Canada's off to Turkey

Canada’s back on the world basketball stage.

With Jermaine Anderson playing his best game of the tournament and four clutch free throws in the dying seconds, Canada beat the Dominican Republic 80-76 on Friday night at the FIBA Americas world championship qualification tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Anderson, for years trying to shake the tag of "national team point guard who isn’t Steve Nash" had a brilliant second half, eventually pouring in 21 points to lead Canada, which now returns to the world championships for the first time since 2002.

The magnitude of the win cannot be overstated. With solid development programs at the under-19 and under-17 levels, Canada desperately needed to see some success at the senior level to give the teenagers something to aspire to.

And now, because of the win over ex-Raptor Charlie Villaneuva and the Dominicans, Canada will join the world’s elite next summer in Turkey.

Joel Anthony and Andy Rautins made key free throws in the final 20 seconds for Canada, which rode some hot long-range shooting to the win.

Canada was 14-for-27 from three-point range and Anderson was five of eight after going just 3-for-21 on three-pointers in the first seven games of the tournament.

Canada now faces Brazil in a relatively meaningless semifinal of the 10-team tournament and will face either Argentina or Puerto Rico for gold or bronze on Sunday. The semis and finals are played just to establish seeding going into next year’s worlds.

Comments

[D. Himmel]

Impressive tournament for a team without a single NBA player. If the under 19's and under 17's are devloping well, does this mean we can look forward to a more consistant showing on the world basketball stage in the future?

[Matt]

hey doug, do you think leo rautins and the coaching staff will be able to sort out the situation with samuel dalembert by the time they head to turkey. I think if they have him they'll have a much better chance when facing the elite teams.

Blogger's note: No, nor do I think they should; the program is now in the hands of the young kids

[Brian Gerstein]

Congrats to Team Canada! After so many setbacks, they finally delivered when it was most needed. Any chances of Nash playing for us? Maybe if Jay replaces Leo we can recruit him.

Blogger's note: Not going to happen

[Norm]

thanks for the update Doug. great stuff! a dramatic win over a more talented team. lots of heart. you weren't kidding when you said Canada rode 3 pt shooting to the win. what other areas of potential does canada have that can be further developed view to next year Doug?

Blogger's note: Backcourt depth

[Aditya]

great win.....congrats to leo and his team....

[Ryan W]

Since you stated that there was a complicated tie breaking formula that would be used if Canada were to tie and advnace, can you explain what it was, and how they did it?

Blogger's note: It would have been complicated in a three-way tie, involving points for and against in teams among the three tied teams; as it turns out, it was a two-way tie, easily broken by head-to-head result

[Robert B]

I wouldn't call the next two games meaningless. Better seeding means a better chance of going farther during next year's worlds.

[Jon Hindle]

great win even if the feed was a little sloppy. Hopefully we can bring in some of our U19 guys for next year and build something going into the next Olympics. We have some serious young ballers in this country and have a serious chance at competing going forward...

[Bernie T, Peterborough]

Doug, I hate to be negative on such an amazing day, but I can't help but compare Leo's coaching to Smitch with the Raptors. Predictable offense, terrible zone coverage, brutal substitutions...and he is going to get a contract extension! In both cases it's understandable, because of public perception if a "successful" coach is let go, but in both cases it was apparent that the man was out of his element. My friends and I thoroughly respect your opinions and knowledge and I KNOW that this comment will not go over well, but I need to air it out!

Anyways, congratulations to the Canadian players. They worked their asses off and deserve the bid. I was particularly impressed with our bigs...JY, Kendall, and Anthony...as they battled hard the entire tournament. As an aside, imagine the post moves if we had Anthony and Dalembert in there together...gulp.

[Steve]

In your opinion Doug do you think the few Canadian NBA players that decide to not participate for Team Canada get a free ride from the press and fans. Where as if a hockey player turned down an invite they would be raked over the coals. (As a note, I have no knowledge why some players have decided not to go, there may be a legitimate reason? )

Also a local radio reporter was talking about Leo's coaching style and says he wants to be the big authority figure and demands respect but then stats how he never won a thing. Do you agree with that or do you think Gabe was way off. And of course if you listen to his show at all you will notice he is off quite a bit.

Thanks for any info!

Blogger's note: I have no idea who "Gabe" is but I guess he's entitled to his opinion; and one of three Canadians in the NBA played; one was asked to leave the team a year ago and the other played every summer for more than a decade

[Matthieu]

Well Doug, you know where you're going to spend next summer :) Congratulations to Canada!

Blogger's note: I sure hope so

[DC]

Doug, with a strong contribution from the core of the 2005 FIBA under 21 bronze medalist team (Rautins, Kendall and Doornekamp) is this not already a case of success building on success ?

Tonight's victory just adds to the string of positive results for Canada Basketball.

The concern is will there be sufficient financial support from the private and public sectors to sustain the development of basketball in Canada?

[Greg]

One of four played. You forgot the Canadian who is on the same NBA team as the Canadian who did play.

[derek]

There is no way Sam Dalembert would have given as much heart, hustle and hammering as Jesse Young gave this tournament.
Go Raiders (PCVS)

[Kol Nika]

4 Canadian players in NBA, forgot the one that plays for Miami refuses to play for Canada (magluire?)...not that they need him.

Also going back a bit to that ESPN prediction, I totaly agree that their predictions mean nothing, but what I think upset Raptor fans the most is the fact of some of the teams ahead of them....especially philly, that lost their only true point guard whoes also their glue/leader

[coachd]

A great win for the young Canadians. Today, Jermaine Anderson was a world-class point guard and it made all the difference. Congrats to him and the rest of the squad. As a fan of Canadian basketball I'm absolutely thrilled at this result. And while Leo deserves some of the criticism he been getting let's not forget that he's a relative newcomer to the coaching profession. He ,like the young players, deserves the opportunity to grow into the role. Hopefully, this win will give him some breathing room and get the vultures off his back.

[Carlos]

Will Matt Bonner allowed to play at the Worlds next year?

Blogger's note: If he gets citizenship, which he hasn't so far

[nasko]

Hey Doug,

I have heard from a source that Nash has not said a definite NO. From his words there is still a chance, even if very small, that he might play next year in Turkey..
Anyhow, just thought I will throw that out.

[Ren]

Simply the most entertaining basketball game I have seen in a while! They played with excellent poise and delivered when all was on the line! I was screaming at the tv! Awesome.

Just a comment and I wonder if you would humour me...
I was watching the game and wondering why Canada could play such good defense and pull off a win against a stacked team with significant NBA players - Horford and Villenueva, and then I thought...

As a team that plays a "european" type style, I think it is clear that Canada would have a better chance against a team that includes NBA players who play mostly in the States. While they are clearly bigger, faster, and more talented, Charlie and Alfred do not have the "team" idea as Europeans do. And, there are only two of them, so their athleticism etc. has a much smaller impact. We saw several times in the game where bad shots were put up by the DR, and most of the time, it was one of those two who decided they would put the team on their shoulders (particularly Charlie). I thought, really, unless Canada imploded on their own, they should have won the game, because of the team ethic they follow, and the disjointed one that DR puts on the floor.
And then this idea was further solidified when I watched Rautins struggle early in the game. He is, I believe, the only player from Canada who is developing in the US, and not playing overseas. He had a difficult time making decisions and, a couple times, took bad shots. Is this a result of the culture or atmosphere of basketball and culture in the US?

When Canada plays a European-based player team with talented players, they struggle, because they do not have that same talent in a similar playing style. Would you agree?

Blogger's note: I think there is some validity to your point, absolutely. Which is why, in my opinion, it's incumbent that we get more Canadian players playing at the highest level of EuroLeague ball

[Mahdi]

Great win by Canada, but I gotta say that I don't believe that the next games are entirely useless, as if we do go forward and win the gold it will limit our chances of having to be in the same group with teams like USA and spain, increasing our chances of making it past the group stage.

[Thane]

Doug, any chance the Red Rocket gets his citizenship in time for the worlds? If so, is it likely he'll be on the roster?

Blogger's note:That possibility exists, yes

[Aditya]

but I can't help but compare Leo's coaching to Smitch with the Raptors. Predictable offense, terrible zone coverage, brutal substitutions
---
to bernie t. peterborough:

sometimes keeping it simple works and i am sure keeping it simple is better in international play....this is not the NBA where you have a whole month long training camp including preseason games where you can try different stuff and complicated stuff...+ 82 games...

[Noslak]

Go Team Canada!!! Congrats to everyone on the team. They made us all proud!

[Pac Man Fever]

Doug, thanks so much for the coverage of the Men's team in PR. What a great, tough win today - fantastic 3 pointv shooting & it was great to see the players so excited after the game. I've been watching most of the games & I cannot figure this team out (wild ups and downs, esp. the loss to Uraguay) but I am happy with the trip to Turkey next year.

Can you tell me why Denham Brown & Juan Mendez are not on this team? Thanks

Blogger's note: They both left the program last year, Brown when he didn't come to camp, Mendez when he was released just before the team left for the final Olympic qualifier.

[Alex H]

I would guess that "Gabe" is Gabriel Morency of the Score and Hardcore Sports Radio.

Just an awesome shooting display tonight. They all showed a lot of guts. If the Swirsk was calling that game, every fifth word would have been "onions". How helpful would it be for the Canadian team if Joel Anthony developed any kind of post game in the next year? Do you think that anything positive could rub off on him practising with and against Jermaine O'Neal?

Blogger's note: Sure can't hurt, as long as JO's not injured and unable to practice