Though Canada’s men’s basketball team’s Olympic fate for the 2021 Tokyo Games is still to be determined — they will play in a last-chance Olympic qualifier starting June 29 later this year — the fate of the team’s 2024 Olympic future could begin to be determined over the next few days.
The senior men’s team will play in the final window of the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 qualifiers beginning Wednesday, a qualifying tournament that, through a long process, eventually leads to Olympic qualification for the 2024 Games.
So while the games Team Canada will be playing in will seem unimportant, performing well and picking up wins over these next few days will create small ripples that could eventually lead to far greater glory down the line.
Still confused by what all this means? No worries. Here’s a little FAQ to hopefully help you better understand what Canada’s dealing with here.
What is the FIBA AmeriCup 2022?
The FIBA AmeriCup is a regional competition for senior men’s national teams within the FIBA Americas region.
The event that Canada is playing in starting Wednesday is a qualifier for this 2022 AmeriCup.
It’ll be important for Canada to at least qualify for the AmeriCup because all teams who participate in the AmeriCup will automatically earn berth into World Cup qualification, an important step towards inevitable Olympic qualification.
@CanBball is ready for the next window #Americup pic.twitter.com/8zpkNu8cuY
— FIBA AmeriCup (@AmeriCup) February 16, 2021
How does Team Canada qualify for the FIBA AmeriCup?
In Group C of the qualifiers along with the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada just needs to finish within the top three of that four-team group to advance to next year’s AmeriCup.
Canada currently finds itself in fourth in the group, mainly because it’s played just two games so far over the span of the qualifying windows (more on this below), meaning the team will have plenty of time to make up ground.
What is this qualifying window that Team Canada is playing in?
You may recall back in January a story coming out about Canada Basketball getting fined the equivalent of $227,000 CAD by FIBA because the organization opted to skip a November qualifying window for the FIBA AmeriCup on the advice of medical experts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The whole affair was ridiculous given the circumstances of the world we live in today and FIBA was rightly criticized for its tone-deaf punishment of Canada’s governing basketball body — an organization that’s never been wealthy.
But, as a result of Team Canada deciding to do the right thing, the team is now entering this final qualification window essentially looking to make up for those games it didn’t play back in November, meaning Canada will still get a fair opportunity to make up games and rack up enough points to advance to next year’s AmeriCup.
Canada will play two games in a bubble environment in San Juan, Puerto Rico. According to a statement from Canada Basketball, the organization “has considered the health and safety protocols surrounding this window carefully and has worked with FIBA and the local organizing committee to address any outstanding questions and concerns regarding the protection and safety of all participants.”
So, unlike the debacle back in November, everything appears to be in order this time around.
Who’s playing for Team Canada and who’s Team Canada playing?
Here’s a look at the roster that will be representing Canada in Puerto Rico (screencap below via Canada Basketball):
As you can probably tell, this isn’t exactly the dream all-NBA-player roster many want to see suit up for Canada, but with the NBA season still in full swing, getting any of Canada’s top NBA guns was always going to be an impossibility for an event like this.
That doesn’t mean this group of guys can’t get the job done, though. This is a roster filled with many national team veterans such as the Scrubb brothers, Kaza Kajami-Keane, Junior Cadougan and even former NBA No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Bennett, who is making his national team return after a lengthy time away.
As for Canada’s schedule, here’s a look at it:
• Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET – Canada vs. U.S. Virgin Islands
• Saturday, Feb. 20 at 10:30 a.m. ET – Canada vs. U.S. Virgin Islands
As you can see, the only two teams Canada will see are the U.S. Virgin Islands, a nation ranked 51st according to FIBA world rankings, much lower than Canada’s No. 21.
Canada was originally scheduled to see Cuba twice during this window but, according to a statement from FIBA, Cuba was unable to make it into the bubble and Canada may have to play those games at a later date (FIBA will determine this at a later date).
So even though they won’t be able to definitively qualify, should Canada come away with two victories against the U.S. Virgin Islands the team will be in great position to reach the AmeriCup.
OK, remind me again, how does this tie into 2024 Olympic qualification?
So, just in case you’re still confused about how this relatively low-level qualifying event Canada’s participating in can eventually help get the team to the 2024 Olympics, here it is all laid out for you once again.
This event is a qualifier for the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup, an event that will see all its participants qualify for 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
This is important because qualifying for the World Cup is a key step towards Olympic qualification with automatic Olympic berths given during the World Cup, as well as determination for the last-chance Olympic qualifiers.
So, essentially, you can think of this 2022 AmeriCup qualifier as the very first hurdle Canada needs to clear as it treads down the path towards the 2024 Olympics.
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