Canada, Dominican Republic stay dominant; USA, Mexico edge a win
MIAMI (United States) - Day 3 of action in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers saw the first glimpses of Group C and Group D, who contain heavy hitters like USA, the top ranked team in the Americas and the world, as well as other top 20 teams like Canada, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.
While some teams dominated and looked like early favorites to nab a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, others had to battle until the very last second to stay in the win column. Here is a recap of all the games from Day 3.
After missing out on a spot to qualify for the Olympics after the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Canada had an agenda to prove themselves on an international level and qualify for a spot at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, and their performance against Bahamas proved exactly why they are frontrunners for one of the seven available Americas spots.
Canada came out of the gate with physicality and a fast-paced offense that made it hard for Bahamas to defend, scoring a whopping 61 points in the first half while simultaneously keeping Bahamas to just 38. Kenny Chery, in his debut for Canada’s senior men’s national team, had 15 of his total 18 points in the half alone.
Canada’s offense controlled the game in the second half as well, with their dominance coming from such a strong rotation. While players like Kyle Alexander nailed down a double-double of 12 points and 12 assists, others like Phil Scrubb, who only tipped in one basket and two free throws, used his elite court vision to dish out 11 assists to help Canada find a 115-73 win.
Bahamas did not go down without a fight, scoring 22 points in the final 10 minutes of play to keep themselves in the game. They continued to play a high level of defense that included clean blocks and pressure on shots for Canada, but lost battles on the glass and too many turnovers and fouls kept the game out of reach for them. Domnick Bridgewater led the Bahamas with 13 points and 5 rebounds with David Nesbitt adding another 12 points.
Ranked 64th in the world and 13th in the Americas, Cuba provided electricity in their play that forced an outcome that saw the game come to the dying seconds and almost pulled off the upset against the top-ranked team in the world, USA.
Cuba started their game strong, scoring 37 points in the first quarter alone and keeping USA to 27. But letting up on offense and allowing USA to score 33 in the second quarter put them behind again at the half. However, the adjustments made at the break saw Cuba once again in the lead. They continued to pressure on defense, forcing the ball out of their opponent’s hands and scoring off turnovers, which held USA to just 13 points in the third quarter.
USA found their rhythm in the fourth quarter scoring in transition and making clutch shots, including 5 points in the final minute from guard Isaiah Thomas to secure a big enough lead to take home a 90-95 win, and managed to keep Cuba from upsetting them.
Jasel Rivero was the heartbeat of Cuba in the loss with a 34-point, 9 rebounds game leading his team in both categories trying to stay alive versus a giant threat like USA. However, the difference was the load management, as USA had four different players with 10 or more points, with Thomas leading USA with 21 points while Brian Bowen II added a near double-double with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Dominican Republic 87 - 65 Virgin Islands
Playing on home soil, Dominican Republic knew that they had a big responsibility to perform in front of a home crowd, and they delivered with their performance against Virgin Islands as they took on their first game of Group C.
Holding Virgin Islands to just 27 first half points, Dominican Republic dominated the floor and scored 48 of their own, and by the time the third quarter ended, they held a 28-point lead that would prove to be too much for Virgin Islands to overcome. Dominican Republic won 87-65 in front of their local fans.
Three different players carried Dominican Republic offensively, with Victor Liz leading the team with 15 points, Juan Guerrero adding 13 and Adonys Henriquez adding another 12. Jeromy Rodriguez handled the boards on both sides of the ball with 12 rebounds. Winning battles on the boards is what helped Dominican Republic pull away, especially defensively, allowing their team to get back and score in transition.
For Virgin Islands, their tried-and-true leader Ivan Aska helped the team in scoring with 13 points, but it was Rakeem Christmas who made the biggest impact on the floor with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Though Virgin Islands kept their fouls to a minimum and played tight on defense, their lack of ball movement and allowing Dominican Republic to clog their passing lanes created too large of a gap to close.
Another game that came down to the wire on Day 3 of action was Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Group D teams exchanged leads multiple times throughout their game which led to a battle of seconds in the fourth quarter. Mexico ultimately found the win, 90-86, as they capitalized on fouls from Puerto Rico and made them count at the free throw line.
Both teams had four players who scored at least 10 points or more, and the offensive battle was evident from the beginning of the game. Mexico tossed out 32 assists in the game, allowing for their ball movement to help them shoot more accurately, shooting over 55 percent from all areas of the floor in the win.
Puerto Rico stayed clean on their defense, committed minimal fouls, and outscored their opponent on turnover points and second chance points. But they lost to Mexico’s physicality in the paint and allowed them to put up as many shots to get the edge in the end.
Gabriel Giron’s 21 points including 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc combined with Fabian Jaimes’ 19-point, 12 rebound performance helped propel Mexico to win alongside Paul Stoll’s 14 assists. Puerto Rico’s leading scorer Jezreel De Jesus had 24 points in the loss, leading all scorers in the game, while Jordan Howard added another 14 to keep it close between the two teams.
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