PRELIMINARY LIST REVEALED FOR OPENING WINDOW OF FIBA BASKETBALL WORLD CUP 2019 AMERICAS QUALIFIERS

TORONTO, ON (November 14, 2017) - Canada Basketball's Men's High Performance Program is pleased to announce the preliminary list for the first window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers in Halifax and Dominican Republic.

The Scotiabank Centre in downtown Halifax will host the first Senior Men's National Team home game as Canada opens the qualifying process on Friday, November 24, 2017 against Bahamas with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 pm AST.

Tickets for the event are on sale now through Ticket Atlantic and start from as low as $10 for students and youth.

After leading Canada at the the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 in Argentina this past summer, head coach Roy Rana is back behind the bench for the first of two FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers windows (November 2017 and February 2018). Joining Rana for the will be assistant coaches Michael Meeks, Jack Sikma, Dave Smart and Nathaniel Mitchell.

"We are excited and honored to begin our journey towards the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China," said Roy Rana, Head Coach. "This group of young men embody the passion and sacrifice needed to be successful in international competition."

"I admire their commitment to Canada and I hope all Canadians will support us loudly in Halifax and across the country," Rana said.

Following Friday's game, Canada will travel to Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic for a showdown against the 17th ranked team in the world. Tipoff is scheduled for Monday, November 27 at 8:00 PM from Arena del Cibao Oscar Gobaira.

Canada's pursuit of a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 berth begins with the aforementioned Americas Qualifiers where 16 teams will compete for seven World Cup spots.

Canada will face Bahamas, Dominican Republic and the United States Virgin Islands in Group D with each team facing the other three teams on a home and away basis.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers will see 80 countries do battle over a 2-year period to qualify 31 national teams for the top national team competition taking place from August 31-September 15, 2019.

Canada's Senior Men's National team is currently ranked 8th in the Americas and 25th globally.

Training camp is closed to the public. Media are invited to post-practice scrums on the following dates. Please RSVP to mwalker@basketball.ca.



MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Tuesday, November 21

2:15 p.m. Gym Opens

2:30 p.m. Availability

Wednesday, November 22

2:15 p.m. Gym Opens

2:30 p.m. Availability

Friday, November 24

1:25 p.m. Gym Opens

1:30 p.m. Availability

*All times are AST and subject to change

The full staff list, roster and schedule can be found below. Follow Canada Basketball on Twitter for game streaming details and live game coverage.

2017 SMNT NOVEMBER WORLD CUP AMERICAS QUALIFIER PRELIMINARY LIST

First Name Last Name DOB Height Position Hometown Current Club Richard Amardi 1990-10-16 6'9" F Toronto, Ont. Raptors 905 (G-League) Jermaine Anderson 1983-03-08 6'2" PG Toronto, Ont. Free Agent Joel Anthony 1982-08-09 6'9" C Montreal, Que. Free Agent Olu Ashaolu 1988-04-18 6'7" PF Toronto, Ont. Sendai 89ers (Japan) Anthony Bennett 1993-03-14 6'8" F Toronto, Ont. Northern Arizona Suns (G-League) Aaron Best 1992-01-09 6'4" SG Scarborough, Ont. Raptors 905 (G-League) Sim Bhullar 1992-12-02 7'5" C Toronto, Ont. Dacin Tigers (Taiwan) Melvin Ejim 1991-03-04 6'7" F Toronto, Ont. Unics (Russia) Joel Friesen 1990-08-16 6'4" SG Abbotsford, B.C. London Lightning (NBL of Can) Grandy Glaze 1992-03-04 6'7" C Toronto, Ont. St. Johns Edge (NBL of Can) Olivier Hanlan 1993-02-15 6'4" SG Aylmer, Que. Austin Spurs (G-League) Brady Heslip 1990-06-19 6'2" SG Burlington, Ont. Trabzonspor (Turkey) Kris Joseph 1988-12-17 6'7" SF Montreal, Que. Free Agent Kaza Keane 1994-01-27 6'1" PG Ajax, Ont. Raptors 905 (G-League) Levon Kendall 1984-07-04 6'10" PF Vancouver, B.C. Free Agent Owen Klassen 1991-10-31 6'10" C Kingston, Ont. PAOK (Greece) Duane Notice 1994-09-07 6'2" SG Woodbridge, Ont. BM Slam Stal (Poland) Adika Peter-McNeilly 1993-04-17 6'3" SG Toronto, Ont. Ludwigsburg (Germany) Dyshawn Pierre 1993-11-17 6'6" SF Whitby, Ont. Banco di Srd (Italy) Xavier Rathan-Mayes 1994-04-29 6'3" PG Scarborough, Ont. Westchester Knicks (G-League) Phil Scrubb 1992-11-27 6'3" PG Richmond, B.C. Fraport SKY (Germany) Thomas Scrubb 1991-04-08 6'6" SF Richmond, B.C. Scandone AV (Italy) Marc Trasolini 1990-06-21 6'9" C Vancouver, B.C. Hokkaido L. (Japan) Warren Ward 1989-11-16 6'6" G/F London, Ont. Caceres (Spain)

2017 SMNT STAFF LIST

Name Position Hometown Roy Rana Head Coach Toronto, ON Michael Meeks Assistant Coach Brampton, ON Jack Sikma Assistant Coach Kankakee, Illinois Dave Smart Assistant Coach Kingston, ON Nathaniel Mitchell Assistant Coach Toronto, ON Rowan Barrett Assistant GM/Executive VP, Senior Men's Program Mississauga, ON James DePoe Team Manager Toronto, ON David Grundman Team Manager Toronto, ON Dr. John Philpott Team Doctor Miramichi, NB Samuel Gibbs Athletic Therapist Toronto, ON Jason Meehan Athletic Therapist Toronto, ON Charlie Weingroff Strength and Conditioning Coach Newark, NJ Dipesh Mistry Video Coordinator Markham, ON Phil Jevtovic Performance Analyst Toronto, ON Matt Walker Communications Manager Ancaster, ON Peter Jensen Sports Psychologist Toronto, ON

2017 SMNT SCHEDULE