Canada was ousted from the FIBA Americas Championship Thursday night at the hands of Puerto Rico, who won the quarter-final 72-66. The teams who win the gold and silver medals will also earn a berth in next summer’s Beijing Olympics.

Canada finished the tournament with a 3-4 record on the fifth place. This grants them another opportunity to qualify for Beijing in a second qualifying tournament next summer. Anyway, a berth from the FIBA Americas was really demanding, as Canada had to beat either the United States or Argentina, the defending Olympic champions.

"We came here with two goals, top two or top five," head coach Leo Rautins said in a telephone interview after the game. "Realistically, we're probably one of the top five but when you get right there, you get greedy.”

The game was effectively lost in the third quarter, when Puerto Rico went on a 17-5 run and opened a 15-point lead heading into the final frame. The Puerto Ricans hit five three-pointers in the period and held Canada to nine points.

An 11-0 run early in the fourth cut the deficit to eight points, and Canada later crawled to within five on a three-point play by Thomas.

Canada was behind 2 points with 20 seconds left after a Carl English steal and a lay-up by Dave Thomas. Denham Brown fouled Jose Juan Barea, who made both free throws.

From there, Canada needed a quick and decisive shot, but off a perfectly executed out-of-bounds play, Jermaine Anderson missed an open three-point shot.

Canada played this game without pressure, assured of the fifth place as Brazil had beaten Uruguay earlier in the day, so the Puerto Ricans had no difficulty in dominating the perimeter.

Puerto Rico will join the United States, Argentina and Brazil semifinals. The winners automatically qualify for Beijing Plympics and the losers join Canada at the last stage event scheduled for next summer.