Because of popular demand, what is likely the final installment of Levon’s excellent adventure.

The Canadian U-21 team returned to — indifference.

There were no crowds waiting, and the only autographs they had to sign were for a commemorative basketball likely destined for the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.

But the band of tall, weary men who arrived at Lester B. Pearson International Airport yesterday had all the proof they needed of their place in Canadian basketball history. They had bronze medals dangling from their necks and the memory of the game of their lives that helped them win the medals: a 93-90 overtime thriller over the powerhouse United States at the under-21 world championship in Argentina last Friday.
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“I think [the continuity] was huge,” said Levon Kendall, the former Vancouver high-school star who is entering his third season at the University of Pittsburgh and has been with the team all four summers. “I remember the first year we went down to Venezuela and it was a shock, just the speed and physicality of the international game. Each year, we got more and more confident playing against other guys from around the world, seeing you can actually match up with them. That was a big thing.”

Given his veteran status, it was fitting that Kendall delivered one of the most impressive performances in Canadian basketball history. Facing an undefeated U.S. team packed with several future first-round National Basketball Association selections, Kendall scored a tournament-best total of 40 points in the overtime win.

As a group, the tall men at the airport said they hoped they had made a statement about where Canadian basketball is headed.

As the refuge of Canadians too tall and skinny for hockey?

Kendall was the leading scorer and rebounder for Canada.

Even Greg Doyel at Sportsline gave him some love.