SAN JUAN

On Day 1, Canadian men’s basketball team head coach Jay Triano didn’t get much clarity on who should back up point guard Cory Joseph for Olympic qualifying.

With Joseph being rested, three-time CIS MVP Phil Scrubb was given the start — and 28 minutes — against Argentina to open the Tuto Marchand Cup on Sunday.

Former Boston College standout Olivier Hanlan, the other option at the point, played just shy of 12 minutes.

Scrubb scored 12 points and had five rebounds and three assists, but shot just 3-for-9 from the field, including 1-for-7 from three. Canada went plus-14 with Scrubb on the court, versus a minus-9 with Hanlan on the floor.

Hanlan hit all three of his shots for seven points and did not commit a turnover, but also did not have an assist.

Neither wwas torched defensively and both handled Argentina’s pressure reasonably well.

Triano likely will try Hanlan for more minutes in another game this week to see if he can make his case.

Neither Scrubb nor Hanlan are pure point guards, and Joseph really isn’t your classic floor general, either, though he’s more of a creator than either of them, so Canada will not be creating offence the way it did under Steve Nash. Of course, nobody can replace Nash, but eventually, Triano will have a more traditional backup like Kevin Pangos to call on.

For now, he’ll have to figure out whether he’d rather rely on Scrubb or Hanlan when Joseph needs a break.

OLYNYK SCARE

Canada got a major scare when starter Kelly Olynyk, of the Boston Celtics, went down in a heap clutching his left knee after getting run over by an opponent who had no desire to fight through the screen the Canadian was setting.

Olynyk limped off and went briefly to the back, but returned to the bench quickly, sitting out the rest of the game.

Canada Basketball did not have an update on his status immediately afterward.

Already missing Tristan Thompson, Canada could ill-afford to lose Olynyk for any stretch, though the other big men — notably Dwight Powell and Anthony Bennett, looked tremendous on Sunday and Andrew Nicholson has put up huge scoring numbers in FIBA play in the past.

UNEXPECTED CONTRIBUTIONS

Sharp-shooters Nik Stauskas and Brady Heslip combined to go just 3-for-12 from the field on Sunday, which is a problem as they are the team’s top shooters, but both still turned in solid outings.

Yes, you read that right.

Heslip had a team-best six assists (against two turnovers) and Stauskas did hit one big three, but more importantly, played excellent defence — something he isn’t known for, in helping Canada to the win.

“Keep causing problems like that,” Triano told Stauskas from the bench at one point after Stauskas had forced an Argentina turnover.

With Joseph and Andrew Wiggins providing lock-down defence at two spots, if Stauskas can fare far better than expected as the starting shooting guard, Canada will be feeling pretty good about its chances.

AROUND THE RIM

Canada has already guaranteed itself a better record than at the 2013 version of this tournament. Canada went 0-4 in 2013, despite solid performances from Joseph, Thompson, Heslip, Andy Rautins and Nicholson ... Argentina had knocked Canada out of contention for the 2014 world championship by storming back to win 73-67 at the 2013 FIBA Americas behind, who else, Luis Scola ... When Argentina pulled even during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, it was the first tie since 0-0 ... Wiggins, Stauskas and Hanlan each played with Canada at the senior level for the first time on Sunday ... Besides Triano, the national team coaches at this tournament are NBA assistant Kenny Atkinson (Dominican Republic/Atlanta Hawks), as well as Louisville’s Rick Pitino, Argentina’s Sergio Hernandez (Olympic bronze in 2008) and Brazil’s Ruben Magnano (gold with Argentina at the 2004 Olympics).