MANAGUA (Nicaragua) – Canada remained perfect in Group B action at the FIBA AmeriCup as it defeated Panama 99-49 on Saturday night at the Alexis Arguello Sports Complex in Managua, Nicaragua. Canada led from wire to wire for the second game in a row, leading by as many as 56 at its peak and shooting 56 percent from the field as a team, showing off their offensive precision once again.
Using their size, the Canadians also dominated in the paint, scoring 44 of their points down low while also playing solid defense to hold Panama to 33 percent shooting.
Turning point
Canada set the tone early, scoring 33 first-quarter points to Panama's 16, creating a 17-point gap in the first quarter to build off of. However, its biggest accomplishment was defensively holding Panama to just four points in the third quarter. Darling scored eight of his points in the third quarter as Canada continued to build offensive momentum along with Charles Bediako, who shot 100 percent from the floor, adding four of his six points in the quarter.
TCL player of the game
Darling's 22 points included going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc and going a perfect 100 percent from the free-throw line, leading Canada's charge on offense.
Mfiondu Kabengele, Leonard Miller, and seasoned FIBA veteran for Canada, Kyle Wiltjer, all added 13 points each for Canada, with Wiltjer adding another three triples as Canada shot 39 percent from the three-point line. Luis Rodriguez Jr. was Panama's only player to enter double-digit scoring, tallying 10 points, with Guillermo Navarro close behind with 9 of his own, including shooting 50 percent from three-point range.
Stats don’t lie
Canada once again controlled the game and dominated in almost every statistical category, from out-rebounding Panama 44-27 to committing just 10 turnovers as a team while forcing Panama into 17, which resulted in 14 points off turnover for Canada. On top of their points in the paint, Canada scored 54 points from the bench compared to 19 from Panama, as well as excelling in the passing lanes with 29 assists, their second-highest number of assists in a game ever.
Bottom line
The 50-point win margin by Canada was their second biggest margin of win in its history in the FIBA AmeriCup. The team has proved across their last two games that not only are they title contenders, but possible favorites to reach the podium. They will have their hardest test yet on Monday as they face off against Puerto Rico, while Panama still looks for their first win in Group B action.
They said
"I trust our guys to compete the whole way through, the discipline on key principles, following through rebounds, limit turnovers, play hard the whole way... we've just got to stay disciplined," said Kabengele on how Canada clicked together against Panama. "Very excited to play Puerto Rico, super talented team, super deep team, in this AmeriCup we're trying to go for it all, and this is another good step for us," he said on Canada's final group stage match against Puerto Rico.
FIBA