Brady Heslip leads well-balanced offence, Canada beats Chile 85-46

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Brady Heslip had a team-high 14 points and Kyle Wiltjer added 12 points and 14 rebounds as Canada downed Chile 85-46 on Thursday in a FIBA World Cup qualifier.

Melvin Ejim chipped in 12 points for a Canadian squad that had all 12 players see at least eight minutes of court time in a matchup at Mile One Centre.

Canada held a 13-point lead at the break before starting to pull away in the third quarter, doubling its advantage to 26 heading into the fourth.

“In the first half we just weren’t as intense as we needed to be. We didn’t play with enough energy so coach (Roy Rana) just reminded the guys that you only get so many opportunities to play in front of Canadian fans,” said Heslip. “We just came out with a big second half and took care of business.”

Canada, which improved to 9-2 in World Cup qualifying, has already locked up its World Cup berth and has one more game on Sunday when it hosts Venezuela.

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The Canadians clinched their spot in early December with a 94-67 rout in Brazil.

Canada’s last World Cup appearance was in 2010 in Turkey, coming away with an 0-5 record and first-round exit. The Canadian men haven’t made an Olympic appearance since 2000 in Sydney.

The World Cup, a main qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, starts Aug. 31 in China. 

The Canadian Press