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Canada qualifying hopes put on hold, fall on road to Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Feb. 21st, 2025) – Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team was handed their first loss of FIBA Men’s AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers on Friday night, as they fell 74-65 to Dominican Republic.
With the loss, Canada drops to 4-1 and has their hopes of qualifying for this summer’s AmeriCup put on hold.
Dominican Republic was energized by a boisterous home crowd from the jump, and built on their lead throughout the evening, to help them improve to 3-2 in qualifying and inch closer to qualifying.
“[It’s] a great place to play. Great fans. We expected it to be a really loud arena,” said Nathaniel Mitchell, Senior Men’s National Team head coach.
“It’s always tough to play on the road, no matter where you are. I think it’s a great atmosphere. It’s something that we prepared for, but you can’t simulate this crowd.”
Canada will now take on Mexico on Monday night in their qualifying contest with a berth in the AmeriCup on the line.
“It’s going to be very important,” said Mitchell. “We’ve got to regroup from this and continue to get better.”
The top two teams in Group C will advance to the AmeriCup. Canada can lock up a top-two finish with either a win vs. Mexico, a Nicaragua victory over Mexico in their Friday night clash or if Nicaragua prevails against Dominican Republic on Monday.
Jahvon Blair brought energy off the bench in the fourth quarter for Canada, as he helped inspire a Canadian comeback that ultimately fell short. He finished with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Trae Bell-Haynes and Mfiondu Kabengele each finished with a team-high 12 points, with Kabengele tagging on 10 rebounds to record a double-double.
Andres Felix led Dominican Republic with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting. He helped his side take an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter. Canada’s last lead came at the 2:26 mark of the second quarter, before Dominican Republic closed the half on a 7-1 run and ultimately rode to a win on home court.
As mentioned, Canada’s final clash of the FIBA Men’s AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers comes in San Luis Potosí City, Mexico on Monday night.
Tip-off versus Mexico is scheduled for 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT. Watch live on Sportsnet 360.
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