Canada Basketball announces team for 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men

Canada Basketball is proud to announce the 12 athletes who will represent Canada this summer at the upcoming 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men which will take place from June 30 – July 10, 2011 in Liepaja and Riga, Latvia.

"I am very excited about the chemistry and the talent level of this national team,” said Head Coach Greg Francis. “Our athletes are focused on representing themselves and their country in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship."

The 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men will feature the best age-eligible players from around the world. Canada is one of 16 teams to qualify for the tournament and will face tough competition in the preliminary round as they have been assigned to Group B, which includes Croatia, Lithuania and Korea.

The Junior Men’s National Team (JMNT) will begin play on June 30 against Korea, followed by Croatia on July 1, concluding preliminary round play on July 2 versus Lithuania. From there, the top three teams from each group will be divided into two groups and play three new teams from their group. The top eight teams from this round will move onto the quarter-finals.

All of Canada’s preliminary round games will be played in Liepaja, Latvia. 

Before the JMNT head to Latvia, they will participate in the International Youth Global Games tournament in Panevezys, Lithuania from June 25 – 27. Canada will play Latvia on June 25, Australia on June 26 and Brazil on June 27. 
 

The JMNT roster is loaded with international experience, as it includes eight players who represented Canada as part of last summer’s National Team Program. Making the team, are Negus Webster-Chan (Scarborough, ON), Olivier Hanlan (Gatineau, QC), Kevin Pangos (Holland Landing, ON) and Dyshawn Pierre (Whitby, ON), each of whom helped guide Canada win the bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship. Pangos was named the top point guard of the tournament; while Pierre ranked fourth in rebounding.

Canada qualified for the FIBA U19 World Championship by claiming the bronze medal last summer at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men in San Antonio, Texas. They were led by Myck Kabongo (Toronto, ON), who ranked fourth in the tournament in scoring, and Khem Birch (Montreal, QC), who was second in blocked shots.

In the last FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand in 2009, Cory Joseph (Ajax, ON), Tristan Thompson (Brampton, ON) and Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, BC) led Canada to a 7^th place finish. Overall, this will be Canada’s seventh trip to the tournament, and tenth time that FIBA will host a competition for this age group. Canada’s highest finish was 6^th in 1987 in Bormio, Italy.

Attached are the JMNT final roster, the schedule for the International Youth Global Games and the preliminary round schedule for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.