Ejim leads Canada to win over Puerto Rico

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Team Canada’s Senior Men squad beat Puerto Rico 97-91 to cap off their Italian exhibition tour with a 4-1 record. 

The Red and White was led by a stellar performance from Toronto’s Melvin Ejim, who tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds, while knocking down three from distance. Brady Heslip added 20 points to go with four assists and four boards. NBA’ers Cory Joseph and Tyler Ennis each dished out five assists.

Canada’s started the game with Anthony Bennett, Melvin Ejim, Tyler Ennis, Brady Heslip and Thomas Scrubb on the court. 

Both teams were on fire from beyond the arc, with Canada shooting 13/26 and Puerto Rico going 8/17. Heslip led the Canadians with four three-pointers, followed by Ejim and Scrubb with three apiece. 

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Canada started the game off slowly, trailing 31-29 after the first quarter, but climbed back at half after a 15-8 run to take a slim 56-49 lead going into half. The SMNT stretched its lead to 77-68 through three quarters, then let it slip as Puerto Rico scraped back to within one point with five minutes to play.

The SMNT now heads to Manila, Philippines, for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament which begins Tuesday when Canada plays Turkey at 6am EST. 

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