Music: {allcanada} Canada drops decision to Puerto Rico

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

{allcanada} Canada drops decision to Puerto Rico

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MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina -- Canada's hopes of qualifying for the London Olympics were all but dashed Tuesday after a 79-74 loss to Puerto Rico at the FIBA Olympic Americas qualifying tournament.

Canada fell to 0-2 in the second round and needs to win its two remaining games and get some help from other teams to have a shot of reaching a second-chance Olympic qualifier next summer.

Veteran NBA guard Carlos Arroyo led all players with 26 points. Andy Rautins was the top Canadian scorer with 18 points.

Canada trailed by 15 after three quarters but fought back to tie the game 67-67 with about six minutes left to play. However, Arroyo hit five straight points after a timeout and Puerto Rico never relinquished the lead.

Canada was coming off a 77-53 loss to Argentina on Monday and will next play Uruguay on Wednesday. Canada is 1-4 overall at the tournament.

The top two finishers earn automatic berths to the 2012 London Games. The third- through fifth-place teams will play in the second-chance qualifier to determine the final three Olympic entries.

Alex Galindo scored 13 points for Puerto Rico and J.J. Barea added 11 points and a team-high six assists.

Carl English had 13 points for the Canadians, who had a 35-29 edge in rebounds. Canadian centre Joel Anthony was limited to just six minutes because of an ankle injury.

Canada hasn't qualified for the Olympics since the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.