NBA·Recap

Canadian men's basketball team beats Croatia in exhibition

Canada's national men's basketball team got its five-game exhibition tour of Europe off to a successful start with a 91-80 win over Croatia on Monday.

Tour is a tune-up to final Olympic qualifying tournament in July

Coach Jay Triano and Canada's national men's basketball team, pictured during last summer's Pan Am Games in Toronto, are in the midst of an exhibition tour in advance of next month's final qualification tournament for the Rio Olympics. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Canada's national men's basketball team got its five-game exhibition tour of Europe off to a successful start with a 91-80 win over Croatia on Monday.

"I thought we played well for our first game, it was nice to get a win against a very good team on their court," head coach Jay Triano said. "We need to use this time in Europe to get better."

The tour is a tune-up to the final Olympic qualification tournament, July 4-10, in the Philippines. 

Phil Scrubb was the top scorer for Canada, which led after each quarter. The margin was 27-21 through 10 minutes, 45-40 at halftime, and 67-60 heading to the final period.

Next up on the European tour is a rematch against Croatia on Thursday.

Basketball sent out this picture during the game: