Canada edges Senegal to advance at Olympic basketball qualifier
Will face France or New Zealand in semifinals
Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph again led the way with 13 points as Canada defeated Senegal 58-55 Wednesday to secure a spot in the semifinals of an Olympic men's basketball qualifier in Manila.
Canada finished first in Group A and will face the second-place team in Group B — either France or New Zealand — on Saturday.
The semifinal winners will square off in a winner-take-all game on Sunday for a spot in the Rio Olympics.
Joseph, who topped all scorers with 21 points in Canada's tournament-opening win over Turkey on Tuesday, shot just 4-for-12 from the floor against Senegal but made five of six free throws, including three of four in the final 11 seconds.
Tyler Ennis of the Milwaukee Bucks had 12 points and Melvin Ejim, who plays pro in Italy, added 11 and eight rebounds.
"We've had a mixture of games, we've had some blowouts or close-to-blowouts, and tonight was a close game," said Ennis. "I think it's great for us heading into the next couple games, just having one that was close under the belt and we had to really seal the game at the end."
Joseph had a chance to put the game away after he was fouled with three seconds left but missed one of his two free throws, giving Senegal's Clevin Hannah a chance at a last-second three-point heave to tie the game.
"Cory does a great job of getting into the lane and creating for us offensively, and I thought he was the focus of their defence, and they did a great job disrupting him," said Canadian head coach Jay Triano. "He still made a couple plays when he had to, but they tried to take him away and out of what they do and I give them a lot of credit. That's why the game was so close."
Tyler Ennis scored 12 points for Canada and Melvin Ejim added 11. Tristan Thompson grabbed 10 rebounds while adding seven points.
Maurice Ndour had a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds for Senegal. He hit four of his eight three-point attempts, including one that drew his team within two points of Canada with less than a minute left.
Ndour made only one of his seven two-point attempts as Canada's defence held Senegal to 25 per cent shooting from inside the arc and 28 per cent overall.
Canada held a 36-12 edge on points in the paint.
"It was a great game if you love defence. I thought both teams were very good defensively," Triano said. "It was a very well-fought game and we're fortunate to get the victory."
In Group B action Wednesday, New Zealand defeated the Philippines 89-80.
The loss eliminated the Philippines (0-2) while lifting New Zealand (1-0) into a tie with France (1-0) atop the group heading into their matchup on Thursday.