Canada Basketball opened the 2025 FIBA men's AmeriCup on a high note after a wire-to-wire victory on Day 1 of group play.
The Canadians cruised past Venezuela for an 88-54 tournament-opening win on Friday in Managua, Nicaragua, after jumping out to a 26-13 first-quarter lead and never looking back.
Leading that effort for the senior men's team was Kyshawn George, who finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, four steals and two blocks in his Canada Basketball debut. Right behind the Swiss-Canadian was Leonard Miller, with 14 points (7-of-11) and five rebounds. The pair of NBA youngsters were touted as headliners for the red-and-white heading into the AmeriCup, and through one game, lived up to expectations.
Mfiondu Kabengele did his part as well, finishing with 14 points (5-of-7), two steals and two blocks, while Kyle Wiltjer chipped in 12 points in 12 minutes off the bench.
The one-sided score was reflected by equally dominant game stats from the Canadians, who shot 54.8 per cent from the field and made an impressive 13-of-28 triples (46.4 per cent). All the while, Venezuela struggled to score against Canada's defence — converting at just 31.3 per cent from the field.
It was an even more overwhelming advantage for Canada inside the arc, scoring at a torrid 61.8 per cent clip — for a plus-20 edge in points in the paint — in stark contrast to Venezuela, which finished at just a 32.4 per cent rate from two-point range.
Canada finished plus-10 on the glass (42-32), plus-nine on assists (24-13) and plus-22 for bench scoring (35-13).
Yohanner Sifontes had 14 points and five rebounds to lead Venezuela, while David Cubillan scored 11 as the team's only double-digit scorers on the night.
Up next
After Day 1 of AmeriCup action, Canada and Puerto Rico sit atop Group B with 1-0 records and an identical plus-34 point differential. Leaving Venezuela and Puerto Rico at the bottom after their 0-1 starts.
Canada will continue group play on Saturday when it takes on Panama at 11:10 p.m. ET / 8:10 p.m. PT.
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