Taryn Todd leads balanced offence as Canada beats Venezuela at U16 Americas

FORMOSA, Argentina — Taryn Todd led a balanced attack as Canada advanced to the semifinals at the 2017 FIBA Americas under-16 championship with an 80-43 win over Venezuela on Friday.

Todd, from Vaughan, Ont., had a team-high 13 points, while Toronto’s Luka Sakota added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Montreal’s Jefferson Koulibaly, Toronto’s Shemar Rathan-Mayes and Matteus Case of Pickering, Ont., chipped in nine points apiece to help Canada book its spot against Puerto Rico in Saturday’s semi.

“We’re happy to be through to the next round and we’ve got some very tough games ahead of us,” said Canada head coach Craig Beaucamp.

“The team seems to be coming together, but obviously our toughest games are ahead.”

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The Canadians led 23-7 after the first quarter and held a 22-point advantage at halftime.

Canada finished round-robin play at the eight-nation tournament first in Pool A with a 3-0 record, with its other victories coming against Paraguay and Argentina. The United States topped Pool B through preliminary play.

“I thought we played well on the defensive end, but we have to play better offence and get ready for the next game,” said Todd. “We’ll have to play good defence against Puerto Rico’s guards.”

The Canadian squad finished with silver at the last FIBA Americas U16 championship in 2015, losing to the U.S. in the final.

The Canadian Press