Joseph gets rolling, leads Canada to first win

DONGGUAN (China) - Canada collected an 82-60 win to proceed to the Classification Round 17-32 with a 1-2 record, while Senegal will move on winless after the first three games.

Canada still have a shot of reaching the Olympic Qualifying Tournament via the World Cup, while Senegal could even book a trip to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics if they finish as the best African team in the Classification Round. The way they looked in the first quarter against Canada, it seems more than possible.

But Canada snapped out of their funk in time and went on to win a game easily. Cory Joseph fueled the run, Kevin Pangos did his part with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for coach Nick Nurse. Mo Faye scored 14 for Senegal.

Turning Point: Third quarter. Coach Nurse must've said something inspiring because Canada looked like a much better team out of the locker room, storming to a double digit lead with ease and holding Senegal to 28 points in the second half.

TCL Player of the Game: Cory Joseph had 24 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting, and Canada were a +22 team with him on the floor. Joseph also had 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and just 1 turnover in 30 minutes of work.

Stats Don't Lie: The rebounding battle went Canada's way, a total of 22 offensive rebounds allowed them to stay in front once they had taken the lead away from the African side.

Bottom Line: Canada will have a 1-2 record when they join Germany and Jordan in the next round of battles for places from 17 to 32. Senegal will be at 0-3 in that same group.

FIBA