Ryerson's Ammanuel Diressa Makes Senior Men's National Team Roster For FIBA AmeriCup

TORONTO, ON (August 22, 2017) - Canada Basketball's Men's High Performance Program is pleased to announce the final roster for the Senior Men's National Team set to compete at the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 in Argentina.

Head Coach Roy Rana will lead the team for the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 and first two FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers windows (November 2017 and February 2018).  Joining Rana for the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 will be assistant coaches Craig Beaucamp, Jack Sikma, Michael Meeks and Nathaniel Mitchell.

"Following a successful selection camp, we're pleased to announce the players that will represent Canada at the upcoming FIBA AmeriCup 2017 as we begin our journey towards a berth in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019," said Roy Rana, Head Coach. "This tournament is an opportunity for our players to earn some important international experience as we compete for an Americas Championship and beyond.

The team is currently training at the BioSteel Centre (20 British Columbia Rd, Toronto, ON) until Thursday, August 24 and will travel to Bahia Blanca, Argentina for additional training on August 26 prior to the tournament.

"The FIBA AmeriCup 2017 will be a great first step for our program towards our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," said Jay Triano, Senior Men's National Team Program Head Coach. "While we are focused on winning every time we step out on the court, the AmeriCup provides our coaching staff with a valuable opportunity to evaluate our talent pool prior to the start of the qualification process in November."

The FIBA AmeriCup 2017 will be played from August 25 to September 3, 2017 and brings together America's best 12 men's national teams.

Canada will be part of Group B in Bahia Blanca, Argentina and will open the tournament against 59th ranked United States Virgin Islands on Sunday, August 27 at 6:30 PM ET.  The following night, Canada will face the hosts and 6th ranked Argentina before concluding the group phase against 15th ranked Venezuela on Tuesday night.

The top team from each group will advance to the Final Phase, along with Argentina who will automatically qualify as the main organizer of the competition.  The Final Phase will be played in Cordoba (Argentina), where the winners of the semifinals will square off in the title game.

Following the FIBA AmeriCup 2017, Canada's pursuit of a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 berth continues with the Americas Qualifiers where 16 teams will compete for seven World Cup spots. 

Canada will face Bahamas, Dominican Republic and the United States Virgin Islands in Group D.  Each team will compete against the other three teams on a home and away basis with Canada hosting the first game against Bahamas in Halifax, NS on November 24, 2017.

Canada's Senior Men's National team is currently ranked 8th in the Americas and 24th globally.

Training camp is closed to the public.  Media are invited to post-practice scrums on the following dates. Please RSVP to mwalker@basketball.ca.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Tuesday, August 22
2:15 p.m. Gym Opens
2:30 p.m. Availability

Thursday, August 24 (Air Canada Centre)
1:45 p.m. Gym Opens
2:00 p.m. Availability

*All times are EDT and subject to change

2017 SMNT AMERICUP ROSTER

2017 SMNT STAFF LIST

2017 SMNT SCHEDULE

Source: Canada Basketball