COURTSIDE 1891
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SASKATOON (Canada) – Canada solidified their place atop Group C with an 88-71 blowout victory over Dominican Republic Thursday night at SaskTel Centre, getting one step closer to punching their ticket to the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup.
Nate Mitchell’s guys were relentless attacking the rim and their superior depth and strength materialized in the final score.
Despite leading throughout most of the night, Canada showed great composure during the couple of times that the away squad looked poised to gain momentum.
When midway through the first quarter the Dominicans took a 16-15 lead, the home squad uncorked a 10-0 run to retake control of the action.
And in the second quarter, when Nestor “Che” García’s squad went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to double digits, Canada responded with back-to-back triples from Quincy Guerrier and Marcus Carr to escape to a more comfortable distance – one they would enjoy the rest of the way.
Mfioundu Kabengele had himself an excellent debut with Canada’s senior team, finishing with 17 points, 7 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks in just 17 minutes.
The 27-year-old forward, who has 55 NBA games under his belt, was a terror in the paint and a player the visiting squad just couldn’t check.
Guerrier and Nate Darling (11 points apiece) also scored in double digits for Canada, while Trae Bell-Haynes finished with 8 points, 10 assists and 4 boards.
LJ Figueroa (18 points), Victor Liz (14 points and 7 rebounds) and Omar Silverio (12 points) were Dominican Republic’s best performers.
Canada won the paint battle 52-39, in part due to a 21-12 edge in second-chance points.
And on a night where neither team was particularly accurate from long distance, the North Americans shot 27/44 from 2-point range to secure the win despite their opponents taking and making twice as many free throws.
With the win, Canada improved to 3-0 after sweeping both games against Nicaragua in late February. They’ll now host Mexico (2-1) on Sunday.
Dominican Republic, who split their first series against Mexico, is now 1-2 and will visit Nicaragua (0-3) on Sunday.
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