TORONTO 鈥� When two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Victoria lit the flame to start the 2015 Pan American Games two weeks ago, he was also symbolically passing the torch in another way.
Nash grew up watching a western-dominated Canadian national basketball team that made it to the semifinals of the 1984 L.A. Olympics and sixth place at the 1988 Seoul Olympics with players such as Eli Pasquale, Gerald Kazanowski and Greg Wiltjer from the University of Victoria Vikes, Jay Triano from SFU, Howard Kelsey from Vancouver and Karl Tilleman from Calgary.
The mix began changing when Nash captained sa国际传媒 for a decade, including to the quarter-finals of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Now, as GM of the Canadian national team, Nash guides a team that is dominated by players from the Greater Toronto Area, with an astonishing eight first-round NBA draft picks coming out of the GTA since 2011.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the population and talent pool [in the GTA],鈥� said Nash.
鈥淭hey have the resources and human potential.鈥�
It is being called the Golden Generation. Only a part of it is represented at the Pan Am Games, with all hands on deck required later this summer in the Americas qualifier for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Monterrey, Mexico.
This is a definite 鈥楤鈥� Canadian team being fielded for the Pan Am Games with the only NBA players being Anthony Bennett, Andrew Nicholson and Sim Bhullar. But the Canadian program showed its depth by qualifying for the gold-medal game today against Brazil following Friday night鈥檚 nerve-jangling 111-108 semifinal overtime victory against the U.S. at the packed Ryerson Athletic Centre, which is the former Maple Leaf Gardens.
鈥淚t was very exciting . . . I need a beer,鈥� quipped Nash, after the OT thriller. 鈥淲e came out with the right frame of mind and were not awed by the opponent, and we showed a lot of guts at the end. I鈥檓 just so proud of the guys. It鈥檚 a memory 鈥� a special performance by our team. The players kept stepping up. We played 11 guys and that says a lot.鈥�
The U.S. sent far less than even its 鈥楤鈥� team 鈥� a collection of former NBA players-turned-overseas pros and some NCAA collegiate stars 鈥� but that doesn鈥檛 lessen the Canadian achievement here, with Nash literally a hands-on GM. The St. Michaels University School grad and retired NBA great comes out for warm-ups and shags balls for the players during pre-game shoot-around.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not creating any illusions 鈥� it鈥檚 going to be incredibly tough for us to qualify for the Olympics 鈥� we鈥檙e not the chosen ones,鈥� said the former Arbutus Junior High star, tamping the building Golden Generation hype.
Among the Canadian players at the Pan Am Games is Kyle Wiltjer, the son of Parkland-grad, Olympian and former UVic CIS-champion Greg Wiltjer. Born in Portland, Kyle is a dual citizen who plays collegiately for NCAA powerhouse Gonzaga, whose head coach Mark Few is coaching the U.S. Pan Am Games team here.
At other Games venues Friday, Maddie Secco of Victoria and University of Victoria Vikes products Kaitlyn Williams, Thea Culley and Danielle Hennig defeated Chile 1-0 for the bronze medal in women鈥檚 field hockey but Emma Fletcher of Victoria and her Canadian women鈥檚 soccer teammates lost 2-0 to Mexico in their bronze-medal game.
Fred Winters of Victoria will play for bronze Sunday in men鈥檚 volleyball after sa国际传媒 lost 3-1 against Argentina in the semifinals on Friday.
The more than 50 Island athletes in these Games have won 18 medals, including 13 golds, in events across several sports over 14 days of competition.
The Island presence in the Toronto Pan Am Games concludes with legitimate medal opportunities in track and field today for Olympians and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze-medallists Cam Levins of Black Creek in the 5,000 metres and Mike Mason of Nanoose Bay in the high jump.
