After trouncing Puerto Rico and Jamaica in Hamilton in pre-World Cup qualifiers, Canada will take on Argentina at 7 pm on August 31 at the 18,000-seat Videotron Centre in Quebec City.
Team Canada will likely feature some of the NBA stars who played in Hamilton, including two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dillon Brooks, Andrew Nembhard, his younger brother Ryan Nembhard, and Lu Dort, who hails from Montreal.
“I’m looking forward to our Senior National Men’s Team playing in front of the Quebec City crowd,” said Canada’s defensive stalwart Lu Dort, who was recently traded from Oklahoma City to Atlanta in the NBA. “Basketball has grown so much in the province, I’m excited to feel the energy at the arena in La Vieille Capitale and to see the fans there. It’s a real blessing, and an honour, to play on home soil in front of family and friends and hopefully inspire the next generation of hoopers in the province.”
“We’re thrilled to bring Senior Men’s National Team basketball back to Quebec City for the first time since 2018,” said Michael Bartlett, President and CEO of Canada Basketball. “This game marks an important step in our journey toward the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027. With an expected NBA roster, we’re excited to reconnect with our fans in Quebec, a province that continues to develop high-level players, coaches and officials, while fostering one of the most passionate basketball communities in the country.”
In Hamilton, Canada improved to a 6-0 record and first place in Group B of the FIBA Americas Qualifiers. The top 7 out of 16 teams will advance to the FIBA World Cup in Qatar in September 2027. Canada beat Puerto Rico 110-84 behind the home-cooking of Gilgeous-Alexander, who led all scorers with 26 points while adding four assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. SGA noted that he wants to play more off the ball to involve his teammates and take pressure off himself.
Andrew Nembhard responded with 5 threes and 23 points, four rebounds and four assists. Dillon Brooks added 15 points, including 11 in the first half, as Canada built a 15-point lead in the first quarter and 18 at the half. For the game, Canada shot 64.8 percent from the field. Canada outscored Puerto Rico 60-34 in the paint while committing only 11 turnovers.
“I really like the way we came out in this game,” said Canada’s new coach Gordie Herbert, a native of Penticton, British Columbia who led Germany to the World Cup title in Manila in 2023. “We’ve had a huge emphasis that FIBA is a 40-minute game, not a 48-minute game. That was our emphasis from day one, and I thought the players did an outstanding job.”
Three nights later, Canada blew out Jamaica 116-78 before more than 11,000 fans in Hamilton. Canada’s relentless defense forced 19 Jamaican turnovers. Offensively, Canada continued to share the basketball between NBA stars. Brooks had 20 points on 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. SGA added 16 points (including four dunks), five assists, four rebounds and four steals in just over 20 minutes. Andrew Nembhard contributed 17 points, four rebounds and four assists without committing a turnover. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 12 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds.
SGA and Brooks noted the commitment of a core group of NBA players to Canada basketball. After the first game, SGA said it was amazing to play in his hometown of Hamilton, where he still trains off-season with his high school teammates. “It’s special. I don’t take those opportunities for granted to be able to play in front of the people that watched me grow up and are from the same city I’m from,” said SGA. “I don’t think it’s a burden. We love basketball at the end of the day. We’re grown men playing the game that we love.”
Brooks also stressed the importance of playing for Canada. “I guess the logistics are difficult but being here and playing for your country isn’t,” he said. “After last year, we all had a meeting, we were all committed, we went over what the process was.”
Andrew Nembhard, meanwhile, has emerged as a key player by controlling tempo, hitting threes, and defending top guards. He shot 17-for-23 from the field in Hamilton. “He’s grabbed this opportunity and run with it,” coach Herbert said. “And he has a great chance to be our starting point guard going forward.”
Herbert, SGA and others have pointed out that point guards, such as Germany’s Dennis Schroeder, can play major roles in FIBA games which can involve more physicality on the perimeter and in the paint.
“The FIBA game is a little bit different than the NBA game, less spread out, so you got to take advantage of when guys are in the paint and have good position,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Then we have guys that are really good around the rim, so it’s only right that we use them to their advantage. It also opens the floor for the rest of the guys when other teams have to worry about us inside, and also like the more you’re around the basket, the more fouls you draw … it has a domino effect on multiple things, and we try to get to that.”
Brooks, who led Canada over USA in the bronze medal game at the FIBA World Cup in 2023, has emphasized the importance of toughness and defensive pressure. “Getting turnovers and being in transition is one of the highest-percentage possessions you can get,” Brooks said. “It’s not that we stress getting steals, it’s just being up there pressuring full court, regardless of who you are and trying to make plays on the defensive end.”
Canada has great depth among guards and wings: SGA, Brooks, the Nembhard brothers, Alexander-Walker, Dort, RJ Barrett and Bennedict Mathurin, among others.
While Keyshawn George and Leonard Miller played for Canada in Nicaragua, the future on Team Canada is less certain for NBA stars Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins and Shaedon Sharpe. Canada is also looking for big men to step up after losing to teams that packed the paint in Mexico City, Victoria, Shanghai and at the 2024 Olympic Games, where France dominated the offensive glass in their quarter-final victory over Canada.
Canada is hoping that Memphis Grizzlies 7-foot 4-inch centre Zach Edey, from Toronto’s Leaside High School, will solve that problem, as Canadian big men Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk, Khem Birch and Kyle Wiltjer move into their late 30s. Though recovering from ankle surgery, Edey has committed to representing Canada at the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he could face giants such as Serbia’s Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama of France.
He’ll need help up front from former Alabama center Charles Bediako, University of Windsor big man Thomas Kennedy and Dikembe Motumbo’s nephew Mfiondu Kabengele, who impressed during the FIBA AmeriCup in Nicaragua last summer.
In Hamilton, Kabengele finished the two games with eight points and nine rebounds while showing his mobility, passing and screening abilities. “I feel my presence inside is valuable, and I enjoy the contact. It is a physical game,” Kabengele said. “There’s a lot of room out there. These guys are so mobile and they can create a lot of space. So when I’m setting these screens and I’m rolling, there are big gaps and the guys are making great passes.”
With so much depth and talent, Canada isn’t satisfied with a world number 5 ranking after finishing third at the 2023 World Cup and fifth at the 2024 Olympics. Canada are only 1.5 ranking points from overtaking Serbia and France to reach number three behind USA and Germany.
Many fans in Quebec City will expect Canada to roll over Argentina, ranked 8th. Argentina won Olympic Gold in 2004 with a golden generation including Manu Ginóbili, Luis Scola and Andrés Nocioni. Argentina reached the AmeriCup final in Nicaragua last September before losing to a very athletic team from Brazil. Earlier this month, Argentina beat Uruguay 91-79 on July 2 and Panama 96-71 on July 5. They also have high hopes to climb up the rankings ladder ahead of the World Cup.
Herbert, for one, is not looking past Argentina or other teams ahead of the World Cup. He noted that FIBA basketball requires chemistry, sacrifice and players willing to commit over multiple years. “The vision is gold — World Cup and Olympics,” Herbert said. “But we’re still looking to qualify for the worlds. We’re looking to build a base with player continuity over the next two to three years. With national teams it’s very important — the words commitment and continuity.”
Canada Basketball general manager Rowan Barrett said Canada needs to keep growing its fan base. “We need people to get out and get these tickets,” Barrett said. “We very rarely get opportunities to play in our country. We’re in Canada, we need to fill the stadium. There are players here that want something for their country, and their country has to want it for them too.”
Along with Canada Basketball, Gestev will organize the game in Quebec City. Founded in 1992, Gestev is an event management company and a subsidiary of Quebecor Sports and Entertainment, which includes Videotron Centre, Théâtre Capitole, Théâtre du Casino du Lac-Leamy and Cabaret du Casino de Montréal, according to a press release.
“We’re bringing together many of Canada’s top NBA players in Quebec City to offer the public the very best of global basketball. An event of this caliber is a rare occurrence. We feel privileged to be able to host it here at the Videotron Centre,” said Gestev President Martin Tremblay. “We invite the public not to miss this unique opportunity to see the elite of pro basketball in action, and we thank Basketball Canada for their trust.”
“When it comes to hosting unique events, the province of Quebec is an extraordinary market for basketball,” said Carl Comeau, Executive Director of Basketball Quebec. “The growth of the game across the province, from grassroots to high performance, has never been stronger.”
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