Image courtesy of FIBA Americas

The Cadet Men’s National Team (CMNT) needed a quarter to get on-track on Wednesday, but once they found their legs, the afternoon quickly turned into a rout. The game concluded with a final score of 87-40 as the team moved to 2-0 at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Men.

Team Chile came out firing with back-to-back three-pointers to open the game and take an early 6-2 lead. The CMNT stayed calm and slowly eased into their game with good ball movement and strong decision-making. The first frame ended with Canada ahead 18-15.

The CMNT quickly asserted itself in the second frame and never looked back. Ajax, Ont. native Justin Jackson opened the quarter with a three-pointer which seemed to focus the team on the task in front of them. Toronto, Ont. guard Koby McEwen responded with some deft shooting to help Canada pull away. While the team broke out and established its offensive game, they continued to demonstrate their commitment to a strong team defense and held Chile to just four points in the quarter.

With an 11-0 run to begin the second half, it was clear that Canada was ready to close out the Chilean squad. They continued to press on offense while Chile lost sight of the game. The Canadians added 32 in the quarter while Chile managed 7. Canada closed-out the game with a 15-14 quarter, but the damage had already been done in the two middle frames of the contest. The Red and White’s size and length down-low proved too much for Chile as Canada scored 50 points in the paint.

Every member of the CMNT scored, while McEwen led the way with 19 points. Canada finished with a distinct advantage in rebounding with Eddie Ekiyor, Kalif Young and Kevin Hamlet collecting nine eac. The team corralled 48, with 26 coming on the defensive end, while Chile grabbed 25 in total.

Statistics for today’s game can be viewed here.

The team will complete their qualifying-round schedule tomorrow evening against host-nation Uruguay with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (ET). The game can be viewed online at fibaamericas.com.

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