Ridley Tigers earn their stripes at training camp
Rooting interest won’t just be national when Canada tips off the FIBA U18 Amercias Championship 2018 Sunday in St. Catharines.
With two Ridley College players in the Canadian lineup, cheering will also be regional and local in the 2:15 p.m. preliminaryround game against Argentina at Meridian Centre.
Jaden Bediako, a 6-foot-11 centre, made the cut when the final roster was announced Thursday as did younger brother Charles, a 6-foot-9 forward.
The Brampton natives were among four student athletes who lived at the St. Catharines boarding school during the academic year invited to try out for Canada. Malcolm Bailey, 6-foot-8 forward, Stratford; and Noah Wharton, 6-foot guard, Brampton; also were selected to compete for roster spots after playing high school hoops for the Ridley Tigers.
In all, 17 players auditioned at a training camp held in Ottawa, with the final roster of 12 chosen by a coaching staff headed by Carleton University.
Smart, who led the Ravens to 12 Canadian men’s university championships, will be assisted at the eight-team tournament by Michael Meeks of Canada Basketball, Jamie McNeilly of Virginia Tech and Chris Cheng of Nipissing University in North Bay.
Canada enters the seven-day tournament in St. Catharines ranked second to the U.S. in the International Amateur Basketball Federation (FIBA) men’s under-18 rankings.
Preliminary- and medal-round action all takes place at Meridian Centre, starting with four games Sunday: Chile-Ecuador, noon; Argentina-Canada, 2:15 p.m.; Dominican Republic-U.S., 6 p.m.; Panama-Puerto Rico, 8:15 p.m.
Four games are also on tap Monday: Canada-Ecuador, 11:30 a.m.; Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic, 2:15 p.m.; Argentina-Chile, 6 p.m.; U.S.-Panama, 8:15 p.m.
Group play wraps up Tuesday with four games: Ecuador-Argentina, noon; Dominican Republic, 2:15 p.m.; Puerto Rico-U.S., 6 p.m.; Chile-Canada, 8:15 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca/FIBAChampionship-tickets.
Host Canada is grouped with Argentina, Chile and Ecuador, with the U.S., Dominican Republic, Panama and Puerto Rico making up the other group.
Winner advances to represent the Americas at the world under-19 championships. Time and place of that competition has still to be determined.
Last summer in Cairo, Egypt, Canada made history by capturing its first-ever gold medal at the men’s under-19 worlds.
Canada received key contributions from 2017 St. Catharines athlete of the year Abu Kigab en route to the top step of the podium.
Kigab played at St. Francis Catholic Secondary School before going to Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, Calif. The 6-foot-6 forward is completing his freshman year at the University of Oregon on a basketball scholarship.
Canada Basketball has partnered with the 2021 Canada Summer Games Host Society, along with the City of St. Catharines, to bring the FIBA qualifier to the region.