Joseph points Canada to victory
MEXICO CITY— There is a large measure of perfectionist in Cory Joseph. It’s hard to imagine him ever being satisfied after a basketball game, no matter how good he has been or how well he has run his team.
It was not surprising, then, that he gave only a nodding acceptance to the fact he was just this side of brilliant as Canada won a significant FIBA Americas championship game here Thursday night.
The Raptor point guard’s line was outstanding — 10 points, five assists, seven rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal — as Canada rolled to an 82-62 win over Venezuela and there stood Joseph, almost grudgingly accepting accolades.
“It’s coming along,” he said of his game. “It’s still not fully there yet.”
His teammates and coaches and anyone who watched the game would disagree.
Joseph set the tone right off the bat, driving Canada to a 10-point first quarter lead and never letting up.
He made shots and plays with equal aplomb and provided the leadership so necessary to a young team.
“Cory was very good,” coach Jay Triano said. “I thought he controlled the game. When he needed to step up, he did. When we were struggling, he took over.”
Joseph is a huge key for Canada, who will now carry at least one win into the second round of the tournament that begins next week, and own a tiebreaker advantage over Venezuela.
The games are going to get more intense with more on the line as the tournament progresses, and leadership from the point guard and team captain is essential.
Joseph is also one of the Canadians with a modicum of international experience and that will be vital as well.
Thursday was a significant game in the grand scheme of the tournament, and the fact Joseph played as well as he did had to make everyone connected with the team breath a bit easier.
“Cory stepped up, Cory played really well,” Kelly Olynyk said. “Not only getting out with the ball, he found stuff for himself and kept the defence honest with his own shot. That’s something we need from him going forward to make a run here.”
Joseph is known as an above-average defender and that’s what is going to carry him through the tournament primarily. A 4-for-8 night from the floor is a bonus, both for Joseph and his teammates.
“He’s got a lot of mouths to feed and he has to keep the defence honest himself,” Olynyk said. ”Right now, that’s something point guards have got to do and we trust him to do that.
The win did not come without a cost, though. Impressive forward Dwight Powell, who had played himself into a significant role, was hammered to the floor on a drive to the basket in the second quarter and did not return.
Triano said it was an elbow issue and there was no word on the severity of the injury. It was part of a rough-and-tumble second quarter when Venezuela was hit with three “unsportsmanlike” fouls, which are the FIBA equivalent of NBA Flagrant 1 fouls.
“We were fired up anyway, but that keeps it that way,” Olynyk said. “Obviously we have to keep a level head, we can’t retaliate because, for us, one mistake and we lose a guy for the tournament.
“As tough as it is, we have to keep a level head.”