Last year, the world descended upon Toronto for an international basketball showcase like no other. The inaugural GLOBL JAM tournament put on by Canada Basketball and Sportsnet was a rousing success — a showcase of the best Under-23 talent in the world going toe-to-toe.
The Canadians dominated the women’s bracket, while Brazil edged out Canada and the United States on the men’s side, as the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Scottie Barnes and Masai Ujiri watched from the stands.
And this year is set to be even more special.
It started with the GLOBL JAM Festival, which took over Yonge-Dundas Square this past weekend as fans celebrated the culture, community, and passion for basketball by participating in the Community Vendor Market and watching the 3×3 Canada Quest. Team Ontario won on both the men’s and women’s sides, with the men also securing a berth in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2023 stop in Edmonton later this summer. Fans also got to watch the second annual Superfan & Friends Charity 3×3 Game.
Plus, for the first time ever, Canada Basketball, in partnership with the City of Toronto and the Toronto Significant Event Investment Program (TSEIP), hosted ‘Community Jam’ on Sunday, July 9, which featured nine youth teams from across Toronto competing for the tournament title across the city.
Finally, today is GLOBL JAM Legacy Day, which is being held at Malvern Family Resource Centre in Scarborough, where over 70 youth from the local Scarborough community will participate in an exciting day of basketball-related activities, with the Canada Basketball Foundation announcing this year’s 10 grant recipients through the inaugural UNIFIED Assist Program,
But it’s all a leadup to the main event: GLOBL JAM FIVES, a 5-on-5 Under-23 basketball tournament featuring some of the best men’s and women’s teams from around the world. It’s an opportunity for Canadian basketball fans to cheer on their country’s best up-and-coming talent while getting to see future NBA and WNBA prospects from across the globe, right in downtown Toronto.
The tournament will take place at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre and be broadcast nationally across Sportsnet platforms from July 12-16. Here is everything you need to know:
Canada’s men
The Canadian men fell short of their goal last season when a team led by Marcus Carr and Leonard Miller — who are now both playing in NBA Summer League — finished with the bronze medal after losing to the United States in the semifinals. But the Canadian men have their sights set on winning gold this year, with an impressive roster headlined by returnees Thomas Kennedy and Addison Patterson.
Kennedy is likely to walk into the job as Team Canada’s starting centre after wrapping up a historic collegiate career with the Windsor Lancers this season when he was named the most valuable player in U SPORTS men’s basketball. He is currently in the midst of a standout season with the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), nearly averaging a double-double with 9.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Kennedy is among five U Sports players named to Canada’s training camp roster, joining University of Toronto’s Callum Baker, University of Alberta’s Adam Paige, Toronto Metropolitan University’s Aaron Rhooms and Carleton’s Aiden Warnholtz, who was named U Sports Final 8 MVP and First-Team All-Canadian after leading the Ravens to their 17th national championship in program history.
Nathaniel Mitchell will coach the team for the second consecutive year. The Toronto native is known for his player development acumen after working with some of the biggest names in Canadian basketball, from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to RJ Barrett and Shayeann Day-Wilson. He is an assistant coach on the Canadian senior men’s national team and was recently named an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. Mitchell will once again be joined on the bench by assistant coaches Dave DeAveiro, Jamie McNeilly, Scott Morrison and Kalisha Keane.
The Canadian men will face Team Africa, which is represented by the best Under-23 men throughout continental Africa (July 12, 8:00 PM ET), Team USA, which is represented by the University of Kentucky Wildcats (July 13, 8:00 PM ET), and Team Germany (July 15, 8:00 PM ET).
Canada’s women
After running the table with a perfect 5-0 record in last year’s competition, the Canadian women are hoping to repeat as champions with five returning players including University of Miami point guard Day-Wilson and Oregon centre Phillipina Kyei — who should form a lethal pick-and-roll duo after building up chemistry last year — as well as Rosalie Mercille, Sarah Te-Biasu and Tara Wallack.
Meanwhile, Keishana Washington will make her GLOBL JAM debut. The former Drexel guard wrapped up her collegiate career last season after playing five seasons with the Dragons, where she was a finalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year and was also named an Associated Press All-American honourable mention. Washington spent training camp with the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA this spring and will hope to use the tournament as a springboard for a professional contract.
Four U Sports players are also a part of the women’s training camp list, including Regina’s Jade Belmore, Cape Breton’s Kiyara Letlow, and Alberta’s Claire Signatovich — who was named the U Sports Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 1.9 blocks and 12.6 rebounds this past season — and Carleton’s Kali Pocrnic, who won the 2023 U Sports National Championship with her school.
However, there will be a new face patrolling the sidelines for the Canadian women, as Christa Eniojukan makes her Canadian national team head coaching debut at GLOBL JAM, replacing Carly Clarke. Eniojukan has been the head coach of the York University women’s basketball team since the 2021-22 season, returning to the program after playing there between 2003-05, when she was the team’s most valuable player in her final year.
Eniojukan has been involved with Canada Basketball since 2010, assisting as a target athlete strategy (TAS) coach at numerous training camps and working as a performance analyst for the 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. At the provincial level, Eniojukan guided Team Ontario’s teams to two gold medals and two silver medals at the Canada Basketball 17U National Championship. She will be joined by assistant coaches Ajay Sharma and Tenicha Gittens and performance analyst Carrie Watts on the staff.
The women will face Team Africa, which is represented by the best Under-23 women throughout continental Africa (July 12, 5:30 PM ET), Team USA, which is represented by the University of Louisville Cardinals (July 13, 5:30 PM ET), and Team Puerto Rico (July 15, 5:30 PM ET).
Tournament schedule
The tournament runs from July 12-16 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto. Each team will play each other once in a round-robin format before the two best teams from each bracket face off in the gold-medal game, while the third and fourth best teams play each other for bronze. The Canadian women’s and men’s squads begin their tournament with back-to-back games against Team Africa on July 12th.
Coverage will be televised on Sportsnet and through live streaming on SN NOW. Toronto Raptors play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin is set to call the games alongside analyst Alvin Williams, while Savanna Hamilton will be reporting from the sidelines.
Tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster, starting at under $15 per game. For more information on GLOBL JAM, visit globljam.ca.
Wednesday, July 12
• 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT – Women’s Round Robin: USA vs. Puerto Rico)
• 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT – Men’s Round Robin: USA vs. Germany (Sportsnet & SN NOW)
• 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT – Women’s Round Robin: Canada vs. Team Africa (Sportsnet & SN NOW)
• 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT – Men’s Round Robin: Canada vs. Team Africa (Sportsnet & SN NOW)
Thursday, July 13
• 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT – Women’s Round Robin: Team Africa vs. Puerto Rico
• 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT – Men’s Round Robin: Team Africa vs. Germany
• 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT – Women’s Round Robin: Canada vs. USA (Sportsnet & SN NOW)
• 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT – Men’s Round Robin: Canada vs. USA (Sportsnet & SN NOW)
Saturday, July 15
• 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT – Women’s Round Robin: Team Africa vs. USA
• 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT – Men’s Round Robin: Team Africa vs. USA (Sportsnet ONE & SN NOW)
• 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT – Women’s Round Robin: Puerto Rico vs. Canada (Sportsnet ONE & SN NOW)
• 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT – Men’s Round Robin: Germany vs. Canada (Sportsnet & SN NOW)
Sunday, July 16
• 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT – Women’s Bronze Medal Game
• 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT – Men’s Bronze Medal Game
• 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT – Women’s Championship Final (Sportsnet ONE & SN NOW)
• 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT – Men’s Championship Final (Sportsnet & SN NOW)