Canadian men poised for World Cup qualification, but Argentina no small task

VICTORIA — The Canadian national men’s team has a lot of things going for it as the players embark tonight upon the final stage of qualifying for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

They’re playing at home, in front of an anticipated crowd of about 5,000 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena, which will doubtless provide a welcome energy after they played to an empty arena room here for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the midst of the pandemic.

Most of the group has gone through their second mini-camp of the summer, having been together for two games — both wins — in the previous qualifying window back in July.

And they are perfectly positioned as they start this stage, entering it with an unblemished 6-0 record and with the best point differential of the 12 teams remaining who are competing for the seven spots in the World Cup.

Advancing is almost assured. What’s on the table is securing the highest seeding possible and moving ahead with confidence.

But along comes Argentina, the seventh-ranked country in the world, Olympic quarter-finalists just a summer ago, and silver medallists at the World Cup in 2019, where Canada — currently ranked 18^th in the world — finished 21st.

No, the great Luis Scola isn’t in Victoria to break hearts as he did against Canada in World Cup qualifying back in 2013, with a masterful 28-point performance that eliminated Canada. The ageless former Raptor, now 42, has finally retired.

But Argentina remains a very tough out as they have travelled to Victoria with eight of the 12 players that were on the silver-medal winning team in 2019, and nine who were on the Olympic roster last summer. Back in the fold are their dynamic, double-point-guard backcourt of Facundo Campazzo — most recently of the Denver Nuggets — and former San Antonio Spurs guard Nicolas Laprovittola.  Each are capable of breaking down defences to create open looks for themselves or others and can spread the floor with their shooting, too. Also in the lineup will be Gabriel Deck, who gives the team size on the wing that Canada might have a hard time matching up with. Scola has finally moved on, but another former Raptor, Carlos Delfino, is still playing productive basketball at 39. And the list goes on …

This not the Virgin Islands — no disrespect to the small island nation that Canada defeated by a total of 94 points in their two meetings in the first round of qualifying. Canada will have to defend at a peak level and have some gas left over to score, too.

“I mean, listen, it's a big game for us, no doubt about it,” said head coach Nick Nurse. “I think our guys show a great commitment to come here and they want to do well. So I think in any situation where you're putting a lot into it, and you're representing your country, and you want to succeed, there's certainly a hope to play really well. And we're going to need to. We're gonna have to play very well. This is a this is a tremendous team that's coming in here.”

There is plenty of room for optimism. Canada features some quality, veteran size up front in Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell, and the backcourt has been bolstered by the presence of Kevin Pangos and Cory Joseph for the first time this summer, while Utah Jazz guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has shown in his brief moments with the national team the ability to score in bunches in a way he hasn’t been able to do consistently in his three NBA seasons.

But perhaps the biggest single reason that Canada can host a team like Argentina and feel confident is that they will be rolling out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the third time this summer. The fifth-year guard with Oklahoma City will be the most talented player on the court tonight.

He showed his skills earlier this summer when he went off for 56 points while shooting 63 per cent as he made his national team debut in a pair of wins over Dominican Republic and Virgin Islands.

He’s proven capable of dominating NBA competition, so there’s no reason to think the shifty 6-foot-6 guard was simply taking advantage of weaker opposition.

Argentina is a cut above the competition Gilgeous-Alexander has faced so far for Canada, but he’s not the type to worry.

“I think for me personally, at the end of the day, we're just playing basketball,” he said after Canada’s final practice Wednesday. “Guys have strengths and weaknesses, and you try to make them do their weaknesses and take away their strengths. It's like that when I play in the league, and when I play overseas, I try to approach it the same way. That's what I'm wanting to do [tonight].”

As he shown heading into his fifth season coaching the Raptors, Nurse is not a coach to rely on a single player to carry the offence. He wants everyone on the floor to be able to put pressure on the defence so that when a second player has to commit to the ball-handler, the passing game kicks in and the ball finds the open man.

But there are few better in the NBA at getting to the paint and drawing multiple defenders than Gilgeous-Alexander. And in Olynyk, Nurse he feels that he has another player who can pressure a defence with his multi-dimensional skills as a ball-handling big.

“The FIBA game suits him really well,” said Nurse of Olynyk, the 6-11 forward who is heading into his 10^th NBA season and second with the Detroit Pistons. “He’s a creator. His shooting and his skill gets him into driving and kicking, and he’s good at big-big passing. He’ll throw it back inside or kick out as well. It’s a good combo [with Gilgeous-Alexander] to have some of that. Nickeil does some of that, Kevin Pangos does some of that. It’s kind of how I like to play, where you have multiple guys that can create either their own shot or draw two defenders and then hit the open man.”

But all that said, having someone who can score late in possessions tends to be a difference maker in tight games, and Gilgeous-Alexander gives Nurse and Canada someone who does that for a living at the highest levels of the sport.

“Shai’s a creator. He can create for himself, and he can create for others,” says Nurse. “He can see his four teammates. Whatever the read is, he can get it there. There’s time when you’re running through your stuff and you’re grinding through it and you just got to get it to your best guy, get some space and make him draw two and it’s up to them to make the right play and guys to step up and makes shots.”

Gilgeous-Alexander is looking forward to it.

“It’s basketball, at the end of the day: run up and down, play defence, play offence, try to make the right plays, and live with the results. It’s something I’ve been doing my whole life, love to do and it will be fun.”

For the men’s national team there has been plenty of heartbreak, most recently here in Victoria last summer. Some fun would be more than welcome.