Title: Murphy and Koreen: Previewing Canada’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics in Victoria
Date: June 28, 2021
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, Eric Koreen and I previewed Canada’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics via their last-chance qualifying tournament in Victoria.
Welcome to another edition of Raptors Canada Basketball Reasonablists with Eric Koreen and Blake Murphy. Throughout the season, Raptors staff writers Koreen and Murphy discuss hot-button issues surrounding the team, but with an even-keeled approach in pursuit of finding a reasonable middle ground. If we have faith in anything, it is that reasonable middle grounds lead to (a) workable long-term solutions; (b) increased empathy and understanding for others; and (c) more wins — at least more wins when they truly matter, probably. We hold these truths to be self-evident, and we hold these truths to be good truths.
Koreen: I know I’ve spoken about the FIBA Americas 2015, which doubled as the qualifier for the Rio Olympics, on the podcast, but I am unsure whether I’ve written much about the trip since it happened. In short, for the Canadian media contingent, it was awful. I’ll skip all the details, but there was familial death, familial illness, altitude sickness, food poisoning, one reporter being shaken down by the cops for having an open beverage in the streets and the dissolution of a long-term relationship. (Guess which one I was!)
Murphy: Was it the dissolution of a long-term relationship? My guess is the dissolution of a long-term relationship. Although I won’t put it past you to have double-dipped with an illness, as well, given The Great West Coast Trip Disaster Of 2017.
Koreen: Blake, you are on point as always.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 