Ruth Hamblin leads Canada to opening win over Cuba at FIBA women’s AmeriCup

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Ruth Hamblin scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Canada opened the FIBA women’s AmeriCup with an 81-35 victory over Cuba on Sunday. 

Nirra Fields had a game-high 18 points and added five rebounds and three assists for the Canadians, who are the tournament’s defending champions. The event used to be called the FIBA Americas, which Canada won in 2015 in Edmonton to qualify for last summer’s Rio Olympics.

“Great to get the first game under our belt against a traditionally tough opponent in Cuba,” said head coach Lisa Thomaidis. “There were a lot of question marks coming into the tournament in terms of our style of play and how we would integrate some new players. I think we passed our first test.”

The top three teams from the FIBA women’s AmeriCup will qualify for the 2018 FIBA women’s basketball World Cup in Spain.