Canada will open the second round of the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifiers on the road against Panama on Thursday.
Watch Canada vs. Panama LIVE tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on TSN2, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
Thursday will be the first of two Window 4 matchups for Canada, with the second game coming on Monday, Aug. 31 against Argentina at the Centre Vidéotron in Quebec City.
Canada enters this qualification window with a perfect 6-0 record and are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the America Qualifiers, along with Brazil, after home-and-away wins over Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Jamaica.
Panama enters the window at 2-4 and has little room for error if they hope to qualify for the World Cup. They are the lowest-ranked nation in Group F at No. 56, while Canada is the highest at No. 5.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luguentz Dort will lead Canada in Window 4 and will be joined by Kelly Olynyk and Khem Birch.
“We feel that it’ll be a strong group. Our focus is still the same: our plan is to win games and to qualify for the World Cup in 2027,” said Canada Basketball executive vice president and general manager, Rowan Barrett. “There’s some continuity from our earlier windows, with these athletes coming back in, as well as several athletes who were not able to participate in the first window but are ready to do so now.”
Window 4 marks the start of the second round of qualifying for the FIBA World Cup 2027 in Qatar. Canada will play six games - one home, one away - against Argentina (FIBA No. 8, 5-1), Panama and Uruguay (FIBA No. 42, 5-1) over the final three qualifying windows.
The first round consisted of four groups of four, where the top three teams in each group advanced to the second round, which consists of two groups of six. Each first-round result carries forward to the second round.
The top three teams in each group, along with the best fourth-place team, will advance to the 2027 World Cup, which will be held from Aug. 27 to Sept. 12, 2027.
Canada Basketball Window 4 Roster:
Nickeil Alexander-Walker — Toronto, Ont.
Trae Bell-Haynes — Toronto, Ont.
Khem Birch — Montreal, Que.
Marcus Carr — Toronto, Ont.
Luguentz Dort — Montreal, Que.
Mfiondu Kabengele — Burlington, Ont.
Kaza Kajami-Keane — Ajax, Ont.
Koby McEwen — Toronto, Ont.
David Muenkat — Brampton, Ont.
Nick Ongenda — Mississauga, Ont.
Kelly Olynyk — Kamloops, B.C.
Jackson Rowe — Toronto, Ont.
Thomas Scrubb — Richmond, B.C.
Keevan Veinot — Port Williams, N.S.
Kyle Wiltjer — Portland, Oregon
