Whitby's Gagliardi off to World Basketball Championships

WHITBY -- Rob Gagliardi of Whitby is off to Auckland, New Zealand this week to compete with Canada's Junior National basketball team at the FIBA U10 World Championships.

The Pickering High School student attended a rigorous training camp at McMaster University in Hamilton in June.

"Our country has fantastic young talent and this summer we have the opportunity to showcase these teams on the world stage," said Wayne Parrish, CEO and executive director for Canada Basketball, of the junior and senior men's teams.

After a strong performance at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championships (3rd place), the Junior Men's National Team earned a place at the 2009 U19 FIBA World Championships. This marks the second consecutive berth for Canada at the FIBA U19 World Championship.

Select members of the team travelled to Douai, France to compete in the 23rd edition of the Mondial Juniors de Basket, a prestigious European tournament seen as the prequel to the worlds. Canada took first place, beating out talented national teams like Australia, USA, Puerto Rico, Lithuania and France.