Team Canada is two-for-two in women’s basketball at the Summer Olympics in Rio.
Canada, with Vernon’s Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe on the roster, rallied in the final quarter to get past Serbia 71-67 at the Youth Arena Monday morning.
Canada trailed the Serbs 57-45 after three quarters before outscoring their European opponents 26-10 in the final quarter.
It was Raincock-Ekunwe who gave Canada the lead for good with just 71 seconds left in the game. Trailing 67-65, Raincock-Ekunwe hit a jump shot and drained a free throw to put Canada ahead 68-67 with 48 seconds remaining. Miah-Marie Langlois then secured the Canadian win by hitting a three-point shot with eight seconds remaining.
Canada is now 2-0 and tied atop the Group B standings with the gold-medal favourite Americans. Canada plays the U.S. on Friday but, before that game, will face Senegal on Wednesday.
Raincock-Ekunwe led the Kalamalka Lakers to the 2009 B.C. High School Girls AA Basketball championships, then played four years at Simon Fraser University.
In action Monday afternoon on the tennis court, Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil and partner Daniel Nestor of Toronto will face a pair from Portugal in men’s doubles.
The Canadian duo saved two match points in their opening round contest Sunday against a team from New Zealand to win in three sets.
Pospisil lost 6-2, 6-4 to Gael Monfils of France in the opening round of men’s singles action.
