First loss in worlds qualifying

CARACAS, VENEZUELA— Canada suffered a setback in its bid to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup after dropping an 84-76 decision to Venezuela on Friday.

Venezuela (8-1) took sole possession of qualifying Group F with the win. Canada fell to second place at 7-1, but still looks like a strong contender to ad- vance with two of its final three qualifying games at home.

Jose Vargas paced Venezuela with 15 points. Venezuela had five other scorers in double digits, including: Dwight Lewis (14), Gregory Vargas (13), Jhornan Zamora (12), as well as Gregory Echenique and Nestor Colmenares both with 10.

Kyle Wiltjer led Canada with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting, while Phil Scrubb and Brady Heslip added 16 and 14, respectively. Joel Anthony hauled in 10 rebounds and chipped in 11 points.

Canada, which no longer has NBA players at its disposal for qualifying games, heads to Sao Paolo to face Brazil on Dec. 3. It will play its final two contests in St. John’s, N.L., on Feb. 21versus Chile and Feb. 24 against Venezuela.

After the second round, the three highest-placed teams from each group, and the top fourth-placed team between Group E and Group F qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China, Aug. 31-Sept. 15.