Point guard Tyler Kepkay and his teammates on the Team Canada are about to take their final shot at reaching the Beijing Olympics this summer, at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament that begins today in Athens, Greece.

Only the top three teams at the 12-team, last-chance tournament will join the field in Beijing, and Canada's prospects are questionable. Even coach Leo Rautins acknowledged that "we have to do everything right" to qualify.

The Canadians meet Slovenia in their first game on Tuesday, followed by Korea on Wednesday.

One writer at the Toronto Star expects them to win at least one of their preliminary games, but wonders what effect having a player as inexperienced as Kepkay will have on the roster.

"Point guard is a question mark only because Canada has no proven backup when Jermaine Anderson isn't on the floor," journalist Doug Smith wrote. "Tyler Kepkay of Vancouver and Andy Rautins -- Leo's son -- both played minutes there in exhibition play, but are untested at the position internationally.

"In a short tournament, it's a weakness they might be able to work around or it might be exploited by smart, veteran teams."

By the way, you might have seen that Kepkay is not the only Utah collegian in the tournament. Rival Jonathan Tavernari of Brigham Young is playing for Brazil, along with former Cougar and former Jazz player Rafael Araujo, though they can't meet Kepkay and the Canadians until the semifinals.