CHARLOTTE AMALIE, United States – Kassius Robertson made eight triples, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also scored 24 points and Canada got an easy 113-67 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday to improve to 6-0 in the standings basketball for the World Cup. .
Robertson and Gilgeous-Alexander each recorded their highest points total in less than 20 minutes of action.
Robertson, who plays at the Obradoiro CAB in Spain, shot 61.5 percent from behind the arc (8 of 13) to count all his goals.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was sitting for most of the second half, had 84.6% efficient shots (11 of 13) from the ground. It was a second big outing in a row for the Oklahoma City Thunder star, who scored 32 points in his senior national team debut, a 20-point victory over the Dominican Republic on Friday in his hometown of ‘Hamilton.
Coach Nick Nurse started his four NBA players: Gilgeous-Alexander, Utah guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dallas striker Dwight Powell and Detroit center Kelly Olynyk, as well as the team’s veteran Canadian Melvin Ejim.
Alexander-Walker had a maximum of seven assists along with 11 points (three triples) and five rebounds, Powell had 15 points on 6 of 7 shots and added six rebounds, and Olynyk had 11 points, five rebounds and four . clothes.
Thomas Scrubb added 13 points and five rebounds from the bench.
Laron Smith led the U.S. Virgin Islands with 14 points.
This was the third of six qualifying windows for the FIBA World Cup. The three finals are from 22 to 30 August, from 7 to 15 November and from 20 to 28 February.
Seven FIBA Americas teams will play in the 2023 World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The 32-team World Cup is a direct knockout for the Paris Olympics.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 4, 2022.