The FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico City was supposed to be the big coming out party for Team Canada, and in some ways, it was. But in the most important way, the Canadians ultimately blew their shot at securing a bid for the 2016 Olympics in Rio next summer.
After winning seven straight games in the tournament, by an average of more than 26 points, Canada fell apart against Venezuela on Friday night in the semifinal round, losing 79-78 after blowing a seven-point lead with three minutes remaining. To be sure, it was a questionable foul call during a scramble for a loose ball that put Venezuela’s Gregory Vargas at the line with less than a second remaining to give the Venezuelans the one-point win, but Canada had been careless with the ball all night long as they coughed it up for 17 turnovers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bTFE_wrn4I
Canada is loaded with NBA talent, including two former number one draft picks in Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, as well as Kelly Olynyk (who led the team with 34 points and 13 rebounds Friday in the loss), Nik Stauskus, Corey Joseph, and others. Wiggins and Bennett had both played well in the tournament up to that point, but Wiggins went just 4-for-11 from the field and had several turnovers of his own, while Bennett laid a giant goose egg in 16 minutes of action.
Venezuela will go on to play for gold Saturday against the winner of the other semifinal match-up between Argentina and Mexico. Canada will play the loser of that game for a chance at the bronze medal. Canada, who hasn’t qualified for the Olympics since Sydney in 2000, will still have another chance to earn an Olympic bid at one of next year’s qualifying events, and Friday’s upset was another reminder that they’re a young team with a long road ahead before they can transform into a legitimate threat on the international hoops scene.
