ST. CATHARINES, ON (JUNE 10, 2018) - Team Canada's U18 team defeated Argentina 92-75 on Sunday afternoon in the opening round of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship tournament.

With the win, Canada earns their first victory of the tournament and improves to a 1-0 record as they look ahead to their matchup against Ecuador tomorrow morning.

Andrew Nembhard led the way for Team Canada, scoring a game-high 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists on the day. Emanuel Miller and A.J. Lawson also helped carry the scoring load for the red and white, scoring 16 and 14 points respectively. Juan Ignacio Marcos led the way for Argentina, nearly matching Nembhard with 23 points of his own.

Click here for the full box score.

Nembhard carried the scoring load for Canada's offence in the opening quarter, but Argentina's inside presence kept Canada from extending their lead. Canada finally began to pull away midway through the frame, but a barrage of threes from Argentina's Marcos would give Canada just a slim 26-24 lead heading into the second.

The second quarter was a more balanced scoring effort for Canada, as Miller proved to be a spark on both ends of the floor. Defence quickly turned into offence for the red and white midway through the quarter, forcing turnovers and converting on the fast break allowing Canada to head into halftime with a 52-35 lead.

Argentina would continue to find ways to score from beyond the arc, keeping the game within reach, but consistent offence from Canada would earn them a 71-60 double-digit lead heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was much of the same for Canada, as they maintained their double-digit advantage for most of the frame. Nembhard ended the game with a three-point dagger in the final minute of play to put the game away as Canada cruised to a 92-75 victory to end day-one of the tournament with a 1-0 record.

Click here for full team roster.

QUOTES

"I'm just blessed and honoured to play for the country. I feel like this is a great opportunity for everybody on the team and I'm just honoured and happy to be here. We have a lot of guys on the team who play aggressive and can score, so I think today was a great start for us." - Andrew Nembhard

"We're all stepping up for our country and we're all trying to grow as a family. I just love playing with Joel [Brown] and Andrew [Nembhard]. They're great guards, they see the court well, and they're always looking to make other people better." - A.J. Lawson

UP NEXT

Canada's pursuit of a FIBA U18 Americas Championship will continue competing in Group A as they look forward to taking on Ecuador on the second day of group play.

For the latest updates regarding Canada Basketball and the Americas Championship, follow Canada Basketball on Twitter.

For more information, contact:
Matt Walker, mwalker@basketball.ca.

‍