RJ Barrett scored a game-high 17 points and Canada cruised to a 128-73 win over Lebanon on Sunday at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup.
All but two Canadians scored in double digits as Canada set a tournament record with 44 assists in improving to 2-0 at the tournament and advanced to the second round.
Trae Bell-Haynes had 15 points, hitting five of the six shots he took from three-point range, and added eight assists.
Melvin Ejim had 13 points, while Kelly Olynyk, Zach Edey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12 apiece. Kyle Alexander and Dillon Brooks each chipped in 10.
“We played together, we shared the basketball,” Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Forty-four assists to 15 turnovers is a record in the World Cup. It just shows that sharing is caring and these guys were ready to play the right way.”
RJ Barrett leads the way, Canada blows out Lebanon at FIBA World Cup
Barrett had a team-leading 17 points in a game where Canada beat Lebanon by more than 50.
The 15th-ranked Canadians entered Sunday’s game having thumped fifth-ranked France 95-65 on Friday.
“We’re super excited that we kept our momentum going,” Bell-Haynes said. “We talked about making sure that there wasn’t any fall off [after our win against France], keeping the momentum going and I think we did a good job.
“Our confidence is high. You could see everyone was playing well, playing free. Happy that we kept that going and hope we can continue to do that.”
Omari Spellman led Lebanon with 16 points.
Canada — which shot 71 per cent from the floor, including 18-of-30 from three-point range — was up 16 points after the first quarter and went into halftime up 36.
The Canadians went into the fourth quarter up 100-48, with no player getting more than 20 minutes of action in the contest.
Former Canadian men’s basketball coach Jay Triano expresses his thoughts on the Canadian Men’s basketball team. He believes the team has the squad to go far at the FIBA World Cup and qualify for the Olympics.
“The most important game is the next game,” Fernandez said. “Right now we have Latvia in our minds. We have to prepare for them. We’re going to play really hard against them for 40 minutes because they’re very good. We need that to grow.
“We don’t have the experience and we challenge ourselves to a high standard. Yes, I’m happy with what we’ve done, but what we’ve done is in the past. It just reinforces, it gives you confidence, but you need that next challenge and that next challenge is in front of us.”
Canada shot 71 per cent, and played without Lu Dort, who was held out with soreness. Former NBA player Omari Spellman led Lebanon with 16 points.
Latvia 88, France 86
France came to the World Cup planning to win gold. It won’t even make the second round, an absolutely stunning development for the reigning Olympic silver medallists.
Latvia got 22 points from Arturs Zagars and shocked France 88-86 Sunday night. The result sent Latvia and Canada through to the second round, and meant France — which won the bronze at the last two World Cups — cannot finish better than 17th place this year.
Rolands Smits added 20 points and Davis Bertans had 15 points, as Latvia rallied from a 13-point deficit. It took the lead for the first time with 37.7 seconds left and held on when Sylvain Francisco missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Evan Fournier had 27 points for France, who lost to Canada in its opener.
The momentum swung in the middle of the fourth quarter when France playmaker Nando de Colo was ejected after receiving his second unsportsmanlike foul.
Latvia and Canada will play for Group H’s top spot on Tuesday.
Dominican Republic 87, Italy 82
Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican Republic stayed perfect at the Basketball World Cup, with a trip to the second round in their sights.
Towns and Andres Feliz each scored 24 points, and the Dominican Republic connected on 16 3-pointers in an 87-82 win over Italy in a Group A game at Manila on Sunday.
Feliz had seven of those 3s for the winners (2-0). Towns finished with 11 rebounds and Jean Montero had 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.
“Getting the job done,” Towns said. “I think we did a great job and found a way to win. Andres and everybody down the line was amazing. This was a great team win.”
Italy (1-1) led 12-0 to open the game but led only 39-38 at the half — and lost coach Gianmarco Pozzecco to a second-quarter ejection after he picked up his second technical foul.
The game changed entirely in the third; the Dominican Republic outscored Italy 31-17 in those 10 minutes, then held off a rally in the fourth.
Marco Spissu led Italy with 17 points, while Simone Fontecchio scored 13, Giampaolo Ricco had 12 and Achille Polonara added 10.
Italy plays the Philippines to end group play on Tuesday, while the Dominican Republic takes on Angola.
Italy can still advance to the second round with a win on Tuesday, but the players know facing the home team in what will almost surely be an elimination game will be difficult.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Italy’s Luigi Datome said. “It’s going to be a nice atmosphere and all the players like to play in a nice atmosphere.”
Germany 85, Australia 82
At Okinawa, Dennis Schroder scored 30 points and added eight assists and Germany (2-0) closed in on a spot in the second round.
Maodo Lo scored 20 for Germany, which trailed by four entering the final quarter but opened it on a 10-0 run.
Australia tied the game twice in the fourth. Both times, Schroder had an immediate answer to reclaim the lead. His basket with 46 seconds left put Germany ahead for good.
Patty Mills, as he did in the first game, led Australia with 21 points, five rebounds and six assists. Matisse Thybulle had 17 for Australia, which was only 9 for 16 from the foul line.
Germany played without Franz Wagner, who sat with an ankle injury.
Australia could need a victory in its final group game against Japan — the home team in the group — on Tuesday to advance. Germany finishes group play against Finland.
Montenegro 89, Egypt 74
At Manila, Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and seven rebounds and Montenegro (2-0) had little trouble with Egypt.
Nikola Ivanovic scored 15 for Montenegro, while Kendrick Perry scored 11 and Vladimir Mihailovic and Dino Radoncic finished with 10 apiece.
Ehab Amin led all scorers with 26 points for Egypt (0-2), while Anas Mahmoud and Patrick Gardner each finished with 13.
A major difference was points off turnovers: Montenegro turned Egypt’s 22 giveaways into 30 points, while Egypt managed 17 points off Montenegro’s 16 turnovers.
Montenegro plays Lithuania on Tuesday, and Egypt will take on Mexico.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
