imported_n/a1394647443 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Canada fielding young team http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/NCAA/2005/08/23/1185297-cp.html TORONTO (CP) - Juan Mendez, Carl English and Denham Brown will lead a young Canadian men's basketball team at the FIBA Americas world championship qualifying tournament that begins Wednesday. English, of Patrick's Cove, Nfld., and a former University of Hawaii standout guard, will play for Canada's senior team for the first time. Montreal's Mendez capped his senior season at Niagara University by becoming Canada's all-time leading NCAA scorer, while Brown, from Toronto, is a starting forward for the Connecticut Huskies. Canadian coach Leo Rautins also added Levon Kendall of Vancouver to the roster, after the University of Pittsburgh forward led Canada to a bronze medal at the recent under-21 world championships. "We have a lot of outstanding young talent on this team and we believe we have the group to qualify for the 2006 world championship," Canadian head coach Leo Rautins said in a release. "We competed well against the top teams in our zone in exhibition play in Brazil and now we are ready to put it all together and qualify for the world championship." Big names missing include Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash of Victoria, who has essentially retired from the national program after 10 years with the team, and New Orleans Hornets forward Jamaal Magloire of Toronto, who has never played for the Canadian senior squad. The tournament runs through Sept. 4 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with the top 10 teams in the Americas zone competing for four spots in the 2006 FIBA world championships in Tokyo. Argentina is an automatic qualifier after winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and will not count for one of the four spots available. Canada opens against Venezuela on Thursday, then plays the United States on Friday, Panama on Saturday, and Brazil on Sunday. The teams will be re-seeded after the conclusion of pool play, and will compete against the teams in the opposite pool, capped by the semi-finals and finals. Canada finished 10th at the 2002 FIBA world championships in Indianapolis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC supporter Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Here's my prediction: in about 10 years, Jamal Magloire will look back and regret he never played for Canada at any of these international tournaments. On the other hand, he'll have a lot of dough from his NBA career to comfort him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_n/a1394647443 Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 quote:Originally posted by BC supporter Here's my prediction: in about 10 years, Jamal Magloire will look back and regret he never played for Canada at any of these international tournaments. On the other hand, he'll have a lot of dough from his NBA career to comfort him. Steve Nash will have more dough, more awards, Olympic memories and no regrets. Good to see Carl English come to his senses after pulling a Brad Parker. No showed the Athens Olympics to try out at NBA camps (Olympics where Canada had a great run, lots of exposure) and he ended up playing 3rd tier minor league ball somewhere. Guess it's never too late as he's still young. Probably the best core of young guys we've had in awhile. Looks good for next Olympics. Leo Rautins has been going on cross Canada tryout camps trying to uncover any hidden talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodway Posted August 27, 2005 Share Posted August 27, 2005 Well we just did it again. We spanked the States for the 3rd time in a row. Uncluding our U-21 teams q-final win vs the USA at the recent WC's. This is a big win after losing our first game to lowly Venezuela. It's a 92-76 final, Deham Brown tearing it up with 28 points and 9 boards in 30mins. Mendez not far behind with 21 and 14 in 32mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 [V] Canada trounced at FIBA Americas world qualifying SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CP) - Leo Rautins' first major tournament as head coach of the Canadian national men's basketball team ended in disaster Sunday. Marcelo Machado scored a tournament-high 42 points as Brazil downed Canada 105-81 in the FIBA Americas world qualifying tournament, eliminating the Canadians from the competition. Canada (1-3) finished at the bottom of its five-team group, with the top four teams advancing to the quarter-finals. The loss also means Canada will not play in next year's world basketball championships in Japan. It's the first time Canada has failed to qualify for the world championships since 1967. "We got off to a rocky start against Venezuela, and that seemed to set the tone for the tournament," said forward Carl English. "We were stuck between a rock and a hard place in a must-win situation against Brazil. We played hard, but they were making their shots." The Canadians, playing their fourth game in as many days, couldn't keep up with the high-octane Brazilians, who feature guard Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns and forward Tiago Splitter, who is expected to be a 2006 NBA lottery pick. Splitter scored 13 points and Barbosa added 12 as Brazil (3-1) clinched first place in Group A. Rautins said his team simply couldn't match the veteran poise of their Brazilian counterparts. "We played Brazil in a desperate situation, and our youth and inexperience showed," said Rautins, who took over the coaching reins from Jay Triano in February. "We came here to win, but we also came here with a young group of players, and the experiences they learned here will bode well for the future." Canada hung tough in an entertaining first quarter, trailing 30-26 after 10 minutes. But Machado, a six-foot-seven shooting guard, torched the Canadians for 25 first-half points to help the Brazilians build a 53-39 lead at halftime. The Canadians reduced the deficit to 71-63 on a Denham Brown three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, but they could get no closer. Machado made sure of that with a pair of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter that expanded Brazil's lead to 83-66. The 30-year-old, who plays in the Brazilian national league, finished 10-of-18 from beyond the arc and added 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Rautins was quick to credit the Brazilians, who also beat Panama and Venezuela on their way to the top of the group standings. "Brazil is a very good team with experience and poise," said Rautins. "That was the difference in the game." Brown finished with 25 points, English added 19 and Juan Mendez and Levon Kendall had 13 apiece for the Canadians. Despite the disappointing effort, English said the team remains upbeat. "Overall, we have to get used to playing with each other," Coach Rautins is leading this team in the right direction. Now we just have to regroup and prepare for the Olympic qualifiers." Elsewhere, Venezuela (3-1) earned a 71-70 win over Panama (1-3) to conclude round-robin action in Group A. Puerto Rico (1-2) routed Mexico (1-2) 94-74 and the host Dominicans (3-0) lost 84-60 to Argentina (2-1) in Group B action later Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 [V] Canada trounced at FIBA Americas world qualifying SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CP) - Leo Rautins' first major tournament as head coach of the Canadian national men's basketball team ended in disaster Sunday. Marcelo Machado scored a tournament-high 42 points as Brazil downed Canada 105-81 in the FIBA Americas world qualifying tournament, eliminating the Canadians from the competition. Canada (1-3) finished at the bottom of its five-team group, with the top four teams advancing to the quarter-finals. The loss also means Canada will not play in next year's world basketball championships in Japan. It's the first time Canada has failed to qualify for the world championships since 1967. "We got off to a rocky start against Venezuela, and that seemed to set the tone for the tournament," said forward Carl English. "We were stuck between a rock and a hard place in a must-win situation against Brazil. We played hard, but they were making their shots." The Canadians, playing their fourth game in as many days, couldn't keep up with the high-octane Brazilians, who feature guard Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns and forward Tiago Splitter, who is expected to be a 2006 NBA lottery pick. Splitter scored 13 points and Barbosa added 12 as Brazil (3-1) clinched first place in Group A. Rautins said his team simply couldn't match the veteran poise of their Brazilian counterparts. "We played Brazil in a desperate situation, and our youth and inexperience showed," said Rautins, who took over the coaching reins from Jay Triano in February. "We came here to win, but we also came here with a young group of players, and the experiences they learned here will bode well for the future." Canada hung tough in an entertaining first quarter, trailing 30-26 after 10 minutes. But Machado, a six-foot-seven shooting guard, torched the Canadians for 25 first-half points to help the Brazilians build a 53-39 lead at halftime. The Canadians reduced the deficit to 71-63 on a Denham Brown three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, but they could get no closer. Machado made sure of that with a pair of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter that expanded Brazil's lead to 83-66. The 30-year-old, who plays in the Brazilian national league, finished 10-of-18 from beyond the arc and added 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Rautins was quick to credit the Brazilians, who also beat Panama and Venezuela on their way to the top of the group standings. "Brazil is a very good team with experience and poise," said Rautins. "That was the difference in the game." Brown finished with 25 points, English added 19 and Juan Mendez and Levon Kendall had 13 apiece for the Canadians. Despite the disappointing effort, English said the team remains upbeat. "Overall, we have to get used to playing with each other," Coach Rautins is leading this team in the right direction. Now we just have to regroup and prepare for the Olympic qualifiers." Elsewhere, Venezuela (3-1) earned a 71-70 win over Panama (1-3) to conclude round-robin action in Group A. Puerto Rico (1-2) routed Mexico (1-2) 94-74 and the host Dominicans (3-0) lost 84-60 to Argentina (2-1) in Group B action later Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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