Canada 80, Venezuela 73

August 23, 2007 � Las Vegas, Nevada

In a back-and-forth affair in which the lead never crept above seven points, it was Samuel Dalembert�s conversion of a layup in traffic and the free throw to boot with 1:32 remaining that put Canada up to stay, as they held off Venezuela 80-73.

The 6�11�� Dalembert tallied a team-best 18 points and added eight rebounds and five blocks for Canada, which now stands at 1-1 in tournament play. Venezuela, which dropped to 0-2, got 23 points in defeat from Orlando Romero.

Holding a 74-73 lead with just under 40 seconds remaining, Jermaine Anderson buried a jumper from the top of the key to stretch the Canadian lead to 76-73. After Venezuela couldn�t convert at the other end, Anderson was fouled with 12.8 seconds remaining and connected on both free throws to put the game out of reach.

CANADA HEAD COACH � LEO RAUTINS
From about the four minute mark, Sam just took the game over, is that what you expected?
Sam is a tremendous player. People have to understand that this is Sam's first real international experience. He is adjusting to the game, he's adjusting to the referees, he's adjusting to his new teammates. It doesn't happen over night but I think he's been doing a great job and as he gets more comfortable we get to see a lot more of what he does.

Hector Romero seemed to give you some match up problems:
He's a very good player; I have been a very big fan of his for a long time. I first saw him a couple of years ago, he's physical, he gives it to you at both ends of the court, takes advantage of any opportunity he can get. He really sets the tone for the team.

Can you update us on Andy [Rautins]? Did he tear his ACL? How long will he be out?
We got the results this after noon. The ACL was severed, the medial collateral is partially torn but there was no other structural damage or cartilage damage which is a good thing. So for a bad injury he came out pretty good. As far as everything else, we're not sure yet, when or where the surgery will be.

SAMUAL DALEMBERT, CANADA
You really stepped up offensively today; can you explain to us how you were able too?
I think we had good balance, in and out from the get go. We wanted to establish our offense inside first and then go out. I think we did a good job from that point on. [Leo Rautins responds] I will take responsibility for that. We need to do a better job of getting the ball to Sam early.

Down the stretch it seemed you were able to get the position you wanted even more than the early parts of the game. Were you doing something different?
We have a great coaching staff, they keep talking to you. They come from the bench to tell you to try this, try that. From that point on I just went in and tried to take the position inside and that the end of the game I ended up having a better position inside than I did at the beginning of the game.

VENEZUELA HEAD COACH � NESTOR SALAZAR
Once again your team played very hard, very determined. Was it a matter of experience in the final outcome?
I said it yesterday � Venezuela is a young team. This is our first international competition and we have seven or eight new players. This was my fear once we got into the flow � the anxiety is what causes us to make mistakes. I think we lived that today � we paid the price of being rookies.

Are there any changes to the starting five that you plan to make before facing Brazil and the Virgin Islands?
No, not really, this is our starting five. We know that Heberth is not an offensive player, he's a defensive player. Our game in Venezuela hurts us so much here, that every movement that Heberth does is a foul. So at a certain point, he loses the necessary confidence to defend. So we have to make some adjustments and work with him so that he can learn to play in this environment.

You talked about the problems in the paint � what will you do differently for tomorrow when you play against Nene and Tiago Splitter?
We have to work on our offensive blocks. We tend to focus on the defensive block, but not the offensive. It's not only about the big men, it's about a collective effort where we all participate.

HECTOR ROMERO, VENEZUELA
Can you talk about the one on one match up between you and Sam Dalembert?
I know he's a lot bigger than me, but I also know I'm a lot quicker than him. So every he got me, I tried to space him out and take him outside the three-point line and try to drive him there. I just try to use my quickness, but he's a good defensive player. He was also good on offense today because he's a lot taller than we are. I think it'd be tougher if we had tall players like him, we'd be a lot better.

How does he compare defensively to the American big men?
The difference is that for Canada, their defense is built around Dalembert. In the U.S., they are physical and they are bigger two. They have several big guys so they push the ball around.