CAN – U17 captain Pangos wants Canada to “keep getting better until the end”

HAMBURG (FIBA U17 World Championship) – Canada, who began the tournament slowly, are now gaining momentum having won consecutive games, putting them in a decent position in group B.

The team’s captain, Kevin Pangos, who has bounced back well after missing a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer against Germany, gave another impressive display today against Spain. FIBA.com caught up with the young guard to discuss how things have gone so far.

FIBA: So what have these first few days been like for you?

Pangos: It’s been great. It’s been cool seeing teams from all over the world. You don’t get to see that a lot, especially at our age so this is a big opportunity. It has been a lot of fun playing in the games, every game has been competitive, which is great.

FIBA: Any nerves when you went out to face the home side on that first day?

Pangos: A little, but they were nerves of excitement, everyone just wanted to get out onto the court. Starting against the home team, just after the opening ceremony of the World Championship was amazing.

FIBA: You lost that game by the narrowest of margins. Was it difficult to bounce back from that opening defeat to Germany?

Pangos: We have a young team, so everyone was really disappointed, we wanted to win that game really bad and it was just so close. Sometimes those close games feel worse than the blowouts.

But the coaches kept reminding us – and we started reminding each other – that it is a long tournament, not just one game. We came back to beat Australia and just now Spain, so we keep on making steps and we will keep getting better until the end.

FIBA: You are lying in a much better position than you were coming out of that game, so let’s look ahead. What is your objective here?

Pangos: Our goal is to do as well as we possibly can. We want to get a medal of course, but it’s all about taking one game at a time.

FIBA: And the senior team, how do you think they will do in Turkey?

Pangos: I had a chance to work with a bunch of these guys. They’re great guys, big guys and a big team. I think they have a lot of hard workers as well on the team and I am sure they will go out and do well there.

FIBA