CANADA’S
ROAD WARRIORS BASKETBALL TEAM PRIMES FOR RIGOUROUS
FIBA
AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
-
See
Canadian Games Live on The Score -
“Our
team has been building for this tournament since June,” said Senior Men’s
National Team Head Coach Leo Rautins.
“Everything we’ve done throughout the summer in terms of training camps,
exhibition games and competitions is all in preparation for this event. We have a core nucleus of talented players,
united together by one common goal – to qualify for the 2010 Worlds. This unity and our team chemistry will be
critical to our success as we compete against some of the toughest teams in the
world.”
As an added bonus, basketball fans across the country can see
Canada’s
Road Warriors in action as all Canadian games will be televised live on The
Score Television Network Ltd. beginning on August 27. Matches will also be re-broadcast
in prime-time on both The Score and later on Raptors TV.
“The Score is
proud to once again showcase the FIBA Americas Championship and Team Canada,”
said Greg Sansone, Director of Programming, Score
Media Inc. “Our station prides itself on being the home
for basketball, from the university to the professional level, and this
tournament provides another opportunity for the talented team to gain exposure
and for our hardcore basketball fans from coast to coast to get in the
game.”
The FIBA Americas Championship, featuring 10 men's national teams, is
one of five FIBA qualifying zone tournaments to determine the four men's teams
from the Americas zone that will earn a
qualification spot for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Istanbul,
Turkey.
Canada
is assigned to ‘Group A’ along with Mexico, and will compete in other
preliminary matches against the US Virgin Islands (August 28 – 4:00 p.m. ET),
Uruguay (August 29 – 4:00 p.m. ET) and Puerto Rico (August 30 – 9:00 p.m.
ET). ‘Group B’ consists of Argentina,
Brazil, Dominican Republic, Panama and Venezuela.
“We do have a
good first round compared to the other side,” added Rautins. But every game is going to be a battle and we
have to play well in first round to place well in the cross over games. It’s a grind either way as there are not many
tournaments where you play eight games in nine days.”
In
total nine players will be returning back from the 2008 squad including
Jermaine Anderson (Toronto), Olu
Famutimi (Toronto), Levon Kendall
(Vancouver), Andy Rautins (Syracuse, NY), and Jesse Young (Peterborough, ON),
Tyler Kepkay (Vancouver) and Aaron Doornekamp (Odessa, ON). Nine players on the roster currently play in
various professional leagues and three members are competing at the NCAA/CIS
level.
The
television broadcast schedule of games to air on The Score and on The Score HD
is as follows:
Thursday 8/27/09 4:00 PM Canada v. Mexico
(Live)
Thursday 8/27/09 10:00 PM Canada v. Mexico -
replay
Friday 8/28/09 4:00 PM Canada v. US Virgin Islands
(Live)
Friday 8/28/09 10:00 PM Canada v. US Virgin Islands-
replay
Saturday 8/29/09 4:00 PM Canada v. Uruguay
(Live)
Saturday 8/29/09 10:00 PM Canada v. Uruguay-
replay
Sunday 8/30/09 9:00 PM Canada v. Puerto Rico
(Live)
Monday 8/31/09 3:00 PM Canada v. Puerto Rico-
replay
The Score
will air four additional Team Canada games from September 1-6, with exact dates
and start times still to determined.
As
well as the broadcast, fans are encouraged to stay up to date with Canada’s
Senior Men’s Team on the internet via following sites:
1.
www.basketball.ca – for daily game reports, quotes and
news
2.
www.puertorico2009.fiba.com
– the official tournament website for standings, live stats and more
3.
Canada
Basketball facebook page at http://facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Canada-Basketball/42100100012
to chat with team members and hoops fans
4.
www.thescore.com/nba – one-on-one videos with Jason Thom and Team
Canada preview to get fans ready for the tournament
5.
www.fibatv.com
– see select matches via FIBA’s subscriber-based online video
service
Please
see below for the official 2009 Senior Men’s National Team roster and staff for
the FIBA Americas Championship.
Click
here to download:
- The
2009 Senior Men’s National Team Media Guide (http://basketball.ca/en/hm/download.php?id=214)
-30-
Canada
Basketball (www.basketball.ca)
is a private, not-for-profit corporation that is committed to the growth of the
sport in Canada. Just as important, Canada Basketball is focused on the development
and preparation of Canada’s national teams for the
Olympic; Pan American and FISU Games as well as the World Championships. The aspiration of Canada
Basketball is to instill the pride, commitment, passion and respect that
Canadians personify into the development of basketball across the country and
internationally.
For
more information please contact:
Andrew
Cook
Tanya Phillipps
Manager,
Men’s Elite Performance Manager, Marketing &
Communications
Canada
Basketball
Canada Basketball
Tel: 416.614.8037 x 210
Tel: 416.614.8037 x
219
e-mail:
acook@basketball.ca
e-mail: tphillipps@basketball.ca
Website: www.basketball.ca Website: www.basketball.ca
2009 ROAD
WARRIORS - SENIOR MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
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*Indicates players from the 2008 Senior Men's Team
2009 SENIOR MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM STAFF
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