2025 Fiba AmeriCup Qualifiers: Canadian men's basketball team advances to AmeriCup despite 98-94 loss to Mexico

Canada's senior men's basketball team endured a 90-minute delay at the start of the game, and then worked through a couple on-court issues of their own before dropping a 98-94 decision to Mexico on Monday in a FIBA Men's AmeriCup Qualifier game. Despite the loss, Canada still finished first in Pool C with a 4-2 record and punched its ticket to this summer's AmeriCup. Mfiondu Kabengele (207-F/C-1997, college: FSU) led the Canadian attack with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Jahvon Henry-Blair (193-G-1998, college: Georgetown) had 16 points and Isiaha Mike (201-F-1997, college: SMU) had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kabengele missed both foul shots with a chance to tie the game at 96-96 with six seconds left. Francisco Cruz (192-G-1989, college: Wyoming) had a game-high 30 points for Mexico, which needed to beat Canada by at least 17 points to advance to the AmeriCup championship. Karim Rodriguez (196-G-1988) had 14 points for the hosts, while Gabriel Giron (192-SG-1988) added 12. The start of the game was delayed due to a reported "technical issue" to a shot clock. Canada led 29-26 after the first quarter but trailed 54-51 at halftime. Canada took a 71-69 lead into the final quarter.
Courtesy of: coastreporter.net