VICTORIA – There is only so much you can learn from an intrasquad scrimmage but a few truths became self-evident as the Raptors played each other on Thursday night in front of an enthusiastic, sold-out crowd of 2,700 at the University of Victoria.

Among them:

• It’s easy to forget how passionate people are for NBA basketball when they don’t have easy access to it. Fans were lining up at noon to get into the game that started at 7:00 p.m. local time and the gym was full and rocking an hour before the opening tip. Well done, Victoria.

• The Raptors certainly seem determined to take more threes. Between the two teams, they put up 53 of them in a game that was only 40 minutes long with just eight minutes of stop time. Collectively, they were 20-of-53 even though C.J. Miles and Serge Ibaka were a combined 2-of-11. Jonas Valanciunas was 1-for-1, and no pump fake either.

• Rookie OG Anunoby was supposed to be out until November after knee surgery in January ended his college season and hurt his draft stock to the point the Raptors were able to get him at No. 23 in June. He looked powerful and confident if a little raw – a bonus that he’s on the floor at this stage, no doubt. He’s been scrimmaging since August, turns out and has impressed in practices to this point.

• Future programming note: Don’t put Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell on the same team for an intrasquad tilt. They didn’t have plus/minus available for the game but Lowry had to be plus-20 and Powell simply goes too hard at his teammates to get a fair picture of what’s what. His dunk in traffic over Valanciunas was the game’s highlight and Powell led Team Black with 17 points, four assists and four rebounds on nine shots in 26 minutes.

• There is some significant competition for the final two rosters spots on a team with 13 guaranteed contracts. No one played themselves out of the opportunity, although K.J. McDaniels is clearly the most athletic of those looking for those spots. His sprinting chase down block of Fred VanVleet at the end of the first half was a demonstration of the way he can use his speed and quickness to make plays on the defensive end, which is his calling card.

• It makes sense that the ability to hit threes will be an attribute the Raptors will be looking for and if that’s the criteria, Canadians Kyle Wiltjer and Andy Rautins didn’t disappoint. Wiltjer caught fire early and hit five of his nine three-point attempts consecutively, while Rautins hit three of his four triples – on six attempts – in the fourth quarter.

• Bruno Caboclo, the Raptors’ long-running project, looked stronger and more comfortable than he has in the past. He got twisted a couple of times defensively early on but showed really well in an end-of-clock one-on-one battle with DeMar DeRozan and left the Raptors all-star stymied. Caboclo was 1-of-4 from three, had a beautiful swooping finish over Valanciunas and then a powerful dunk out of a give-and-go with Lowry.

• Outside of Powell, the most impressive Raptor was likely second-year big man Jakob Poeltl whose combination of quick feet, soft hands and sense of space on the floor allowed him to score 16 points on nine shots, almost by simply slipping into seams or sneaking behind the defence.

The Raptors practice Friday in Victoria before heading to Hawaii for a pair of exhibition games against the Los Angeles Clippers.