-71 after leading 45-35 and dominating the paint. Australia jumped out to an early lead going on an 8-0 run in the first quarter. Canada ran into foul trouble in the second quarter and the result was a 45-35 advantage for Australia at halftime, a lead that they would never relinquish. “We didn’t shoot well, which was our strength at the Jack Donohue International Classic,” said Canadian coach Dave Crook. “Losing Andy Rautins early in the game really hurt us. They had a single digit lead with four minutes to go in the game and they made their shots while we missed ours.” Australian guard Aaron Bruce noted that “we’ve been beaten by Canada twice (in exhibition play heading into the tournament) and the pride of our team was to win this game,” said Australia guard Aaron Bruce. “Canada is one of the best rivals we’ve had. They’re really good at shooting and we had to press the ball,” added Australia coach Guy Molloy. Canadian guard Kingsley Costain said “Australia was full of energy. They had the lead of the game for forty minutes. We practised the whole week but we didn’t do a good job in this game, we struggled but we couldn’t execute the final shot.” Bruce scored 18 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 4 assists. Brad Newley added 18 on 4-5 from the floor and 10-11 from the line. Brad Hill notched 11 on 3-5 from the floor and 5-5 from the line. Steven Markovic scored 10 on 2-4 from the arc. Benjamin Allen scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor and 6 boards. Blagoj Javen scored 5, Nathan Jawai 5, Rhys Carter 5, Adam Gibson 4 and Aleksandar Marci 2, while grabbing 11 boards. Samuel Harris was scoreless. The Australians shot 24-46 (.520) from the floor, 5-16 (.310) from the arc and 25-36 (.690) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 27 fouls, 24 turnovers and 8 steals. Vladimir Kuljanin paced Canada with 18 points on 8-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the line and 6 boards. Levon Kendall added 11 on 5-8 from the floor, 8 boards, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Kingsley Costain notched 11 on 1-3 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Aaron Doornekamp scored 8 on 1-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 3 boards. Majak Kou scored 8 on 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Tristan Blackwood scored 3, Garry Gallimore 3 and Kevin Francis 2, while Andrew Rautins, Neil MacDonald and William Galick were scoreless. Canada shot 20-42 (.480) from the floor, 5-24 (.210) from the arc and 16-27 (.590) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 29 fouls, 22 turnovers, 8 steals and 7 blocks.

        Canada fell to (1-2) after getting hammered 86-46 by Argentina. Canada trailed 35-24 at the half. Carlos Leonel Schattman led Argentina with 19 on 3-5 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 5 boards. Leonardo Andrew Mainoldi added 15 on 5-12 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 8 boards. Alejandro Martin Alloatti added 15 on 4-4 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Axel Weigand notched 10 on 3-6 from the floor and 9 boards. Diego Miguel Brezzo scored 9, Juan Pablo Rigueroa 6, Jonatan Alberto Triese 5, Carlos Matias Sandes 3, Bruno Luis Oprandi 2 and Juan Manuel Torres 2, while Juane Manuel Rivero and Fabricio David Vay were scoreless. The Argentinians shot 23-40 (.580) from the floor, 7-12 (.580) from the arc and 19-26 (.730) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 22 fouls, 19 turnovers, 8 steals and 7 blocks. Vladimir Kuljanin paced Canada with 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Levon Kendall added 9 on 3-11 from the floor and 5 boards. Garry Gallimore scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 3 boards. William Galick notched 5 on 5-6 from the line. Tristan Blackwood scored 5, Kevin Francis 4, Kingsley Costain 2, Majak Kou 2, Aaron Doornekamp 2, Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes 1 and Neil MacDonald 1, while Andrew Rautins did not play. Canada shot 10-46 (.220) from the floor, 2-17 (.120) from the arc and 20-27 (.740) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 29 fouls, 16 turnovers, 6 steals and 7 blocks.

Greece clipped Canada 62-53 in a defensive affair. Greece led 25-21 at the half. Despite the loss, coach Dave Crook was pleased. “We played with more energy tonight. The Greeks beat us on the last four minutes when the game was on the line.” Majak Kou agreed. “We had some chances of pulling it up but in the end the Greeks got crucial possession of offence.” Greek coach Manos Manouselis noted that “we knew that it was going to be a hard game because we knew from the tournament in Canada that Canada is a very good team and the previous results don’t mean anything to us. We feel very lucky that the bad performance of the first half especially offensively. I want to congratulate my players because they played very hard. I recovered all the weaknesses we had in offence.” Forward Loukas Mavrokefalidis said that his teammates “played very good in offence. We played in Canada a friendly game against Canada and we didn’t show the real face in all and I think now we had the opportunity to show our real face. We are a very good offensive team and if we show our real offensive face, we are going to be a better team.” Konstantinos Vasileiadis led Greece with 23 points on 5-9 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Loukas Navrokefalidis added 14 on 7-10 from the floor and 6 boards. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Ian-Tzaiims Vougioukas scored 5, Vasileios Xanthopoulos 4, Georgios Sourlis 2, Georgios Apostolidis 2 and Vasileios Zefkilis 2, while Evanagelos Morfis and Panagiotis Karavanas were scoreless. Greece hit 22-39 (.560) from the floor, 2-12 (.170) from the arc and 12-15 (.800) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 16 fouls, 18 turnovers, 14 steals and 5 blocks. Majak Kou paced Canada with 17 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 steals. Vladimir Kuljanin added 10 on 5-9 from the floor and 6 boards. Garry Gallimore added 8 on 2-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Kingsley Costain notched 7 on 2-3 from the floor and 3 assists. Kevin Francis scored 4, Levon Kendall 4 and Tristan Blackwood 3, while Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes, Aaron Doornekamp and Neil MacDonald were scoreless. Canada shot 14-42 (.330) from the floor, 7-22 (.320) from the arc and 4-4 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 16 fouls, 23 turnovers, 5 steals and 5 blocks.

Canada advanced to the medal round with a (2-3) record by defeating Israel 78-66. Israel got off to the start they were looking for, outscoring Canada 26-17 in the opening frame. They continued their strong play in the second stanza, outscoring Canada 18-15 to take a 44-32 halftime lead. “We started playing very well but we lost our confidence,” said Israel coach Ari Shivek. Canada pulled together in the second half of the game, tying the game at 60 at the end of the three quarters. Canada’s defense held Israel to just six points in the fourth quarter as the red and white scored 18 points of their own to seal the victory. “When Canada started to come closer, we made some mistakes. I don’t like this but I understand. They are very young players and because of them we are here. I respect them for that,” added Shivek. Canadian coach Dave Crook was elated to finally get a victory. “It is better to win than to lose. We played better in the second half and our defence was stronger. It was very important to have Andrew Rautins that hadn’t played in the previous games. … We battled through adversity to secure a spot in the top eight of the world. We controlled the tempo of the game and really stepped up on defense in the second half.” Point guard Tristan Blackwood said “we controlled the game all the time and we shared the ball. That was the success of our game. Israel is a great team but our offence was better that’s why we won.” Israel coach Ari Shivek noted that “we started playing very well but we lost our confidence. When Canada started to come closer, we made some mistakes. I don’t agree but I understand. They are very young players and because of them we are here. I respect them for that. When we go back to Israel, we will draw our own conclusions about how bad we played. I congratulate Canada because they got to the quarters finals.” Garry Gallimore paced Canada with 24 points on 3-7 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 assists. Andrew Rautins, seeing his first action since injuring an ankle in the opener, added 14 on 4-8 from the arc and 5 boards. Tristan Blackwood scored 12 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Levon Kendal scored 7 on 3-10 from the floor and 6 boards. Vladimir Kuljanin scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Kevin Francis scored 4, while Kingsley Costain, Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes, Majak Kou, Aaron Doornekamp and Neil MacDonald each scored 2. Canada shot 20-45 (.440) from the floor, 11-24 (.460) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 19 fouls, 14 turnovers, 7 steals and 5 blocks. Yotam Halperin led Israel with 22 on 3-7 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 steals. Raviv Guy Limonad added 16 on 3-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Lior Eliyahu scored 8 on 3-11 from the floor and 8 boards. Erez Kohansky added 8, Jonatan Nir 6, Lior Lipshits 4 and Anton Kazarnovski 2, while Elad Eliyahu, Igor Simin and Vladi Ermichin were scoreless. Israel shot 13-42 (.310) from the floor, 8-17 (.470) from the arc and 16-21 (.760) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 13 fouls, 17 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks.

In the quarterfinals, Canada stunned the United States 93-90 in overtime. Levon Kendall scored with 30 seconds to play in regulation to force overtime. “Personally, I had a great afternoon,” said Kendall. “As a team we did a hard defence and took good shots. It is the first time I hit 40 points in one match.” Canada got out to an early lead on strong shooting in the first quarter, taking a 27-23 advantage after one period of play. Canada continued their strong play in the second quarter, taking away the perimeter game of the United States and outscoring the Americans 19-18 to take a 46-41 halftime lead. The United States rallied to begin the third stanza, running the ball and scoring transitional baskets to outscore Canada 23-17 in the period and take a 64-63 lead after three quarters. After being down by seven points in the final quarter with three minutes remaining in the game, Canada went on a scoring run capped by Levon Kendall’s game-tying basket with 25 seconds remaining in the match as Canada made up the one-point deficit, outscoring the United States 19-18. But the US moved ahead 82-80 on a trey by Rajon Rondo. Marcus Williams missed a chance to win it in regulation as he pitched a trey wide with four seconds remaining. With the game tied at 82 after regulation time, Canada forced the United States into a frontcourt game in overtime. Canada never trailed in the extra period, outscoring their opponents 11-8. “We felt we had to play a hard 40 minutes of perfect basketball to beat the United States,” said coach Dave Crook. “But in the end, we had to play 45 minutes to earn this tremendous victory. This is a huge win for Canada Basketball and shows the growing commitment of the athletes and personnel to this program. Now we have two games left to see how far we can go!” Kendall called it a “great first step to Canadian greatness.” U.S. coach Phil Martelli said “Canada’s performance was outstanding. Kendall had 40 points, but as a team they played very well. Their defence was exceptional. They took 16 offensive rebounds. Our mistake was that we scored fewer points than they.” Kendall led Canada with 40 points on 14-20 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 6-12 from the line, 12 boards and 3 assists. Vladimir Kuljanin added 12 on 5-6 from the floor and 6 boards. Majak Kou notched 10 on 2-3 from the arc. Aaron Doornekamp scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 9 boards and 3 assists. Andrew Rautins notched 8 on 2-8 from the arc. Kingsley Costain scored 5, Garry Gallimore 4, along with 6 boards, Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes 2, Kevin Francis 1 and Tristan Blackwood 1. Canada shot 28-47 (.600) from the floor, 7-27 (.260) from the arc and 16-27 (.590) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 23 fouls, 22 turnovers, 3 steals and 1 block. Allan Ray led the USA with 16 on 4-5 from the arc and 3 boards. J.J. Redick added 14 on 3-7 from the floor and 8-8 from the line. Taj Gray notched 13 on 4-7 from the floor and 5-7 from the line. Justin Gray notched 13 on 2-9 from the floor and 3-3 from the line. Rajon Rondo scored 12 on 4-6 from the floor. Rudy Gay notched 10 on 3-8 from the floor and 10 boards. Curtis Withers scored 4, Maurice Collins 4, along with 4 steals, Marcus Williams 2 and Terrence Roberts 2. The United States hit 23-57 (.400) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 28 fouls, 11 turnovers, 13 steals and 4 blocks. “The U.S. team was averaging about 16 three-pointers a game but Garry Gallimore just physically shut down Redick and he didn’t make any against us,” raved coach Dave Crook.

In the semis, Canada fell 74-61 to Greece. The game started as a hard-fought affair, with Canada leading, 17-16, at the end of 10 minutes. Greece however, started to pull away at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, outscoring Canada 19-11 in the period to take a 35-28 halftime lead. Greece continued their defensive pressure in the third quarter, holding Canada to 11 points for the second-straight period, while tallying 23 points and recording five steals themselves. Greece increased their lead to a game-high 20 points in the first minute of the fourth quarter before the perimeter shooting of Kevin Francis and Andy Rautins pulled Canada to within eight points (65-57) with three minutes remaining in the game. That was as far as Canada could close the gap however; as the Greece went on to win by a 13-point margin. “The Greek team played very tough, the way you have to play in a semifinal stage,” commented Rautins. “We did not bring our best offensive game out with us tonight.” Konstantinos Vasileiadis led Greece with 18 points on 4-8 from the floor and 7-8 from the line. Loukas Marvrokefalidis added 17 on 8-12 from the floor and 10 boards. P. Vasilopoulos notched 15 on 5-12 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 6 boards and 4 steals. G. Sourlis scored 7, V Zekilis 6, I Vougioukas 4, V Xanthopoulos 3, G Apostolidis 2, E Morfis 2, N Angeopoulos 0 and P Karavanas 0. Andy Rautins led Canada with 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 steals. Kevin Francis added 12 on 3-6 from the floor and 3-3 from the line. Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes added 8 on 2-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 3 assists. Levon Kendal scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Aaron Doornekamp notched 5 on 2-2 from the floor. Vladimir Kuljanin scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor. Garry Gallimore added 4, Tristan Blackwood 3, Kingsley Costain 2, Majak Kou 0, Neil MacDonald 0 and Willie Galick 0.

        In the bronze medal match, Canada defeated Australia 79-74. The win gave Canada a bronze medal in their first-ever appearance at the Under-21 worlds, and marked the first time a Canadian age-group team has medaled at the FIBA event. “Obviously, it was a great game because we won,” stated Canadian Head Coach Dave Crook. “Australia has had a spectacular performance in this tournament, but today we defeated them. I always believed in our players, in their skills and their quality.” The game started as a hard-fought affair, with Canada leading, 22-20, at the end of 10 minutes. Canada’s two-point advantage was cut in half at the end of two quarters however, as Australia outscored Canada 20-19 in the period leaving the Canadians with a 41-40 lead at halftime. Canada won the game in the third quarter, outscoring Australia 22-16. Australia attempted to mount a comeback in the final quarter, outscoring Canada 18-16, but they could not overcome the third quarter deficit. “We faced Australia many times and we knew that they are a tough rival,” said Levon Kendall. “Today we won because we played with energy and courage.” Levon Kendall paced Canada with 15 points on 6-17 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Vladimir Kuljanin notched 12 on 5-8 from the floor and 10 boards. Andy Rautins scored 11 on 3-7 from the arc and 4 boards. Garry Gallimore scored 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 7 boards. Kingsley Costain scored 9 on 3-7 from the floor and 3 assists. Kevin Francis added 6, Aaron Doornekamp 5, Tristan Blackwood 5, Majak Kou 3, Neil MacDonald 2 and Pierre Altidor-Cespedes 0. Brad Newley paced Australia with 17 on 4-11 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Aleksandar Maric notched 16 on 7-12 from the floor, 9 boards and 3 steals. Steven Markovic scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor. Rhys Carter added 9, Brad Hill 9, Benjamin Allen 5, Blagoj Janev 4, Aaron Bruce 2, Nathan Jawai 2, Samuel Harris 0 and Adam Gibson 0. Coach Dave Crook said “winning a medal for the first time for Canada is an awesome, awesome experience. I think it was the confidence Canada Basketball put in these kids and our staff. We were so close that first summer that I told them can’t allow them not to compete in the off year. You need that continuity.” Levon Kendall noted that “I think (the continuity) was huge. I remember the first year we went down to Venezuela and it was a shock, just the speed and physicality of the international game. Each year, we got more and more confident playing against other guys from around the world, seeing you can actually match up with them. That was a big thing.” Garry Gallimore added that “even in Canada, the basketball program is kind of taken for granted. The message we sent is that it doesn’t really matter if you’re American or whatever. When you step on the court, play a good game of basketball, expect good things to happen and play to win, you’re going to win.”

        The all-tournament team featured: MVP Renaldas Seibutis (Lithuania); Levon Kendall (Canada); Yotam Halperin (Israel); Konstantinos Vasileiadis (Greece); and Loukas Mayrokefalidis (Greece)

        Following the tournament, head coach Dave Crook announced that was leaving the national coaching ranks to focus on his University of Winnipeg Wesmen. “Canada Basketball would like to thank Coach Crook for the commitment and passion he has displayed as part of our national team program over the past nine years,” said Fred Nykamp, Executive Director and CEO of Canada Basketball. “His efforts were exhibited at the conclusion of the four-year cycle of this program which began at the 2002 Tournament of the Americas, and ended when his team won the first medal for Canada at a FIBA World Championship. Canada Basketball wishes Coach Crook well in his future endeavours both on-and-off the court.” Crook has been with Canada Basketball’s national team program for nine years. He began his national team career as an assistant coach in 1996 at the Young Men’s National Team FIBA America’s World Championship Qualification in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He complied at 32-15 record as an assistant coach between 1996 and 2001. In 2002, Crook took over the head coaching duties of the Junior Men’s Program, making his debut in an Exhibition Tour of South America in preparation for the FIBA Tournament of the Americas later that year in Venezuela. During his head coaching tenure, he led the team in two Global Games and two FIBA Tournament of the Americas. Overall, he compiled a 19-18 head coaching record, highlighted by the Bronze Medal win in Argentina Sunday. “I think it’s good to go out on top,” said Crook. “I have enjoyed watching this team grow and mature into one of the greatest age-group teams Canada has ever produced. I have also enjoyed my time in the national team program, but it was time for me to leave, allow other young Canadian coaches the same experiences I had, and put more focus into my university team. Canada Basketball provided a tremendous opportunity for me to expand my exposure to the game, and I would like to take this time to thank Jay Triano, Ken Olynyk, Peter Campbell, Chris O’Rourke and Andrew Cook for making my time in the national team program so special.”
        After 2005, the competition is discontinued.