ROY RANA NAMED HEAD COACH FOR FIBA AMERICUP 2017 AND WORLD CUP 2019 QUALIFIERS

TORONTO, ON (August 9, 2017) - Canada Basketball is pleased to announce that Roy Rana will join the Senior Men's National Team coaching staff as Head Coach for the upcoming FIBA Americup 2017 and first two FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers windows (November 2017 and February 2018).

"Coach Rana is a dedicated and committed member of the Canada Basketball team with a long-standing history of high performance at both the Cadet and Junior National Team levels," said Rowan Barrett, Assistant GM/Executive VP, Senior Men's Program. "We are confident in Roy's ability to take the next step and lead our Senior Men's National Team as we begin our pursuit of a World Cup berth."

Under the guidance of Rana, Canada's U19 Men's National Team made history in July winning Canada Basketball's first-ever gold medal at a World Cup FIBA competition. As a National Team coach since 2006, he also led the Cadet National Team to a historic bronze medal at the 2010 U16 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

"It is once again an incredible honor to have the opportunity and responsibility to lead our country into international competition," said Roy Rana. "I look forward to building on the incredible momentum of this summer and continue to play my part in building a special experience of success at the Senior Men's National Team level."

Rana has previously found himself behind the bench of the Senior Men's National Team as he was Head Coach for the Argentina Super Four Cup (Santa Fe, Argentina) in 2007 and as an Assistant Coach for the FIBA Americas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tournament in 2009.

In addition to his role with Canada Basketball, Rana is the Head Coach at Ryerson University. Over the course of his eight-year career, Rana's Rams have captured both silver (2017) and bronze (2015) medals at the U SPORTS (formerly CIS) national championships.

Prior to joining Ryerson, Rana spent nine seasons as the Head Coach and Program Director at Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute in Toronto. With Rana behind the bench, Eastern became the first team in Ontario history to win four consecutive provincial championships.

Rana has also developed extensive NBA experience serving on the staff with the Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer League. In the summer of 2015, Coach Rana was part of the San Antonio Spurs NBA Summer League Championship team and served under the direction of Head Coach Becky Hammon.

More than generous with his time and proud to represent his country, Rana has participated in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program and has assisted NBA coaches at development initiatives in Nigeria and Senegal.

Jay Triano will continue to serve as Head Coach of the Senior Men's National Team program and will travel with the team to Argentina.

"With different players stepping up at different times to help us qualify we are going to need different coaches to step up as well," said Jay Triano, Head Coach, Senior Men's National Team. "Roy has been a big part of our program, and with the success this summer he is a natural fit to lead us during the NBA season."

The FIBA AmeriCup 2017 will be played from August 25 to September 3, 2017 and brings together America's best 12 men's national teams.

Canada will be part of Group B in Bahía Blanca, Argentina and will take on the US Virgin Islands on August 27 before facing Argentina and Venezuela to conclude the group phase. The top team in each group will advance to the Final Four of the FIBA AmeriCup 2017. Click here for more information on the FIBA AmeriCup 2017.

"The AmeriCup will be the first building block on our path to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China and our athletes, staff and community are excited to embark on this journey," Rana said.

Following the FIBA AmeriCup 2017, Canada's pursuit of a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 berth will continue with the 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. Each team will compete against the other three teams on a home and away basis with Canada hosting the first game against Bahamas in Halifax, NS on November 24, 2017. Click here for more information on the Americas Qualifiers.

Canada's men are currently ranked 8th in the Americas and 24th globally.