CANADA KEEPS OLYMPIC HOPES ALIVE
Last Updated: July 21, 2008
ATHENS – The Olympic dreams of Canada’s Senior Men’s National team were kept alive by the thinnest of margins Wednesday, after an incredible 79-77 come-from-behind victory over Korea in which Canada erased an 18-point deficit to advance to the quarter-final round of the FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournament.
After surviving a slow start in which the first period ended in a 20-20 tie, the Canadians were buried by a deluge of Korean threes in the second quarter, entering halftime down 49-33.
Despite seeing that lead stretch to 51-33 at the start of the third, Canada came out in the second half with a grittiness and urgency previously unseen from the young squad.
“I told them to relax and just be themselves,” said Canadian head coach Leo Rautins about his halftime speech to his squad. “It was nothing technical, we just did a much better job in the second half of getting up on them and contesting shots.”
That might be the understatement of the tournament. During the arduous second half Canada fought back to within single digits several times, but seemingly every time Korea responded and held the scrappy Canadians at bay.
With three minutes remaining, after Korea had again extended the lead to 12, Canada made its final and ultimately deciding run, keyed by a stingy defence, hustling for offensive rebounds and some clutch shooting. A 13-0 run by Canada to end the game completed the miraculous comeback.
The charge again was led by Rowan Barrett, who finished with 22 points and six three-pointers, including a clutch step-back trey with 1:19 remaining that brought Canada to within two points –- the smallest separation between the teams since the start of the second quarter.
“We’re really happy we won obviously,” said Barrett in a post-game conference call. “I’m excited to see the character of this team … we earned some fans here today who saw that we’ll battle back and not give up. That’s the meaning of being truly Canadian, in a way.”
Levon Kendall did yeoman’s work inside for Canada in the win, finishing with seven points and a game-high 14 rebounds, seven of the offensive variety. In addition, the B.C. forward anchored a Canadian defence that managed to stem the tide of Korean three-pointers in the second half and induced a pair of Korean turnovers in the final moments of the game.
Jermaine Anderson had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Red-and-White, including the final four points of the game. The Toronto native dropped a game winning three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining to put Canada up for good 78-77, following that with a single free throw.
Korea had a chance to tie the game on the final possession, but an off-balance layup with seconds to go rimmed out, sealing the dramatic Canadian victory.
Jung-gyu Jeon led a balanced Korean attack with 19 points and four rebounds. All five starters for Korea scored in double-digits.
Canada now has a 5-2 lifetime record against Korea.
Dalembert no longer with the national team
Samuel Dalembert of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers did not make an appearance for Canada on Wednesday -- and isn't likely to play again in Athens. According to Rautins, Dalembert, who had been Canada’s starting centre, is no longer a member of the team.
"Everybody that's here now wants to be here, and wants to be a part of this team, and that's it," said Rautins. "Everybody here is playing for each other, and playing for Canada, and if that's not your agenda, you're not here."
Dalembert's agent, Marc Cornstein, was critical of Rautins's comments.
“I think it’s unbelievably disappointing and wrong to even hint at all to his [lack of] commitment to the national team," Cornstein told the National Post from Las Vegas.
Canada will now move on to face Croatia in the quarter-finals on Friday, as the team continues to vie for one of three remaining Olympic berths up for grabs at the qualification tournament.
Canada’s only previous major matchup with Croatia came on Aug. 10, 1994, at the world championships held in Toronto and Hamilton. Croatia won 92-61 in the quarter-final round.
Boxscore
In other games at the Olympic Qualifier on Wednesday:
Croatia overcame an early 17-point deficit and pulled away for a 95-81 triumph over Puerto Rico to claim first place in Group D.
Davor Kus and Marko Tomas each poured in 15 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Croatians, who now face Canada in a quarter-final on Friday.
The defeat means that Puerto Rico must take on Slovenia.
Larry Ayuso of Puerto Rico was the game's high scorer with 22 points.
___
Germany provided plenty of evidence that one of the three spots for the Beijing Games could be theirs by the end of the week.
Dirk Nowitzki had 35 points while new national team centre Chris Kaman scored 20 in an 89-71 triumph over New Zealand to secure first place in Group B.
Kirk Penney scored 29 points for the Tall Blacks, who will now have to take on the winners of Group A in the quarter-finals and that means a showdown against tournament hosts Greece, who beat Brazil 89-69 in Wednesday's last game. The Germans will take on Brazil.
___
Greece marched into a quarter-final against New Zealand with another strong display, defeating Brazil 89-69 to clinch first place in Group A. Antonis Fotsis led the Greeks with 18 points, while Tiago Splitter had a game-high 20 points in defeat.
The loss means Brazil will take on Group B winners Germany and their dynamic duo of Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman.
The Greeks have been favorites all along to advance to the Beijing Games.
___
Note: There are no games scheduled Thursday.
(with information from FIBA)
After surviving a slow start in which the first period ended in a 20-20 tie, the Canadians were buried by a deluge of Korean threes in the second quarter, entering halftime down 49-33.
Despite seeing that lead stretch to 51-33 at the start of the third, Canada came out in the second half with a grittiness and urgency previously unseen from the young squad.
“I told them to relax and just be themselves,” said Canadian head coach Leo Rautins about his halftime speech to his squad. “It was nothing technical, we just did a much better job in the second half of getting up on them and contesting shots.”
That might be the understatement of the tournament. During the arduous second half Canada fought back to within single digits several times, but seemingly every time Korea responded and held the scrappy Canadians at bay.
With three minutes remaining, after Korea had again extended the lead to 12, Canada made its final and ultimately deciding run, keyed by a stingy defence, hustling for offensive rebounds and some clutch shooting. A 13-0 run by Canada to end the game completed the miraculous comeback.
The charge again was led by Rowan Barrett, who finished with 22 points and six three-pointers, including a clutch step-back trey with 1:19 remaining that brought Canada to within two points –- the smallest separation between the teams since the start of the second quarter.
“We’re really happy we won obviously,” said Barrett in a post-game conference call. “I’m excited to see the character of this team … we earned some fans here today who saw that we’ll battle back and not give up. That’s the meaning of being truly Canadian, in a way.”
Levon Kendall did yeoman’s work inside for Canada in the win, finishing with seven points and a game-high 14 rebounds, seven of the offensive variety. In addition, the B.C. forward anchored a Canadian defence that managed to stem the tide of Korean three-pointers in the second half and induced a pair of Korean turnovers in the final moments of the game.
Jermaine Anderson had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Red-and-White, including the final four points of the game. The Toronto native dropped a game winning three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining to put Canada up for good 78-77, following that with a single free throw.
Korea had a chance to tie the game on the final possession, but an off-balance layup with seconds to go rimmed out, sealing the dramatic Canadian victory.
Jung-gyu Jeon led a balanced Korean attack with 19 points and four rebounds. All five starters for Korea scored in double-digits.
Canada now has a 5-2 lifetime record against Korea.
Dalembert no longer with the national team
Samuel Dalembert of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers did not make an appearance for Canada on Wednesday -- and isn't likely to play again in Athens. According to Rautins, Dalembert, who had been Canada’s starting centre, is no longer a member of the team.
"Everybody that's here now wants to be here, and wants to be a part of this team, and that's it," said Rautins. "Everybody here is playing for each other, and playing for Canada, and if that's not your agenda, you're not here."
Dalembert's agent, Marc Cornstein, was critical of Rautins's comments.
“I think it’s unbelievably disappointing and wrong to even hint at all to his [lack of] commitment to the national team," Cornstein told the National Post from Las Vegas.
Canada will now move on to face Croatia in the quarter-finals on Friday, as the team continues to vie for one of three remaining Olympic berths up for grabs at the qualification tournament.
Canada’s only previous major matchup with Croatia came on Aug. 10, 1994, at the world championships held in Toronto and Hamilton. Croatia won 92-61 in the quarter-final round.
Boxscore
In other games at the Olympic Qualifier on Wednesday:
Croatia overcame an early 17-point deficit and pulled away for a 95-81 triumph over Puerto Rico to claim first place in Group D.
Davor Kus and Marko Tomas each poured in 15 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Croatians, who now face Canada in a quarter-final on Friday.
The defeat means that Puerto Rico must take on Slovenia.
Larry Ayuso of Puerto Rico was the game's high scorer with 22 points.
___
Germany provided plenty of evidence that one of the three spots for the Beijing Games could be theirs by the end of the week.
Dirk Nowitzki had 35 points while new national team centre Chris Kaman scored 20 in an 89-71 triumph over New Zealand to secure first place in Group B.
Kirk Penney scored 29 points for the Tall Blacks, who will now have to take on the winners of Group A in the quarter-finals and that means a showdown against tournament hosts Greece, who beat Brazil 89-69 in Wednesday's last game. The Germans will take on Brazil.
___
Greece marched into a quarter-final against New Zealand with another strong display, defeating Brazil 89-69 to clinch first place in Group A. Antonis Fotsis led the Greeks with 18 points, while Tiago Splitter had a game-high 20 points in defeat.
The loss means Brazil will take on Group B winners Germany and their dynamic duo of Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman.
The Greeks have been favorites all along to advance to the Beijing Games.
___
Note: There are no games scheduled Thursday.
(with information from FIBA)
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