Even without its NBA stars, Canada put on an offensive display with a dominant 84-61 win over Chile in second round action of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers in Valdivia on Monday night.
The Canadian squad that traveled to South America looked very different from the one that defeated Brazil in Quebec last week, as NBA mainstays Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson and Kelly Olynyk remained in North America after playing big roles for Roy Rana's team in Friday's victory.
While Joseph, Thompson, Olynyk and several other Canadian NBA regulars were not available against the Chileans, Canada still displayed its growing depth by outgunning the host nation. The Canadians set the tone early, shooting a red-hot 55 percent from the floor in the first half en route to a 43-30 halftime lead.
At the half, Team Canada 🇨🇦 with a 13 point advantage over Chile 🇨🇱 in the #FIBAWC Americas Qualifiers. @bradyheslip with a game-high nine points. Canada shoots 55% in the opening half. #WeAreTeamCanada #ThisIsMyHouse #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/hNvugyiGFy
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) September 17, 2018
Things only got worse for Chile from there. After getting to within nine points early in the third quarter, the Chileans seemed helpless as veteran Joel Anthony led the visitors on a run that would eventually balloon to a 24-point Canadian advantage in the opening stages of the final quarter.
FIBA Americas Qualifiers: Where, when, roster, how to watch Team Canada.@CanBball’s night vs. Chile summed up in one clip. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Rw7gHQKPnB
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) September 18, 2018
It was academic from there as Canada cruised to victory. Led by 17 points from Anthony and 12 from sharp-shooting Brady Heslip, the Canadians improved to 7-1 to maintain its lead atop Group F