Despite both Canada and Puerto Rico having already clinched a 2025 AmeriCup quarterfinals berth, there was still plenty of incentive for the SMNT to win their final Group B contest. With the way the rest of the tournament was shaking out (including the USA suffering an upset loss to Uruguay), Canada had a chance to clinch the top seed heading to the knockout stages, and all but guarantee a quarterfinals matchup against the lowest seeded, Colombia.
Coming into the game, while Jose Alvarado was the NBA headliner, my biggest concern was Puerto Rico’s big man duo of George Condit IV (a EuroCup experienced C) and Ismael Romero, who are a physical, skilled tandem that are difficult to contain inside the paint. Heading into the matchup against Canada, the two bigs were Puerto Rico’s leading scorers averaging 17.0 and 14.0 PPG respectively on 70%+ 2PT FG%. Conditt especially was having a monster start to the tournament, leading the team in OREB, DREB and BLK. I was curious to see how many double big lineups Canada would go to and how often they would need to platoon Mfiondu Kabengele, Thomas Kennedy and Charles Bediako inside to deal with the physicality challenge posed by the Puerto Ricans. If Kabengele’s two-way sequence early in the first, where he stole the inbound and discarded Conditt on the fastbreak with his off-arm enroute to a two-hand slam, was any indication, Canada was ready to fight.
Overall, I thought Canada answered the call, despite losing the OREB battle by a slight margin of five. There was clearly a concerted effort to stay home on the Puerto Rican bigs and allow Alvarado to survey the interior and settle for a plethora of push shots (where he actually did surprisingly well, totaling 20 PTS on 50% shooting from the field). Conditt recorded just 5 PTS on 2/8 shooting while Romero had a better night with 12 PTS.
One clear advantage that Canada did have was functional length on the wings, and they made sure to make good use of it. David Muenkat, Canada’s primary POA defender throughout the tournament, took on the initial Alvarado assignment, face guarding the New Orleans Pelicans guard all the way up the floor, with or without the ball. The Muenkat matchup, although short lived, also allowed Canada to switch all PnR’s involving Alvarado, taking away Puerto Rico’s roll threat which has been such a pivotal part of their offense. Meanwhile, Kyshawn George, Leonard Miller and Isiaha Mike plugged the gaps behind and swarmed on rotations. And when they got stops, Canada’s “big wings” sprinted down the floor for transition points before Puerto Rico’s bigs could recover. HC Nathaniel Mitchell even went as far as going small (with no bigs) to end the first half, switching every off-ball action to stifle Puerto Rico’s offensive progression.
The other advantage for the SMNT was bench production, outscoring their opponent by 9. Kyle Wiltjer (+11) and Nate Darling (+18) greased the wheels of a sputtering Canadian offense, giving them just enough life to extend their lead in the second quarter and mount a comeback after three Alvarado 3’s gave Puerto Rico a five point lead midway through the third. Kennedy’s (+9) screening and savvy playmaking helped spur George’s nine point run for Canada to end the third. In the fourth, it was Marcus Carr (+14) who hit two big 3’s and sank two free throws who countered Alvarado’s flurry, before veteran Trae Bell-Haynes sealed the game with his steady, gritty play.
The SMNT will now have two days of rest before the knockout stages begin. The stretch run beckons.
