THE CANADIAN PRESS
IZMIR, Turkey — Canada’s return to basketball’s world stage was one the team will want to quickly forget.
Canada fell 81-71 to Lebanon in the opening round of the world championships Saturday.
Canada had a 58-57 lead going into the fourth quarter but Matt Freije nailed a three-pointer to put Lebanon up 66-64 with about five minutes left, and Canada never led again.
"For our team to be successful, we cannot be out-hustled in a game," Canada coach Leo Rautins said.
Joel Anthony of Montreal led with 17 points and had six rebounds, Denham Brown of Toronto added 13 and Toronto’s Jevohn Shepherd had 10 points.
But nobody could stop Fadi El Khatib, a bruising six-foot-six wing who led Lebanon with 31 points.
In the third quarter, El Khatib, known as "The Tiger" to his countrymen, scored 16 points, making all five field goal attempts and three free throw attempts.
"They got to the line 21 more times," said Rautins. "It’s difficult to win a game when the other team goes to the line 21 more times than you."
Lebanon coach Tab Baldwin said that the one-on-one abilities of El Khatib and his teammate Jackson Vroman make opponents "pick their poison" when assessing whom to key on.
Anthony, known for his defence on the Miami Heat, blocked three shots and held Vroman to eight points.
Lebanon’s Rony Fahed help seal the win by barrelling into the lane and bouncing off a Canadian defender before banking in a shot to make it 75-68.
"It was a very tough, very tough game," said Fahed, who finished with 17 points. "Both teams were playing very physical."
Canada used a 9-0 run to jump out to a 20-12 lead, but Lebanon tied it with a 8-0 streak.
"In the first half the focus was great. Get the ball into Joel, go inside, then outside," said Rautins. "There was a nice mix. Second half, especially late in the game, we lost that focus. Everyone kind of went into panic mode, which we can’t do."
Guard Andy Rautins, who had been sidelined with a bruised knee, scored all 10 of his points in the first half. He played seven of his 20 minutes in the second half.
"He seemed to be moving pretty fluidly. I saw him grimace a few times," Leo Rautins said, adding his son should tone his game down while his knee heals. "A couple of times he tried to block shots or go for a loose ball and he has to realize in this scenario he can’t do that."
But for the most part, Rautins wants a more tenacious squad, adding, "The most important thing for us is to be aggressive."
Canada hadn’t qualified for a major tournament since finishing 13th at the 2002 worlds in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Canada gets its next chance Sunday against Lithuania, which beat New Zealand in its opener.
"We have to regroup," Anthony said. "If we don’t do that we’ll put ourselves in a really tough position because of how good (Lithuania) are."
