The Canadian senior men’s national basketball team dropped their first game of the current FIBA AmeriCup qualifying window 74-65 to the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo on Friday.
Canada – now 4-1 in qualifying play – would have clinched a spot in the quadrennial tournament with a win.
The Dominican Republic opened the second half with an assertive 10-2 run that included two careless turnovers by Canada and a couple of two-point field goals by Andres Feliz.
Feliz scored a team-high 18 points for the Dominican and had six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. David Jones added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Dominican led for all but 26 seconds and their largest lead was 15 points. Turnovers were Canada’s Achilles heel — they had 18 to the Dominican’s seven.
Mfiondu Kabengele and Trae Bell-Haynes led Canada in scoring with 12 points apiece. They also had 10 rebounds and 6 assists, respectively.
Canada did go on a 9-0 run punctuated by a Bell-Haynes three in the second quarter to take their first lead of the game. However, the Dominican quickly regained the advantage and didn’t relent for the remainder of the contest.
The Dominican shot 4-of-21 (19 per cent) from three-point range and 8-of-19 (42 per cent) from the free throw line, but miraculously came out on top.
The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup will take place Aug. 23-31 and will be hosted for the first time in Managua, Nicaragua.
Canada can still clinch a berth in the tournament in their final game of the qualifying window on Monday against Mexico. Watch the game on Sportsnet 360 or Sportsnet+ at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
