Canada enjoys a great moment
The Canadian national team once again lived another spectacular night in the Qualifiers in the Road to China 2019.
LAVAL (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers) — The Canadian national team once again lived another spectacular night in the Qualifiers in the Road to China 2019.
With the qualification to the world stage a bit closer after Thursday's victory against Brazil, the North American team were all smiles, since, without a doubt, they are going through a great moment with a pool of players that are great promises in the international level.
In their triumph against the South American rivals, coach Roy Rana praised his apprentices’ work — six of them scored in the double figures and never allowed Brazil to be a rival of a significant danger.
“Very impressed. We talked about playing the right way all week long. Very quietly Cory Joseph had 10 assists. That was very, very impressive. 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, we've got very, very special times ahead.”
Despite Canada's victory — their fifth consecutive in the Qualifiers — was an achievement of the whole team, power forward Kelly Olynyk's great performance cannot go uncommented. The Toronto natural was outstanding with 20 points and 19 rebounds. Brazil never had an answer for Olynyk’s game, who shows his best attributes when he wears his country’s uniform.
“There’s a lot of pride and a lot of passion when you put on the Canadian jersey. Everybody here in my country believes in me and gives me the freedom and the opportunity to be myself. That's been an amazing opportunity. I thank the coaches and my team for that.”
Another scorer that shone for the Canadian side was point guard Kevin Pangos, who had been several years without playing in the national program. The guard did not disappoint in his return, contributing 10 points and eight assists.
“I felt pretty good, the shots weren't falling, but you can't knock them down every game. I just try to do what I can to help the team win, and try to help get the guys organized. It was a lot of fun to work in Canada again. I’ve enjoyed it,” stated the FC Barcelona player at Spain’s ACB League.
After six games, Canada (6-1) is still at the top of Group F, with the same record as Venezuela, but with a greater point difference. Now, the North American squad are setting their sights on their visit to Chile (1-6) and will begin a long trip that will cover practically the whole continent.
For their duel against the Chileans on Monday in Valdivia, Rana will not be counting on Olynyk, Pangos, Joseph, Tristan Thompson, Justin Jackson or Khem Birch. The tickets for the encounter at Antonio Azurmendi Coliseum are sold out.
“It's not easy [...] it's pretty far. That, in itself (the trip) will be a huge challenge. We’ll have a different group, but we're ready. Those guys are hungry, they're ready to play. I'm excited about this opportunity for them as well,” stated the coach of the most recent U-19 Basketball World Cup.
“We're preparing for a whole new team. We're going to start watching films and start scouting Chile. We have a practice tomorrow. [It’s] a new group of guys, a different chemistry. Probably the biggest one [concern] is this travel,” Rana underlined, regarding the 19-hour journey.
Despite he will not be available due to his NBA commitments with the Miami Heat, Olynyk seemed to be confident on the players that will travel to Chile for a triumph that takes Canada even closer to the FIBA Basketball World Cup, their first since 2010.
“We're sending a great group of guys to Chile. Like coach said, a hungry group that's going to be ready to go and ready to play. We practiced all week with 16-17 guys. It's going to be a good challenge for us. That’s why you have a pool of guys. It is a group effort,” said Olynyk.
FIBA