Canada had a golden opportunity to stand alone in second place at the FIBA Americas but a late rally fell short, resulting in a 64-59 loss to host Venezuela in Caracas.
Throughout the tournament, Canada has taken care of business on their own end and had been the top long-range shooting team in the tournament but against Venezuela they got a taste of their own medicine in the first half.
Canada shot 2-11 from long range while their counterparts were 6-13, using tough defence and the longball plus some to open a 35-26 lead at the half.
“Sometimes you are going to make shots and sometimes you won’t,” Canadian coach Jay Triano said.
Like he has throughout the tournament, Orlando Magic forward Andrew Nicholson was in constant foul trouble throughout the game. He picked up his second foul with a forearm shiver to a Venezuelan defender just a few minutes into the game but made things worse when he lost his cool and threw the ball at the stanchion. He was quickly handed a technical and sat most of the first half with three fouls.
The rest of the game went the same for the Canadian forward as he fouled out having seen just 9:39 of total action.
Triano believes this will be an important learning experience for Nicholson going forward as he learns to adjust to the international game.
“Andrew has got to make sure he puts this one in the memory banks,” Triano said.
Without Nicholson’s inside punch, and with the team’s outside shooting having gone cold, Canada was in trouble.
The game looked over for Canada as they trailed by 16 with just seven minutes to play.
High school teammates Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph took over as the two NBA stars keyed a 13-4 run to close the game. The Canadians managed to trim the lead to as little as three but ran out of time.
Thompson was one of the few Canadians to have a strong game as the Cleveland Cavaliers forward grabbed 20 rebounds and scored 12 points.
While Joseph struggled from the field (0-5 from beyond the arc), the San Antonio Spurs guard still managed to score 14 points while gathering four rebounds.
Nestor Colmaneres and David Cubillan were the stars for the home side as they combined to provide a deadly inside-outside punch while totaling 30 points.
Canada and Venezuela are now tied at 3-2 in the standings.
The Canadians will attempt to get back on track Saturday against the Dominican Republic. Coverage begins at 5:15 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 360.
