THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns will battle the Toronto Raptors in an NBA pre-season game Oct. 6 at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena.
Nash, a Victoria native and two-time league MVP, headlines a Suns roster that includes Grant Hill, Jason Richardson and former Raptor Hedo Turkoglu.
The contest will also be a homecoming of sorts for Raptors coach Jay Triano, who played his college basketball at Simon Fraser and later returned to coach there. And it will be an opportunity for Triano to face Nash, who Triano coached with Canada’s Olympic basketball program and formed a bond with.
"It is special," Triano said. "I think one of the things that’s ironic about it is we’re going to try and do something as far as it’s the 10-year anniversary of the 2000 Olympic team that went to Sydney.
"That’s a big thing for us. We’re excited about being there and playing in that game. It’s always great to see Steve and play against him and we’re going to try to make it a great event."
Triano said the Raptors will start training camp in Toronto but the club expects to hold a portion of its pre-season preparations in B.C.
"We’re still finalizing some of the details on training camp," Triano said."But needless to say we’re not just going to be there for one day before the game, we’re going to try and come and have part of our extended camp there as well."
The Raptors’ roster features Andrea Bargnani and recently acquired former Suns guard Leandro Barbosa.
The Suns hosted the Portland Trailblazers at Rogers Arena — formerly GM Place — in a sold-out pre-season game in October of 2009.
