A UBC T-Bird has reached new heights.
Nylan Roberts, a six-foot-seven forward who is about to suit up for his third season in the blue and gold, just had the opportunity to represent his country on the national stage.
The U21 Canadian rosters for the FIBA 3x3 Youth Nations League were announced earlier this month, and the Abbotsford, B.C. native secured a spot alongside five other players with NCAA and U Sports experience on their resume. Led by head coach and UBC Thunderbird men's basketball alum Jordan Jensen-Whyte, the team travelled to Paraguay to face off in a six-day tournament, and Roberts wasted little time making an impact.
Team Canada opened the tournament with back-to-back wins against Argentina and Brazil, with Roberts combining for 11 of the team's 38 points. He then followed up on day two by scoring a team-high eight points to lift his side to a 21-18 win over Chile.
Roberts continued to contribute but, as the tournament went on, the competition stiffened. On the sixth and final day, Team Canada matched up with Brazil to keep their qualifying hopes alive but narrowly fell in a nail-biter that went down to the wire, 21-20. Roberts knocked down a free throw in the final two minutes to hand his side a five-point lead, but Brazil stormed back and finished the game on a 7-3 run to seal the win.
Throughout the tournament, the team averaged 19.7 points per game, more than anybody in its group. However, they just came up short in the conference standings. Decided by Tour Points, which are awarded based on each day's finish, Canada narrowly missed out on a spot in September's qualifiers as they closed out the tournament with 500, putting them just behind first-place Argentina (510).
Roberts is coming off a successful sophomore season with the T-Birds. With an increase in minutes and starts, he averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and nearly a steal a game to help his squad finish with a 23-8 record and secure a spot in the U Sports Men's Basketball Final 8. The Thunderbirds will return to action for the 2026-2027 season at War Memorial Gymnasium, with opening night tip-off to begin at 7:30 p.m. on October 29 against the Trinity Western Spartans.
