Men’s and Women’s National Teams (DMNT/DWNT) that will be competing at the
Summer Universiade in Belgrade,
Serbia July
1-12. Winnipeg native and River East Collegiate grad Chris Dyck has been named a member of the men's team. Hosted by the International University
Sports Federation (FISU), this year marks the 25th
edition of the Summer Universiade, the
second largest multi-sport games in the world after the Olympic Games. For the full rosters and game schedules...
Universiade, said Wayne Parrish, Canada Basketball’s Executive Director and
CEO. “Not only is this great for our players’ development, but it’s exciting
for our country. Team Canada a long
tradition with this event, and we are looking forward to continuing success on
the courts in 2009. We encourage
basketball fans across the country to get behind these players and support our
teams throughout the next few weeks.”
Canada’s
development teams are comprised of young athletes currently attending
university, either in the CIS or NCAA.
The DMNT features three players with international experience including
6’4” guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe, from Toronto, ON and 6’9” forward Ross Bekkering, from Taber, AB. Both players participated in the 2007 FISU
Games in Thailand, helping lead
Team Canada to a bronze
medal by defeating Japan. Toronto’s
Boris Bakovic joins the DMNT, after playing with the 2007 Junior Men’s National
Team that competed in the FIBA U19 World Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia.
“I am very
pleased with our team this year, said DMNT Head Coach, Chris O’Rourke. “We have quite a deep roster from one through
twelve, with a lot of interchangeable parts that will hopefully pay off for us
over the course of the tournament.”
The DMNT has been training in Hamilton,
ON since mid-June and will travel to Belgrade in advance of the tournament to play a series of
exhibition games against USA,
Russia and Serbia.
O’Rourke is looking forward to seeing his team perform
in international game situations. “These are three high calibre countries that
we are playing, and a great indicator of where we stand and where we need to
get to for the actual tournament. I am
very confident that Canada
will do well in the preliminaries and our goal is to medal like we did two
years ago.”
The DWNT features an impressive mix of young talent, 11 of whom competed
for either CIS or NCAA Division 1 programs this past season. Included on the
squad are National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) alumni Kalisha Keane, a 6’1
guard/forward from Ajax, ON
and Vanessa Kabongo, a 5’9” guard from Toronto,
ON. Returning to the 20089 DWNT is 6’2” forward
Marie-Michelle Genois from Laval
University.
Keane, a sophomore forward at
Michigan State University,
set the record for most points scored as a freshman with 460 and was named
MSU’s Co-Player of the Year in 2008. A
national team alum, Keane has played for Canada on the Junior and U21
teams. As she develops along the
national elite pathway, she is sure to play an integral role on the team this
summer.
The Canadian
team also features six 2008-09 CIS all-Canadians and will look to improve on a
seventh-place finish at the 2007 University Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
“We have a nice mix of talented CIS players in
addition to some very good players from the NCAA,” said DWNT Co-Head Coach Deb
Huband from the University of British Columbia, who will split the head coaching
duties with Laval
University’s Linda
Marquis. “For some this will be their first time representing Canada, while
others have come up through the age group development programs to get to this
point.”
Attached are the full rosters and preliminary FISU games schedules for
both the 2009 Canadian DMNT and DWNT. To
follow the event and Team Canada, visit www.universiade-belgrade2009.org/ or www.basketball.ca.
-30-
Canada Basketball (www.basketball.ca) is a private, not-for-profit
corporation that is committed to the growth of the sport in Canada. Just as important, Canada
Basketball is focused on the development and preparation of Canada’s
national teams for the Olympic; Pan American and FISU Games as well as the
World Championships. The aspiration of Canada
Basketball is to instill the pride, commitment, passion and respect that
Canadians personify into the development of basketball across the country and internationally.
The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes
place every two years, and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of
participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors
between the ages of 17 and 28 in the year of the Games who are full-time
students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have
graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.
Canadian
Interuniversity Sport
is the national governing body of university sport in Canada.
Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21
national championships in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high
performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter
and Summer Universiades, and 32 World
University Championships.
For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca
For
more information please contact:
Tanya Phillipps
Manager, Marketing &Communications
Canada
Basketball
Tel: 416.614.8037 x 219
e-mail: tphillipps@basketball.ca
Website: www.basketball.ca
2009 DEVELOPMENT MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM OFFICIAL ROSTER
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2009 DEVELOPMENT MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM STAFF
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2009 DEVELOPMENT MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM PRELIMINARY COMPETITION SCHEDULE
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2009 DEVELOPMENT WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM OFFICIAL ROSTER
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2009 DEVELOPMENT WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM STAFF
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2009 DEVELOPMENT WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM PRELIMINARY COMPETITION SCHEDULE
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