Canada claim silver in Americas Under-16 Championship 2019
Canada finished only behind basketball juggernauts the USA as the final standings decided in the 2019 Under-16 Americas tournament.
The team earned their place in the final the day before after a 97-81 win over the Dominican Republic. Caleb Houstan led Canada with 29 points while Ryan Nembhard finished with 19 points and 12 assists.
The USA, meanwhile, did not fall behind once in their semi-final matchup with Argentina, going on to win 90-58 with Jabari Smith posting a team-high 18 points off the bench. This was the third time in succession these teams had met in the final of the tournament, with the USA winning each time.
When the two teams met in the final, Canada briefly led the USA at the end of a tight first quarter, but the USA responded with nine unanswered points to put a comfortable buffer between the two.
Despite the best efforts on offence from Houstan and Nembhard – who finished with 25 and 21 points respectively – and Enoch Boakye scoring 12 and grabbing 13 rebounds, from then on it was the USA the rest of the way in the final. Dominating on the glass and in the paint, and with 23 points from Christopher Livingston, the USA ran home to a comfortable win, 94-77, and the gold medal.
With the USA, predictably, untouchable with nothing anyone could do to stop them, Canada ended their run in the tournament in the best possible place.
Elsewhere, the Dominican Republic finished in third place over Argentina, prevailing after a close conclusion to the placement game, in which Jean Montero put up an amazing 49 points and 12 rebounds. The final score there was 80-77.
After trailing Puerto Rico by twelve in the fifth place game, Brazil surged in front in the final quarter, winning by the game’s highest margin of 78 to 61. Felipe Motta had 31 points for the hosts as they signed off their home campaign.
Finally, Mexico finally got a win in the tournament when it mattered, leading Uruguay from start to finish with Yahir Bonilla registering 23 points and 15 rebounds. With the final score 74-68 in their favour, Mexico finished in seventh place.
More information on the tournament can be found on the official website.
