Canada’s cadet men advance to FIBA U17 world championship quarter finals

Canada’s Cadet Men’s National Team (CMNT) successfully advanced to the quarter final round of the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship taking place in Hamburg, Germany. Canada finished the preliminary round with a 3-2 record, and is one of only eight countries to advance to the quarter final round of the competition.

“I’m very happy and it’s great that we’re going to get a chance to play in the quarter final round,” said CMNT Head Coach Roy Rana. “They have all been big games, but now the stakes are even higher because we’re in the final eight. We’re going to take it one step at a time to get to that final four.”

The talented U17 squad includes up and coming stars Kevin Pangos (Holland Landing, Ont.) and Dyshawn Pierre (Whitby, Ont.). Pangos is the team’s scoring and assist leader, averaging 16 points and 5 assists per game, while Pierre sits atop the standings in rebounds averaging eight per game. Pangos is also second on the team in rebounds averaging six boards per contest.The Canadian team has been a strong force on the glass, and is currently ranked second in rebounding among the 12 nations.

See Team Canada Live:

The quarter-final round will be available via live stats at the tournament website and through FIBATV (subscriber based internet broadcast). Fans can access the games by going to http://www.fibatv.com/and clicking on the ‘Watch Live Online’ section. All games are available with a one-time, $10 subscription fee.

For more information, visit the official website at http://hamburg2010.fiba.com.

Touted as one of the most significant basketball events in the world this year, the FIBA U17 World Championship for Men showcases the best players aged 17 years and younger from 12 countries across five continents. Team Canada was assigned to Pool B in the preliminary round, along with Germany, Australia, Korea, Poland and Spain. The CMNT recorded wins over Spain (79-72), Australia (76-68) and Korea (95-74) however lost nail biters to Poland (70-75) and Germany (68-69).

In the quarter-final round, the Canadians will face a talented Chinese squad featuring the leading scorer of the FIBA U17 World Championship tournament, Ailun Guo.

“China has been shocking people here beating both Argentina and Serbia, which are traditional powers,” added Rana. “China has two guards that are amongst the best in the tournament. They play well as a team, they have a couple of seven footers down low that can bang and rebound, and they are playing really tough.”
Attached are the 2010 CMNT official player roster and coaching staff participating in the FIBA U17 World Championship.

All Team Canada game summaries will be posted on www.basketball.ca.