Team Canada overcame all odds and won the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament with an 82-66 win over Cuba, in Edmonton on Sunday night.
As the clock ran down, the nearly sold out Saville Centre raised to its feet and chanted “Rio, Rio, Rio” in support of the Olympic-bound women’s basketball team.
The tournament win caught basketball fans across the world by surprise, and is bringing new spotlight to Canadian basketball. People on social media described it as Canadian Basketball’s “hello, world” moment.
“There is something to winning this tournament, to being the gold medallists, to being the winner of the FIBA Americas. We’ve talked about it a lot, now we get to be in the conversation with some of the top teams in the world. We’ve shown we should be in that conversation.”
The team was led by two young guards, Kia Nurse, and Miah-Marie Langlois, who put the squad on their back and helped push a 16-0 run to help the team come out on top. The duo also look to be a promising force in the programs future.
Team Canada will now advance to Rio 2016, and have just over a year to prepare for the world stage.
Image via FIBA
