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TSN Raptors Reporter

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MEXICO CITY - With the score getting out of hand midway through the third quarter, Andrew Wiggins caught the outlet pass, went three-quarters of the court and threw down a vicious slam on an opposing player.

Uncharacteristically, as the mild-mannered 20-year-old braced for landing, he stared down the defender from Uruguay before giving teammate Nik Stauskas a chest bump on the way back to the bench.

"We all love when Wiggs throws down like that," Stauskas said after Canada's 109-82 dismantling of Uruguay on Monday, the team's fifth straight win. "That’s why we love getting out in transition, because we have a lot of guys who can run and jump. Those kinds of play just get us amped up."

If it looks like Wiggins and company are feeling good about themselves, well, that's probably because they are.

Since their disappointing loss to Argentina in the opener, Canada has had little trouble navigating through the FIBA Americas competition. They've outscored their last five opponents by a total of 146 points, or just over 29 per game, but a tougher test awaits them on Tuesday.

Wiggins was standing in the tunnel, just to the right of the court at the Palacio De Los Deportes this past weekend, waiting to be interviewed after one of Canada's game as Mexico, the host team, took the floor. 

A big smile on his face, the star forward marvelled at the atmosphere in the arena. It was electric, erupting with defending noise, as it had been in each of Mexico's previous games. The interview had to be cut short.

The reigning NBA rookie of the year has played in hostile environments before, both in college with Kansas and as a member of the Timberwolves last season. However, this will be his first experience taking on the crowd in an international setting and, as many veterans of FIBA ball would tell you, it's a completely different animal.

"Every time in the international game you play a team in their home country, it’s loud," said head coach Jay Triano. "It’s an environment you don’t really see too often in North America. We’re excited for the opportunity. We’ve had an opportunity to grow as a team. I don’t know if the timing could be better for us right now to have another challenge put in front of us." 

"It’s going to be playing not just against the 12 people from Mexico, but playing against the whole country."

The Canadians got a small taste of it in San Juan, when they played hosting Puerto Rico in their final tuneup contest, a game that turned out to be their most competitive of the tournament. While Mexico has proven themselves formidable as a team at the FIBA Americas, the crowd will add another element to Tuesday night's showdown.

“I think it will be a great atmosphere tomorrow," Wiggins said. "I think a lot of guys might be used to all of the fans. We play in different leagues, whether it’s in the NBA or it’s in Europe. We’ve just got to play through the home crowd."

"It’s going to be fun," Stauskas added. "It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know everybody’s looking forward to it. Everybody’s going to be amped up. There’s going to be a lot of energy in this building. As basketball players, that's what we live for.”

"I feel like big crowds, the crazy fans, that gets a lot of people going," Wiggins continued. "That gets me going. That gets my motivated."

Without facing much competition of late, Canada hasn't had much difficulty staying motivated. They owe much of their recent success to their depth, something that was on display again Monday evening.

When Kelly Olynyk went to the bench in early foul trouble, Melvin Ejim took his place in the lineup and turned in his best performance of the tournament. The same could be said for Andrew Nicholson, a disappointment through five games, who also saw increased playing time as a result of Olynyk's foul trouble and Dwight Powell working his way back from injury.

Ejim scored nine of his 11 points in the opening quarter, while Nicholson finished the game with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with six assists in just 17 minutes of action.

"We have a lot of depth," said Stauskas, one of seven Canadians to score in double digits. "Coach always talks about if one guy goes down, next guy up. That’s the mentality each guy on this team has, everyone’s been ready."

"Look at tonight," he continued. "You see the scoring, it’s balanced, we have like seven guys in double figures and nobody’s really getting worn out, everyone’s playing balanced minutes and the ball’s moving all the time, there’s not one guy who’s really dominating."