Canada beat Brazil in impressive fashion Sunday at the FIBA Americas Championship to record their first win in 10 years over the South American powerhouse.
San Antonio Spurs point guard Cory Joseph led the charge as he finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and four assists to pace Canada to a 91-62 victory.
In the first quarter Joseph was on fire as he shot 5-7 from the floor, but he didn’t get much help as the rest of the team was just 3-13 from the field. The San Antonio Spurs guard would finish with the quarter with 12 points but Canada trailed 22-19 despite his solid start.
The lead exchanged hands numerous times over the initial period and that would continue until about halfway through the second quarter when several Canadian veterans stepped up their play on both ends of the floor.
The Canadians would go on a 16-3 run over the final five minutes of the quarter to take a 10-point lead at half. Sharpshooting guard Andy Rautins would pour in eight points while point guard Jermaine Anderson also dropped in a pair of buckets to help Canada open up a 44-34 edge at the break.
What made the run ever more impressive was the fact that Orlando Magic forward Andrew Nicholson was on the bench in foul trouble. He had been Canada’s key offensive threat on the front line throughout the first two games.
After sitting for much of the second quarter when he picked up his third foul, Nicholson would return to the action with a flourish in the third quarter. The Mississauga Ont., native would score eight points to help Canada extend their lead to 68-48 lead after three and essentially put an end to the game.
The game turned ugly after that point as Brazilian head coach Ruben Magnano was tossed in the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul.
Nicholson would finish with 13 points while Anderson also scored 14 points.
Canada’s record improves to 2-1 while Brazil has lost both of their first two contests.
Canada gets a day off before they face Uruguay in the final game of the first round on Tuesday. The game can be seen live on Sportsnet 360 beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.
