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Strong Performance for Canada’s Junior Men in France

Published by CROWN staff on June 18, 2009

DOUAI, France – Canada’s Junior Men finished in first place at the 23rd Annual Mondial Juniors de Basket, one of Europe’s premier basketball tournaments. Canada had two big wins over France and Puerto Rico, following a loss to Australia on the first day. A strong win Sunday over Lithuania coupled with the U.S. win over host team France, guaranteed the title for the red and white.

Mangisto Arop of the Junior Men's national team--Photo Credit: Ralph Dewar

“Our guys really played hard throughout the tournament,” said Greg Francis, Head Coach for the Junior Men’s National Team and the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA). “This is such a great win for our team and the experience of playing tough countries outside our zone will go a long way in helping our guys prepare for the FIBA World Championship next month.”

Along with the first-place hardware, Canadian forward Kelly Olynyk also earned two trophies — for All-Star forward and tournament MVP. The Kamloops, B.C., native also plays under Francis as a member of Canada Basketball’s NEDA program.

After a tough 92-83 loss on Saturday to the U.S., Canada came out and conquered as the team beat Lithuania 86-78 to close out the event. With a 3-2 record overall, Canada won the championship of this prestigious European event that has in the past seen the likes of Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Luol Deng and Andrei Kirilenko to name a few.

By Tanya Phillips, basketball.ca

For more coverage on the tournament, visit www.basketball.ca

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