The National Basketball Association is for pay, big time. Giving up a good portion of your summer in the off-season to don the sa国际传媒 jersey is for a whole other reason.
“Ultimately, it’s defend the country, defend the land, in front of our home crowd,” said Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Utah Jazz.
sa国际传媒 will play world No. 7 Argentina on Thursday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in the opening game of the second round of Americas qualifying for the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, from which the top seven teams will advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Both are huge opportunities, to be on a club team, and to also represent your country. It’s very important for me to be representing the national team. It hits a little differently because this is where you’re from. There’s family and friends behind it,” said Alexander Walker, one of six NBA players who will suit up on Blanshard Street for the key qualifying game.
“You’re representing your country and your nation. You can’t take any opportunity like that for granted.”
NBA players joining Alexander-Walker on the Canadian team for Thursday’s qualifying game are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kelly Olynyk and Cory Joseph of the Detroit Pistons, Oshae Brissett of the Indiana Pacers and Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks. Also named is seven-foot-four Purdue Boilermakers NCAA star forward Zach Edey, the tallest player in Big Ten history.
The moment will be especially emotive for Olynyk, who hails from Kamloops.
“It’s awesome, it’s always great to play at home in front of family and friends,” said Olynyk, following the Team sa国际传媒 practice Tuesday at CARSA gym on the University of Victoria campus.
“To play in sa国际传媒 is huge. But to play in your home province, where everybody can watch and can see you in person representing sa国际传媒, doesn’t happen very often in my career so it’s always special when it does. sa国际传媒 has given me a lot of opportunities to be where I am in life and to be able to live out my dreams. So to be able to come back and [represent] is special.”
sa国际传媒 is the only undefeated team in the Americas, going 6-0 in the first round of World Cup qualifying. sa国际传媒 is in Group E for the second round with Argentina (5-1), Venezuela (5-1), Dominican Republic (4-2), Panama (2-4) and Bahamas (2-4).
Group F is also made up of six Americas teams. The top three in each group, and the top fourth-place finisher, will advance to the FIBA World Cup from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, 2023, in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
There are no more minnows in the second round of qualifying. It gets serious very quickly Thursday on Blanshard Street against world top-10 Argentina, the 2004 Athens Olympic champion and 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medallist.
“Their history and pedigree speaks for itself,” said sa国际传媒 head coach Nick Nurse, also head coach in the NBA of the Toronto Raptors.
“This is a challenge for us. Argentina is experienced. Most of their guys have been with the national team for a number of years. They have been together a long time. They are a well-oiled machine. They are a successful machine. We are going to have to play really well.”
Then it’s a quick turnaround to Central America for sa国际传媒’s next qualifying game on Monday in Panama.
“All of us travel for our jobs [in the NBA and European pro leagues]. It’s about being professional and taking care of your body,” said Alexander-Walker.
Tickets for the sa国际传媒-Argentina World Cup qualifying game Thursday are through Select Your Tickets.
HOOPS NOTES: Nurse is getting to know Victoria well as the national team returns to the Memorial Centre following last year’s Tokyo Olympic qualifying tournament. Nurse was assistant coach of the Raptors when they held their training camp in Victoria in 2017 and the Raptors will return to CARSA gym at UVic for their 2022 NBA training camp next month. It’s almost getting to the point where the locals ask Nurse for directions around town.
“We always like coming out here. We get treated very well and the facilities are great,” he said. “We’re pretty comfortable here now and know our way around and know just about every place to play basketball in town and are happy to be here.”
