Canada's senior men's national basketball team picked up a convincing 88-71 win over the Dominican Republic on Thursday at the SaskTel Centre, improving to 3-0 in the AmeriCup qualifying group phase.
Leading the red and white in front of a home crowd in Saskatoon, Sask., was Mfiondu Kabengele. The big man finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two blocks. Nate Darling and Quincey Guerrier chipped in with 11 points apiece while program veteran Trae Bell-Haynes added eight points and 10 assists.
"I thought it was seamless, the young guys that came in, and I think that’s a testament to how we’re building our federation,” said Canada head coach Nathaniel Mitchell.
“We had three guys that were on our U19 gold medal team (in 2017) get a chance to play up with our senior men’s national team.”
The Dominican Republic was spearheaded LJ Figueroa, who finished with a game-high 18 points to go with five assists and two steals. Victor Liz and Omar Silverio off the bench added 14 and 12 points, respectively, as the team's only other double-digit scorers.
Canada led by as many as 25 points and stayed ahead for all but the game's first two minutes. They began to pull away in the second quarter, jumping out to an 11-point lead after Rowe connected on back-to-back three-pointers. Rowe followed it up with a block, leaving the home team up 39-24.
The Dominican Republic struggled offensively, shooting 36.2 per cent from the field and 24 per cent from beyond the arc. And while Canada didn't have an overly efficient night from three-point land (31 per cent), it dominated inside to the tune of 27 two-point makes (plus-eight) on a 61.4 per cent clip.
Canada also finished plus-nine (21-12) on second-chance points, largely thanks to a 45-38 edge on the glass.
Canada honoured 3x3 and senior men’s national team athlete, Chad Posthumus, who tragically passed earlier this week, with black patches on their jerseys that read “CP."
The Canadian Elite Basketball League's Winnipeg Sea Bears said Thursday that Posthumus, a native of the area and the team's captain, suffered a brain aneurysm during a training session in Winnipeg on November 9. He then battled complications from a corrective surgery that left him in critical condition in the intensive care unit and did not recover.
“He’s a member of the family,” said Bell-Haynes. “We play for him… Canada Basketball is a brotherhood, and when you look at the last quad… Chad was a big part of that, and we’re going to miss him. The gesture was a great touch.”
Up next
The Canadian men will stay put in Saskatoon to host Mexico on Sunday. It'll be their fourth of six group phase games throughout the AmeriCup qualifiers.
Fans can catch the game on Sportsnet with tip-off set for 3 p.m. ET / noon PT.
Canada is currently 3-0 with a plus-104 point differential, previously picking up back-to-back wins over Nicaragua. A win on Sunday should all but guarantee a spot for Canada at the 2025 AmeriCup as the top three squads between them, Nicaragua, Mexico and the Dominican Republic will advance.
-- with files from the Canadian Press
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