Ed’s Note: Just like Carl English, Raul is unstoppable. Follow him on Twitter, or he’ll kill you.
Less than 15 hours after a great effort against the Dominican Republic, the Canadian National Team saw action again, this time against Cuba, one of the weakest teams in the tournament. It was an easy 84-62 win for Canada which started off with Carl English scoring 8 of the team’s first 12 points. That modest burst was enough to put Cuba out of reach, and they were never to be heard from again. Cuba cut the lead to 14 twice in the second half using full-court traps (a strategy that Canada struggled with against the Dominican Republic), and it once again created problems in Canada’s offense.
The coaching staff should do something about it because tomorrow’s game against Venezuela is crucial, and dealing with pressure seems to be a problem for the North Americans. Canada shot a blistering 55% from the field and showed good defensive technique and discipline for the third night in a row, forcing Cuba into 34% shooting. The well-balanced scoring is quickly becoming the norm, Jevohn Shepherd was the high-man with 13, followed by Jermaine Anderson with 11. Rautins and Jesse Young finished with 9, while Joel Anthony and Cory Joseph chipped in with 7. The team showed flashes of great ball-movement and solidarity on offense, and didn’t depend of the three point shot unlike yesterday.
Jevohn Shepherd about playing less than 12 hours before a hard game against Domincan Republic:
“You can’t be tired in a tournament like this. There’re eight games in nine day so we can’t feel tired. We get the win today and we look forward to the next one.”
On the balanced scoring:
“We’ve got a deep team so any night could be anybody a lot of guys contribute in all our games. We have a deep roster, all the guys can contribute and that’s one of the strength of our team”.
Carl English:
“We feel good, we play better, we got off to a good start but they are a tough team because the way they play. We started good in the first quarter and after that. We knew they’ll be tough. They play a lot of one on one and this can be very tough for your defense. We play better and we keep improving. Venezuela is a very tough team, they played good every game so it’s the biggest game of the first round. We must be focus and come out with lot energy”.
