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XALAPA, Mexico -- Canadas womens basketball team took another step closer in its quest for a world championship berth. Kendel Ross scored 16 points to lead the undefeated Canadians to an 89-45 rout of Venezuela at the FIBA Americas Championship on Tuesday, assuring themselves a spot in the semifinals. But after three lopsided victories, Canada knows it faces a much tougher test Wednesday in Cuba for top spot in Group A. "They play hard when they need to and when they have a lead, they kind of coast," Canadas coach Lisa Thomaidis said of Cuba. "So we need to have some realistic impression of what theyre going to bring and overestimate what weve seen from them so far." Kim Gaucher, Kia Nurse, and Natalie Achonwa added 12 points apiece for Canada, while Tamara Tatham grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. The world No. 9-ranked Canadians opened the tournament with a 75-37 win over Jamaica, then cruised past Chile 93-51. The 14th-ranked Cubans have won by similarly lopsided scores, while Brazil and Puerto Rico have dominated the other side of the draw. The Canadians shot 47 per cent from the field against Venezuela, outrebounding their opponent 52-25, and outscoring them 16-4 on second-chance points. Still, Thomaidis wasnt pleased with her teams performance. "We just werent very sharp, our offensive precision was not there. We didnt think we brought a lot of defensive energy," Thomaidis said. "Its one of those tough games, the result should be a foregone conclusion. However you still want to maintain that level of intensity and energy heading into our most important game, which is (Wednesday)." The lopsided games have allowed Thomaidis to rotate her roster, giving key players such as Gaucher and guard Shona Thorburn some rest. The team had talked before the tournament began about the importance of maintaining their focus when theyre not playing. "When were on the bench, you have to be engaged, whether youre bringing energy by talking to your teammates or just cheering your teammates on," Ross said. "Thats really what you have to do, you have to stay in the game, you cant just be on the bench kind of looking around wondering whats going on in Mexico. You really have to keep yourself focused and be ready for your number to be called." Canada is gunning for its third straight world championship appearance, and needs to finish top three in Mexico to earn a spot in the 2014 world tournament in Istanbul. The semifinals are Friday, with the medal games scheduled for Saturday. Tony Larussa Jersey Braves . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. The latest from Bob As tweeted by TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie on Monday, the Columbus Blue Jackets need to resolve their offseason plans with forward R. Babe Ruth Jersey Braves . Russell Wilson against Darrelle Revis, former teammate Brandon Browner and whatever schemes Bill Belichick dreams up. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/s ... -braves-76. Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. Discount Jerseys USA .C. -- The Edmonton Oilers used a late-power-play goal to get a hard-fought road victory. Satchel Paige Jersey Braves . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night.SAN DIEGO - Tom Gage of The Detroit News has won the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.Gage has been the newspapers travelling reporter with the Tigers for 36 years.Gage received 167 of 463 ballots from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who have been a part of the organization for 10 consecutive years at any point. The late Furman Bisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution got 161 in voting announced Tuesday and Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe 134. There was one blank ballot.ddddddddddddThe margin of victory was the closest since Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News edged Murray Chass of The New York Times by 25 votes in 2002, the first year the vote was conducted by mail ballot.Gage is the 66th winner of the award. He will be honoured during the Hall of Fames induction weekend from July 24-27 in Cooperstown, New York.Gage, 66, has covered more than 5,000 major league games in 54 ballparks, and has seen five no-hitters. Before the News, he wrote for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. ' ' '