Canadians rise up Down Under

TORONTO • Canada’s third World Cup tune-up was its best one yet.

The men’s national team routed host Australia 9070 in Perth on Friday after previously splitting a pair at home against Nigeria.

Adjusting to the time zone wasn’t an issue for the Canadians, who got 18 points from Kevin Pangos and 12, along with 10 rebounds, from fellow point guard Andrew Nembhard and another 12 from Kaza Kajami-Keane. Pangos also added six assists and four steals in the first of five games in Australia before next month’s Olympic qualifier in China.

Though many NBAers have not shown up or withdrawn early, Canada showed that it should still be a competitive squad. “It’s nice to see our guys play pretty good team basketball since we haven’t been together very long,” head coach Nick Nurse said in a news release.

Canada led the whole way against Australia, who it will also face in China because they are in the same pool. The Aussies don’t have NBA allstar Ben Simmons, but still boast five NBAers, including San Antonio guard Patty Mills, who scored 20 points.

Canada led by 10 at halftime thanks in large part to poor shooting by the home side (3-for-15 on three-point attempts).

“A group like this, when we’re playing hard like that, it makes up for a lot of mistakes,” Pangos said. “That’s what Coach has been preaching a lot. Play hard and aggressive. Play with confidence. I think we did a good job of that tonight.”

Canada closed the game on a 19-4 run and the teams will square off again on Saturday.

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