Canada Begin Under-19 World Cup Title Defence
There will be more on the line than pride when Canada begin their campaign at the 2019 Under-19 World Cup, as they find themselves returning to the competition as defending champions.
In the last edition of the tournament, the Canadian made history first by defeating basketball titans the USA 99-87 in the semi-finals, then following that up by beating Italy in the final to claim their first-ever Under-19 World Cup title. The tournament's top scorer, R.J. Barrett, also won the MVP award.
Two years later a new incarnation of the Under-19 national team will be seeking to protect this historic title in the 2019 Under-19 World Cup in Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete.
Coach Dan Vanhooren's team is an eclectic mix of talent from across Canada and different levels of basketball, from the NCAA - AJ Lawson of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Damion Squire from the UC Davis Aggies, USports - Thomas Kennedy of the Windsor Lancers, and players still in school.
The remaining squad members are Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe and Tyrese Samuel from Orangeville Prep; Keon Ambrose-Hylton and Charles Bediako of Andrews Osborne Academy; Jaden Bediako from Ridley College; Joel Brown of Brewster Academy; Karim Mane from Vanier College; Jahcobi Neath of Crestwood Peparatory and Josh Primo from Huntington Prep.
The inclusion of team mate duos will hopefully give Canada a feeling of unity from the outset, while the the experiences of their college-level players will also be of high value to Canada in a tournament where pressure will be on them to go the distance.
They will face a tough test from the outset: drawn into Group B, Canada will first be playing the ever-dependable Australia, after which they will face African champions Mali. Their final group game will be against Latvia, who return to the competition after an eight-year absence. Australia will likely be their toughest opponents, but Mali and Latvia have the talent to pull off a shock result in the tournament.
After the completion of the group stage, all teams will enter the knockout bracket, their positions in which dependant on their performance in the group. Canada will be facing a team from Group A in the Round of 16, which contains their eternal rivals.
The USA will be out for revenge in Heraklion, but the draw did them little favours, as they find themselves in what looks like the hardest of the four groups. They find themselves in Group A along with New Zealand, mainstays Lithuania and the fiery African team of Senegal.
Meanwhile, hosts Greece are playing in Group C along with the Philippines, Russia and Argentina, which should be an equally competitive . Finally Group D contains Asian giants China, the unpredictable Puerto Rico and two of Europe's strongest sides, France and Serbia.
With a high level of basketball pedigree in this year's tournament, there will be no room for error as each team knows they are capable of going far in Heraklion and will be looking to prove it. It's not just Canada who are facing pressure here.
Regular updates on Canada's progress at the Under-19 World Cup can be found running here as well as on the official tournament website.
Picture: FIBA.com
