Team Canada Looks to Secure Olympic Berth in Manila
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (July 3, 2016) – Canada Basketball has announced the 12-man roster that will compete in the 6-team Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), tipping-off July 5th in Manila, Philippines.
“Our goal is to qualify for the Olympics,” said JayTriano, head coach. “We are focused on one practice at a time and one game at a time.”
Canada went 4-1 in a European exhibition tournament, taking on China, Croatia, Italy and Puerto Rico. Cory Joseph (Toronto Raptors) and Joel Anthony (Detroit Pistons) joined the group for the June 29th win over Puerto Rico, and Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers) met the team in Manila.
“We are facing some of the top teams at the qualifier and have prepared by completing a rigorous preparation schedule in Europe,” said Steve Nash, general manager. “We have a tremendous opportunity to achieve an Olympic berth and our players and staff will be doing everything possible to achieve our goal of qualifying for Rio.”
Canada will play in Group A taking on Turkey on July 5th and Senegal on July 6th at 6:30 a.m. ET, respectively. The Philippines, France and New Zealand will play in Group B. The top two teams from each group in the preliminary rounds will move on to the semi-final crossover games. The top two teams will then compete in the finals, with the champion qualifying for Rio. Full tournament schedule can be found here.
TSN will broadcast the tournament in Canada, broadcast schedule here.
A full list of athletes can be found below. For media requests please contactbwilliams@basketball.ca
TEAM CANADA OQT ROSTER
| NAME | # | POSITION | HEIGHT | HOMETOWN | TEAM/SCHOOL |
| Shai Alexander | 5 | G | 6’4 | Hamilton, ON | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy |
| Joel Anthony | 15 | F | 6’9 | Montreal, QC | Detroit Pistons |
| Anthony Bennett | 10 | F | 6’8 | Toronto, ON | Toronto Raptors* |
| Khem Birch | 9 | F | 6’9 | Montreal, QC | Olympiakos |
| Melvin Ejim | 7 | F | 6’6 | Toronto, ON | Reyer Venezia |
| Tyler Ennis | 11 | G | 6’2 | Brampton, ON | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Brady Heslip | 12 | G | 6’2 | Burlington, ON | Pallacanestro Cantu* |
| Cory Joseph | 6 | G | 6’3 | Pickering, ON | Toronto Raptors |
| Levon Kendall | 14 | F | 6’10 | Vancouver, BC | Movistar Estudiantes* |
| Philip Scrubb | 4 | G | 6’3 | Richmond, BC | Fraport Skyliners |
| Thomas Scrubb | 8 | G | 6’6 | Richmond, BC | Giessen 46ers |
| Tristan Thompson | 13 | C | 6’9 | Brampton, ON | Cleveland Cavaliers |
*2015-16 Team
COACHING STAFF
| NAME | ROLE | AFFILIATION | HOMETOWN |
| Jay Triano | Head Coach | Phoenix Suns | Toronto, ON |
| Dave Smart | Assistant Coach | Carlton University | Ottawa, ON |
| Scott Morrison | Assistant Coach | Maine Redclaws | Charlottetown, PE |
| Nathaniel Mitchell | Assistant Coach | Raptors 905 | Toronto, ON |
OQT SCHEDULE
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION |
| Wednesday, July 5 | Vs. Turkey @ 6:30 a.m. ET | Mall of Asia Arena – Manila, Philippines |
| Thursday, July 6 | Vs. Senegal @ 6:30 a.m. ET | |
| Saturday, July 9 | Semi-Finals | |
| Sunday, July 10 | Finals |
Courtesy Canada Basketball
Photo Courtesy of FIBA/Canada Basketball
Drew Ebanks
