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The time is now: Canada's basketball team heads into FIBA Americas with eye on Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has long been talked about in basketball circles from coast-to-coast as the place where Canada's senior men's national team will announce its arrival as a powerhouse on the world basketball scene.
Before they can do that though, they need to make sure they get there. A top two finish at the FIBA Americas tournament that tipped off Monday in Mexico City is what they need to book their trip to Rio.
Given the depth of the team and the quality of players at coach Jay Triano's disposal, it would be a huge disappointment if Canada doesn't get it done.
The only notable absentee from the FIBA Americas roster is still out of contract forward Tristan Thompson. With a projected starting lineup of Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph, Kelly Olynyk, Nik Stauskas, and Anthony Bennett, it's easily the most talented group Canada has ever assembled in international competition, even without Thompson around. The bench features NBA talent in Andrew Nicholson, Robert Sacre, and Dwight Powell and Phil Scrubb, Brady Heslip, Aaron Doornekamp, and Melvin Ejim round out the roster.
So far – albeit in a small sample size – the results have been encouraging. Canada went 4-0 at the Tuto Marchand Cup pre-tournament exhibition last week in Puerto Rico. Wiggins, making his debut with the senior men's team, stood out as the go-to option in the offence. If his epic throwdown in the final Tuto Marchand game is any indication, his confidence seems to be in a good place at the moment.
Of course, that will all be forgotten very quickly if they can't replicate that success at the tournament that actually matters. Canada is in Group B for the FIBA Americas, where they'll face Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico over the next four days:
DATE | MATCHUP | TIME | TV |
Tuesday, Sept. 1 | Canada vs. Argentina | 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT | TSN 4 & 5 |
Wednesday, Sept. 2 | Canada vs. Cuba | 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT | TSN 4 & 5 |
Thursday, Sept. 3 | Canada vs. Venezuela | 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT | TSN 4 |
Friday, Sept. 4 | Canada vs. Puerto Rico | 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT | TSN 4 & 5 |
The top four teams in Group B move on cross over to play the top four teams from Group A in the second round. From there, the four teams with the best overall records, excluding the result of the first round game against the the team that was elimated, advance to the semifinals. The semifinals to take place Friday, Sept. 11 and the final and third-place game follows on Saturday, Sept. 12.
By itself, the schedule to get to just the semis – eight games in nine days – is going to be a grind. Canada's status as tournament favourites won't do them any favours either, and the Argentines and Puerto Ricans in particular are sure to provide a stiff challenge.
"Teams are going to start to ramp it up," head coach Jay Triano said following an afternoon practice on Saturday, the team's first since arriving in Mexico City. "And also I believe we have a little bit of a target on our backs ... people are going to be gearing up and giving us they're best shot."
"We have to be prepared for that, we can't rest on any kind of laurels that we have, or any good feeling that we have about where we are. We've got to keep getting better."
After years of anticipation, Canada's opportunity to qualify for the Olympics is finally here. Their task over the next two weeks is simple: they must perform now to get to where they want to go.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
