Canada’s Junior men’s national basketball team came up just short in their quest for a Gold Medal at 2012 U18 FIBA Americas Championships, bowing out to Brazil 66-62 in the second semi-final.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes had the hot hand for Team Canada pouring in a game-high 21 points including 3-of-9 from downtown.
Andrew Wiggins played well in stretches, specially down the wire, and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tournament MVP candidate Trey Lyles came up one-point shy of his fourth straight double-double with 9 points, 15 rebounds.
Brazil’s Deryk Ramos torched Canada with 18 smooth points including the final nail in the coffin, a three-point bomb with one minute left in the game to stretch the lead to 65-60 after Canada cut the margin to just two points.
Lucas Dias Silva, a 16-year-old center carved up Canada on the inside and outside with an impressive 15 points and 9 rebound effort. The Brazilian youngster stretched the defense and knocked down 3-of-4 shots from three-point range.
Team Canada will now play Argentina for the Bronze Medal. The USA and Brazil will meet in the Finals.
