Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — It was a low-scoring, grind it out victory, but Canada got it done.
The Canadians secured their berth in the semifinals after outlasting Senegal, 58-55, in the group phase of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) Wednesday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Cory Joseph paced Canada with 13, while Tyler Ennis and Melvin Ejim chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Canada grabbed their biggest share of the lead at the end of second quarter, 33-26, on the back of a 9-0 scoring run.
But the Senegalese players refused to go down easily.
The Filipino crowd got behind Senegal as they fashioned a late fightback to bring the game within 50-51 through an Maleye Ndoye trey in the dying minutes of the fourth period.
The Canadians were able to hold off the Senegal rally through steady free throw shooting, but found themselves having to defend their lead to the very last possession.
With 3.9 ticks left on the clock, Senegal could not fashion the game-tying shot as Canada secured the top spot of Group A.
Maurice Ndour led Senegal with 16 points, while Serigne Gueye contributed 13 of his own.
After the game, former KIA import and Senegal center Hamady Ndiaye admitted that it was a pleasure to hear the Filipino fans cheer for his country.
“For the Filipino fans to cheer for us was amazing,” admitted Ndiaye.
Ndiaye and the rest of Senegal will hope to book their first win of the tournament when they take on Turkey tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena.
