MBB: Canada claims silver at Commonwealth Games
Canada Basketball
GOLD COAST, Australia - Canada's men's Commonwealth Games team fell 87-47 to hosts Australia in the gold medal game on Sunday afternoon to finish second at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Munis Tutu led Canada with 10 points and six rebounds, while Justus Alleyn and Grant Shephard added seven points each in the loss.
Trailing 20-10 after the first quarter, Australia used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to help build a 45-19 halftime lead. The young Canadian squad continued to battle in the second half but the deficit the experienced Australian side established was too much to overcome.
The medal was Canada's first in men's basketball at the Commonwealth Games. Basketball has only been on the Commonwealth Games program once, at Melbourne 2006 (Canada did not enter teams in the tournament). The silver was also Canada's only medal on the final day of competition and the 82nd medal (15 gold, 40 silver, 27 bronze) for Canada at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
A total of six CW men's players were on the Canadian roster. All 12 of the players on the men's team are U SPORTS players, with Canada West's six players leading the way among U SPORTS' four conferences (5 OUA and 1 AUS).
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QUOTES
"The whole experience of a large, multi-sport game is special on so many levels. You get to feel like you're a part of something bigger than just you and your team and their experience. Tha's kind of what our young guys are trying to get a piece of. That they are part of our national team program, which is a much bigger program. For them come in here and put it together very, very quickly and get a silver medal. I'm really proud of this accomplishment but I'm just happy that they were able to have that experience at the same time." - Kirby Schepp, Head Coach
"Canada basketball is on the rise and I think the whole country should be happy with what we accomplished today." - Munis Tutu
"At the beginning of this tournament, we didn't start off well. But we got better with each game. To finish here, some people might not have expected that. It's good that we finished with the silver medal." - Ammanuel Diressa
"We came down here with a goal to medal in this tournament. As a team, we have discussed it on a day-in and day-out basis. We are happy to have a silver. I guess it would have been a great upset if we had won gold." - Conor Morgan