Rana grabs Canada helm for FIBA AmeriCup, first two World Cup Qualifiers windows

TORONTO (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Canada have put their title-winning coach at this summer's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Egypt, Roy Rana, in charge of the men's national team for the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 and the first two windows of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.

The Canadians will tip-off their AmeriCup campaign in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, on August 27 while the World Cup Qualifiers will get underway on November 24 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Jay Triano will continue to serve as head coach of the senior men's national team program and will travel with the team to Argentina.

"It is once again an incredible honor to have the opportunity and responsibility to lead our country into international competition," Rana said. "I look forward to building on the incredible momentum of this summer and continue to play my part in building a special experience of success at the senior men's national team level."

In Cairo, the Canadians won the U19 world title for the first time. Canada beat the USA in the Semi-Finals and then Italy in the Final with RJ Barrett scooping tournament MVP honors.

As a national team coach since 2006, he also led Canada to a third-place finish at the 2010 FIBA U16 World Championship in Hamburg, Germany.

"Coach Rana is a dedicated and committed member of the Canada Basketball team with a long-standing history of high performance at both the cadet and junior national team levels," said former national team star Rowan Barrett, the assistant general manager and executive vice president of the senior men's program.

"We are confident in Roy's ability to take the next step and lead our senior men's national team as we begin our pursuit of a World Cup berth."

Rana is also the coach at Ryerson University. Over the course of his eight-year career, his Rams have captured both silver (2017) and bronze (2015) medals at the U SPORTS (formerly CIS) national championships.

The AmeriCup will be the first building block on our path to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China and our athletes, staff and community are excited to embark on this journey.

Rana

Rana has also served on the coaching staff of the Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer League.

Triano, the 58-year-old associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns, said of Rana: "With different players stepping up at different times to help us qualify, we are going to need different coaches to step up as well. Roy has been a big part of our program, and with the success this summer he is a natural fit to lead us during the NBA season."

The second window of the World Cup Qualifiers will be in February while the third of the six windows will be at the end of June and beginning of July.

At the AmeriCup, Canada will square off in the Group Phase against the Virgin Islands, Argentina and Venezuela in Bahia Blanca. The Canadians fell to Venezuela in the last seconds of the their 2015 AmeriCup Semi-Final in Mexico City to miss out on Olympic qualification.

In the World Cup Americas Qualifiers, Canada will face the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and the US Virgin Islands in Group D.

Rana's attention is now firmly on getting Canada ready for the trip to Argentina.

"The AmeriCup will be the first building block on our path to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China and our athletes, staff and community are excited to embark on this journey," Rana said.

FIBA