Canada remains undefeated in FIBA men's World Cup qualifying with rout of Panama

PANAMA CITY — Canada's men's basketball team remains undefeated in World Cup qualifying with a 106-50 rout of Panama on Monday.

Detroit Pistons forward Kelly Olynyk scored 18 points, while Kevin Pangos added 17 and the Canadians, the only unbeaten team in the Americas zone, improved to 8-0, and all but locked down their spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Melvin Ejim added 15 points, Zach Edey chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Kassius Robertson finished with 11.

Jhivvan Jameel Jackson Melendez had 16 points to top the Panamians.

Canada took the floor Monday already a step closer to qualifying, thanks to Venezuela's 76-72 win over the Dominican Republic earlier in the night. The Canadians then needed both to beat Panama and the Bahamas to upset Argentina in the late game. While they beat Panama, the Bahamas couldn't beat Argentina, losing 95-77.

The Canadians were coming off a 99-87 win over Argentina on Thursday in Victoria, their toughest qualifying test so far.

They established their dominance early Monday, racing out to a 16-0 lead before Panama finally got on the scoreboard with 5:56 to play in the first quarter. Canada's smothering defence held Panama to 3-for-16 shooting, and forced five turnovers. The Canadians took a 33-7 lead into the second.

Score differential counts in FIBA tiebreaks and so there was no letup by Canada in the second quarter. Pangos' three-pointer 50 seconds before the break gave the Canadians a 42-point lead.

Edward Lopez's buzzer-beater from beyond half court gave the Panamanian fans in Arena Roberto Duran something to cheer about, and sliced Canada's lead to 64-25 heading into halftime.

The Canadians continued to build their lead, and were up 92-36 with one quarter to