MEXICO CITY -- Andrew Wiggins and Nik Stauskas each had 15 points to lead Canada to a 101-59 rout of Cuba on Wednesday at the FIBA Americas men's basketball championship.
A day after losing their tournament opener to Argentina, the Canadians came back with a complete team effort to book a spot in the second round.
Canada got a huge contribution from its bench, with Brady Heslip and Dwight Powell scoring 12 and 10 points respectively and Aaron Doornekamp pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
Wiggins, a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA's rookie of the year last season, added six rebounds and two blocks. Stauskas, a guard with the Philadelphia 76ers, added six rebounds and four assists.
Starting point guard Cory Joseph, a recent addition to the Toronto Raptors, had a team-high six assists for Canada while adding six points and four rebounds. Backup Philip Scrubb came through with nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
Jasiel Rivero had a game-high 20 points for Cuba (0-3).
The result should boost the confidence of the talented but inexperienced Canadians, who are looking to finish in the top two in Mexico and qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Canada led 30-10 after the first quarter and didn't let up, taking a 49-19 into halftime. After the teams each scored 22 in the third, Canada completed the rout by outscoring the Cubans 30-18 in the fourth.
Canada's next game is Thursday against Venezuela.
