Woeful shooting condemns JamRockerz to second straight defeat

KINGSTON – Jamaica slumped to their second consecutive loss at home in the FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifiers when they went down 97-81 to Canada on Sunday.

Playing at the National Indoor Sports Centre, the JamRockerz produced a forgettable shooting performance, hitting just 34 per cent of their shots from the field (28 of 82 attempts).

Meanwhile, the smoking hot Canadians sank 51 per cent from the field (33 of 65) and a scorching 50 per cent from behind the arc (13 of 26 three-point attempts) on their way to registering a comfortable victory.

Nate Darling gave the visitors a perfect start, connecting on two three-pointers early on, which helped them establish a 27-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.

That advantage increased to as many as 18 points in the ensuing period as Jamaica continued to struggle offensively.

Canada went into the half up 49-36 and by the end of the third quarter, that lead had ballooned to 20 points (78-58).

Jamaica found their best run of form in the final quarter, where they outscored the visitors 23-19, but it was only enough to close the gap to 16 points.

For Canada, Marcus Carr led the way with 17 points, with Kyle Wiltjer, 16, and Kassius Robertson, 15, close behind.

Meanwhile, Tyran De Lattibeaudiere led Jamaica with a game-high 23 points, while Andrew Thelwell, 12, and Chase Adugie, who scored 11 points, provided support.

With the results, Canada remains atop Group B with eight points, having won all four of their games.

Jamaica is currently in second with six points, with two wins and two defeats, while Puerto Rico is in third position with five points, recording one win and three defeats.

Bahamas holds an identical record to Puerto Rico with five points, but Puerto Rico holds the advantage with a better head-to-head record.

Jamaica’s final two games of the Americas Qualifiers will be played on July 3 and July 6.

CMC