Canada's dream basketball run at the Pan American Games ended in silver Saturday after bowing 86-71 to Brazil when a late charge fell short.
Jamal Murray and Brady Heslip, two of Canada's top shooters, went 0-for-11 in the first 20 minutes. Starting point guard Junior Cadougan was 0-for-4. Brazil, meanwhile, shot 62 per cent (19 of 31).
The Canadian men had hoped to join the women atop the medal podium in Toronto. Instead they produced their worst first half of the tournament against a Brazilian side that kept the scoreboard turning.
A second-half comeback wound up the crowd with Canada reducing the deficit to six in the fourth quarter. Brazil bent but did not break.
Everything went wrong for Jay Triano's team before that. Canadian NBAer Andrew Nicholson, with 11 points, fouled out with 7:53 remaining in the third after picking up a personal and technical foul on the same play.
The Canadians dug themselves a 13-point hole in the first quarter and it got worse in the second quarter. Canada trailed 48-29 after a first half in which it shot a miserable eight-for-35.
The deficit was as large as 25 points in the third.
Trailing 67-54 after three quarters, Canada cut the lead to 69-63 with an 9-0 run early in the fourth that had the Mattamy Athletic Centre rocking. Brazil calmly answered back and pulled down crucial late rebounds to keep Canada away from the ball.
Larry Taylor, Rafael Hettsheimeir and Augusto Lima each had 13 points for Brazil.
Anthony Bennett had 18 for Canada.
The game was played before a loud, largely red-and-white crowd that included chef de mission Curt Harnett. They had little to cheer about early, other than to celebrate the team's run to the final — and its best ever finish at the Games.
The crowd did their best to cheer the Canadians on but Brazil didn't take its foot off the gas. Still sequences like a third-quarter Bennett block and ally-oop dunk had the fans roaring.
The Canadians advanced to the championship game by defeating the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Mexico in pool play before dispatching the United States 111-108 in an overtime thriller.
Brazil downed Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the U.S. in pool play and the Dominican Republic, 68-62, in its semifinal.
Canada's previous top finish at the Games was fourth in 1983. Brazil, which won the tournament in 1999, 2003 and 2007, came into the game with five gold, two silver and six bronze in men's basketball.
Brazil started slowly with a pair of turnovers and two missed three-pointers. But that all changed when the Brazilians, down 11-9, reeled off a 17-0 run during which Canada missed 11 straight shots.
Melvin Ejim finally ended the five minute six-second drought with a bucket with 29 seconds remaining in the first. A shell-shocked Canada, with Bennett on the bench with two fouls, trailed 26-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Canadians missed their first nine shots in the second quarter. Nicholson, after making a block at the other end, finally sank a three-pointer with four minutes remaining. Brazil led by as many as 19.
Nicholson picked up a third foul with 19.5 seconds remaining in the half.
The Canadians showed more signs of life in the third, producing a late 11-2 run that cut the deficit to 64-50. Canada outscored Brazil 25-19 in the third.
Nicholson (Orlando), Bennett (Minnesota) and Sim Bhullar (Sacramento) are the only three players with NBA experience on Canada's roster.
The Brazilians were missing four NBA players who were part of their 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup team: Leandro Barbosa (Golden State), Anderson Varejao (Cleveland), Nene (Washington) and Tiago Splitter (Atlanta).
Brazil is ranked ninth in the world by FIBA while Canada is No. 25. But those numbers mean little here given countries are not fielding their top squads.
Canada is saving that for the FIBA Americas Championship, which opens Aug. 31 in Mexico City. Triano hopes to have NBAers Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk in the fold then.
The two finalists from the 10-team tournament will qualify for the 2016 Olympics while teams three through five will go to an Olympic qualification tournament.
Jamal Murray and Brady Heslip, two of Canada's top shooters, went 0-for-11 in the first 20 minutes. Starting point guard Junior Cadougan was 0-for-4. Brazil, meanwhile, shot 62 per cent (19 of 31).
The Canadian men had hoped to join the women atop the medal podium in Toronto. Instead they produced their worst first half of the tournament against a Brazilian side that kept the scoreboard turning.
A second-half comeback wound up the crowd with Canada reducing the deficit to six in the fourth quarter. Brazil bent but did not break.
Everything went wrong for Jay Triano's team before that. Canadian NBAer Andrew Nicholson, with 11 points, fouled out with 7:53 remaining in the third after picking up a personal and technical foul on the same play.
The Canadians dug themselves a 13-point hole in the first quarter and it got worse in the second quarter. Canada trailed 48-29 after a first half in which it shot a miserable eight-for-35.
The deficit was as large as 25 points in the third.
Trailing 67-54 after three quarters, Canada cut the lead to 69-63 with an 9-0 run early in the fourth that had the Mattamy Athletic Centre rocking. Brazil calmly answered back and pulled down crucial late rebounds to keep Canada away from the ball.
Larry Taylor, Rafael Hettsheimeir and Augusto Lima each had 13 points for Brazil.
Anthony Bennett had 18 for Canada.
The game was played before a loud, largely red-and-white crowd that included chef de mission Curt Harnett. They had little to cheer about early, other than to celebrate the team's run to the final — and its best ever finish at the Games.
The crowd did their best to cheer the Canadians on but Brazil didn't take its foot off the gas. Still sequences like a third-quarter Bennett block and ally-oop dunk had the fans roaring.
The Canadians advanced to the championship game by defeating the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Mexico in pool play before dispatching the United States 111-108 in an overtime thriller.
Brazil downed Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the U.S. in pool play and the Dominican Republic, 68-62, in its semifinal.
Canada's previous top finish at the Games was fourth in 1983. Brazil, which won the tournament in 1999, 2003 and 2007, came into the game with five gold, two silver and six bronze in men's basketball.
Brazil started slowly with a pair of turnovers and two missed three-pointers. But that all changed when the Brazilians, down 11-9, reeled off a 17-0 run during which Canada missed 11 straight shots.
Melvin Ejim finally ended the five minute six-second drought with a bucket with 29 seconds remaining in the first. A shell-shocked Canada, with Bennett on the bench with two fouls, trailed 26-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Canadians missed their first nine shots in the second quarter. Nicholson, after making a block at the other end, finally sank a three-pointer with four minutes remaining. Brazil led by as many as 19.
Nicholson picked up a third foul with 19.5 seconds remaining in the half.
The Canadians showed more signs of life in the third, producing a late 11-2 run that cut the deficit to 64-50. Canada outscored Brazil 25-19 in the third.
Nicholson (Orlando), Bennett (Minnesota) and Sim Bhullar (Sacramento) are the only three players with NBA experience on Canada's roster.
The Brazilians were missing four NBA players who were part of their 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup team: Leandro Barbosa (Golden State), Anderson Varejao (Cleveland), Nene (Washington) and Tiago Splitter (Atlanta).
Brazil is ranked ninth in the world by FIBA while Canada is No. 25. But those numbers mean little here given countries are not fielding their top squads.
Canada is saving that for the FIBA Americas Championship, which opens Aug. 31 in Mexico City. Triano hopes to have NBAers Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk in the fold then.
The two finalists from the 10-team tournament will qualify for the 2016 Olympics while teams three through five will go to an Olympic qualification tournament.
