Head coach Triano has the talent, just needs senior men’s basketball team to mesh
VANCOUVER — Head coach Jay Triano believes he has all the right pieces. The task ahead is figuring out how they fit together.
Triano is overseeing a two-day training camp before Canada’s national men’s basketball team faces China in a pair of games in preparation for its next round of World Cup Americas qualifying. The first game in the Pacific Rim Basketball Classic will be Friday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The teams play again Sunday at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.
The series will allow Canada to find its legs before World Cup qualifying resumes with games against the Dominican Republic June 29 at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum and the U.S. Virgin Islands July 2 at Ottawa’s TD Place Arena.
Among the 15 attending the camp are NBA regulars like Kelly Olynyk of the Miami Heat and Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies, plus players from the NBA G-League and teams in Europe. Also attending are high school stars R.J. Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., and Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ont.