When Puerto Rico and Canada both failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics basketball tournament, fans in both countries were extremely disappointed. However, in the FIBA Americas 2009 championship both teams are expected to advance to the quarterfinals from Group B. On the 1^st of September at 01:00 a.m. GMT the Puerto Ricans will host Canada in front of their home-crowd in San Juan.

Although Puerto Rico has proven to be a tough team to beat in the past, things may not be so easy at this year’s FIBA Americas. Most importantly, star guard J.J. Barea from the Dallas Mavericks will not be playing, thus leaving a huge gap in Puerto Rico’s squad. After the brawl between the FIBA and NBA this summer, the Dallas Mavericks decided to forbid Barea and Dirk Nowitzki to play in international games during the off-season. Even though J.J. Barea has repeatedly stated his resentment towards the Mavericks’ decision, there is not much he can do. Ultimately, Puerto Rico has to hope that Carlos Arroyo will bring his A-Game to carry his team throughout the tournament. Arroyo played several years for the Orlando Magic before signing a deal with Euroleague powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv last summer.

Canada on the other hand also has its fair share of roster problems. Firstly, multiple NBA All-Star and MVP Steve Nash is taking the summer off to recover from a back injury. Moreover, Samuel Dalembert from the Philadelphia 76ers will not be on the roster after an intense argument with Canadian head coach Leo Routins. Thus, the only NBA player for Canada will be Joel Anthony who has been playing for the Miami Heat for the last two years. Likewise, Carl English from Saski Baskonia can be expected to run a significant part of Canada’s offense.

Taking everything into consideration, both teams appear to be around the same level of play. The audience can expect both teams to play very hard as only winning Group A will ensure not having to beat Argentina, Brazil or the Dominican Republic to advance in the subsequent quarterfinals round.

You can watch all games of Puerto Rico and Canada right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of live FIBA International streaming.