ST. CATHARINES, ON (JUNE 14, 2018) - Team Canada's U18 team defeated Panama 105-39 on Thursday evening during the Quarter Finals of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship tournament.  

With the win, Canada earns their fourth straight victory of the tournament and improve to a 4-0 record as they look ahead to their matchup against Puerto Rico in the Semi Finals.  Canada has also qualified for the 2019 U19 World Cup after their victory in the Quarter Finals.

Andrew Nembhard led Team Canada on the court against Panama finishing with 7 points, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block during 18 minutes of play.

Click here for the box score.

Canada started out the game on a 9-0 run which gave them a cushion they were able to hold for the remainder of the quarter.  Canada's ball movement allowed them to break down Panama's defense and get good high percentage shots low in the key.  Leading Team Canada during the first 10 minutes was Joel Brown who contributed 7 points and 3 assists to Canada's 22-7 lead going into the second quarter.  

Canada's ball movement continued to pierce through Panama's defense throughout the second quarter as they began to heat up from 3-point territory, growing their lead to 56-16 at the end of the first half.  

Throughout the third quarter Canada continued to work on thier defensive stops and transistion ball which created many opportunities on the other end of the court.  Going into the final 10 minutes of play, Canada led Panama 76-29.  The game continued to go Canada's way in the fourth quarter as they took the victory over Panama behind Addison Patterson's 19 second half points.  

Click here for full team roster.

QUOTES

"The chemistry is pretty good because most of us have been playing for a while like in Junior Academy, back when we were in seventh and eighth grade so I feel like we've been gaining chemistry for a while and it's all leading up to this" -- Andrew Nembhard

"I had double digit rebounds and I take pride in that.  It's a bonus for me.  I want to lead the tournament in rebounds but right now i'm leading in offensive rebounds so I take pride in that, grabbing my teammates a couple extra shots and showing that I am one of the better rebounding bigs in this tournament" -- Jaden Bediako

UP NEXT

Canada's pursuit of a FIBA U18 Americas Championship will continue in the Semi-Finals as Canada will face Puerto Rico on Friday evening.

For the latest updates regarding Canada Basketball and the Americas Championship, follow Canada Basketball on Twitter.

For more information, contact:
Matt Walker, mwalker@basketball.ca

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