Basketball posted Jul 10, 2017 @ 08:10am by Josh Duncan

A historic win: Canadian men win U19 Basketball World Cup for first ever FIBA gold medal

Canada has come a long way in the basketball world over the last few years and it showed on Sunday.

Canada knocked off Italy 79-60 to win gold at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, giving our nation it’s first ever gold medal at a FIBA event.

“I don’t think anything was going to stop us tonight in the championship game. Incredible tournament, like most world championships,” said head coach, Roy Rana. “Incredible moment for our country, for these kids.”

Mississauga’s R.J. Barrett led the way on Sunday with 18 points, 12 reounds and four assists.

Abu Kigab, from St. Catharines, added 12 points and 10 rebounds of his own, while Sackville, Nova Scotia’s Nate Darling picked up 12 points and four rebounds.

Barrett’s performance added to his impressive tournament totals that were good enough to earn him MVP honours.

<who>Photo Credit: Contributed

The gold medal victory on Sunday came just a day after the Canadians upset the U.S.A. in the semi-finals, which was another monumental win for the country’s basketball program.

“It’s unbelievable to be able to say that we’re the best team on the planet at the U19 age level,” Hana added. “It’s hard to express what we’re feeling right now as a group.”

Up next for Canada’s basketball program is the U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Italy later this month.

Send your comments, news tips, typos, letter to the editor, photos and videos to [email protected].