Scrubb brothers added to Canadian roster for Rio Olympics qualifier
Former Carleton University basketball stars Philip and Thomas Scrubb have been officially named to the roster of the Canadian men’s team for the six-team Olympic qualifying tournament that starts Monday in Manila.
The Scrubb brothers, whose last Canadian Interuniversity Sport season was 2014-15, finished this past season playing professionally in Europe.
Philip Scrubb averaged 12.7 points per game for the Fraport Skyliners in Germany, while Thomas Scrubb averaged 14.1 points for the Kataja club in Finland. He has since been signed by the Giessen 46ers, another German squad.
Both have been part of the Canadian men’s program in recent years.
Also on the 12-man roster trying to earn the last remaining berth in the men’s basketball competition of the Rio Summer Games in August were five players who were in the NBA in 2015-16: Detroit’s Joel Anthony, Toronto’s Anthony Bennett and Cory Joseph, Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson and Milwaukee’s Tyler Ennis.
The remainder of the roster includes international-league pros Levon Kendall, Brady Heslip, Melvin Ejim and Khem Birch, plus U.S. prep school player Shai Alexander, a 6-foot-4 guard from Hamilton.
Carleton head coach Dave Smart will be one of three assistants to head coach Jay Triano.
“Our goal is to qualify for the Olympics,” Triano, the Canadian team’s head coach, said in a media release from Canada Basketball. “We are focused on one practice at a time and one game at a time.”
The Canadian squad recently won four of five contests in a European tournament before travelling to the Philippines for the Olympic qualifier.
Canada will be in a three-team, round robin group with Turkey and Senegal, with the top two squads advancing to the knockout stage against two survivors from the other group. Only the eventual champion will qualify for the Olympic tournament in August.