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Canada gaining steam as they head to second round at FIBA Americas

Andrew Wiggins, Canada (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Andrew Wiggins, Canada (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

After dropping their opening game at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City, Canada's senior men's national team was able to get back on track quickly and is gaining steam as they head to the second round.

Canada rebounded from a 94-87 loss to Luis Scola and Argentina to start the tournament on Tuesday with decisive wins over Cuba, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico to close out the first round.

Yes, their last three opponents didn't present as much of a challenge as Scola and the Argentinians did. However, there's much to be encouraged from by Canada's play. The ball has moved better on the offensive end of the floor. The communication has been better on the defensive end. Their confidence is clearly building. For a young and internationally inexperienced squad, that's the most important development from Group B action over the last few days.

That growing self-belief was on full display Friday night. Facing Puerto Rico, the first half was a real grind. The Puerto Ricans pushed Canada physically, but the Canadians held strong and managed to take a 46-44 lead into halftime despite not playing particularly well. It was a completely different game in the second half. Canada caught fire from three, took control, and cruised to a 112-92 victory.

"Puerto Rico played very well early," Canadian coach Jay Triano told reporters in Mexico City. "They made some three-point shots and we knew that was part of their game. I was really pleased with the way our guys responded at half-time and even for the last two and a half minutes of the first half."

"We got off to a slow start but we closed the half strong and opened up the third quarter real strong. They are a great team and they have some players that can really go so it was a great win for us," added starting forward Kelly Olynyk.

The international stage hasn't fazed Andrew Wiggins at all. He's averaging 15 points per game to lead the team and has been a disruptive force defensively. Olynyk, Cory Joseph, and Nik Stauskas are settling in and appear poised to only get better. Anthony Bennett's energy near the hoop has translated into 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. There's a reason Canada was considered the favourite to come away with the gold: they have eight players who played in the NBA last season; combined, the rest of the teams in the tournament have three.

The grind's not over for this talented group though. Not even close. Games against Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Uruguay are to come in the second round. Three wins from those four games should be more than enough for Canada to advance to the semifinals. The truth is, it would be a disappointment if they don't win all four.

DATE

MATCHUP

TIME

TV

Sunday, Sept. 6

Canada vs. Panama

7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

TBA

Monday, Sept. 7

Canada vs. Uruguay

7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

TBA

Tuesday, Sept. 8

Canada vs. Mexico

9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT

TBA

Wednesday, Sept. 9

Canada vs. D.R.

3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT

TBA

 

The biggest surprise from the first round is that Brazil failed to get out of Group A. Their early ouster confirmed that only the two finalists at the FIBA Americas qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. As the host, Brazil's already guaranteed a spot in the basketball tournament at the Rio Games. Had they made the finals at the FIBA Americas, the winner of the bronze-medal game would have qualified for the Olympics. With Brazil out of the picture, it's now finals or bust.

With confidence on their side, Canada's in an excellent position to get there.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter.