Canada Basketball has officially announced its roster for a pair of games in Edmonton in the fifth window for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.
The 12-man roster selected by associate head coach Nate Bjorkgren features a ton of familiar faces that have suited up for Team Canada multiple times in the past. The squad will face Venezuela Thursday night (9:10 p.m. ET/ 7:10 p.m. MT) and Panama on Sunday (7:10 p.m. ET/ 5:10 p.m. MT). Both games can be seen on Sportsnet ONE and SN NOW.
Due to the NBA season being in full swing, the team doesn’t feature any NBA talent, however, the squad brings with it a sense of continuity and chemistry from having played together in prior windows.
Players like Kassius Robertson and the Scrubb brothers have played in all eight games in the prior qualifier windows. Trae Bell-Hayes, Aaron Best, Owen Klassen, and Kalif Young played in six, and Melvin Ejim and Jean-Victor Mukama were selected for four games.
The only player that hasn’t suited up for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers is the youngest guy on the team, Thomas Kennedy, who played for the Fraser Valley (now Vancouver) Bandits of the CEBL this summer and plays college basketball for the University of Windsor Lancers where he has averaged 20.0 points and 17.5 rebounds per game this season. He was voted U-Sports player of the year in the CEBL.
This roster isn’t too dissimilar to the ones that put them in this undefeated position in the first place, though in Venezuela, they find perhaps their toughest opponent yet. The South American squad has the second-best record in Group E, sitting at a strong 7-1.
As it currently stands Canada holds an 8-0 record in their qualifying group, and have gotten through most of those games scot-free. This team's average margin of victory is 28, though a six-point victory against the Dominican Republic on Feb. 26 brings down the average from 37 points.
Canada even managed to dismantle Argentina, the team that is currently ranked fourth in the world by FIBA. As of now, Canada is ranked 15th in the world after a fourth-place finish at the FIBA AmeriCup.
It would be an understatement to say they’ve been dominant, even without the presence of NBA Stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in most windows. Their largest victory came against Panama on Aug. 29 when they beat the Central American nation 106-50.
With a win against either Venezuela or Panama on Sunday Canada will have officially qualified for the 2023 FIBA World Cup set to take place next summer in Japan and the Philippines.
Guards: Trae Bell-Haynes (Buducnost VOLI, Montenegro), Aaron Best (Hamilton Honey Badgers), Kenny Chery (Petkim Spor, Turkey), Kassius Robertson (Scarborough Shooting Stars), Phil Scrubb (Monbus Obradoiro, Spain)
Forwards: Melvin Ejim (Unicaja, Spain), Thomas Kennedy (Vancouver Bandits), Conor Morgan (Slask Wroclaw, Poland), Jean-Victor Mukama (Scarborough Shooting Stars), Thomas Scrubb (Monbus Obradoiro, Spain), Kalif Young (Hamilton Honey Badgers)
Centres: Owen Klassen (EWE Baskets Oldenburg, Germany)
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