Canada must beat top-ranked country to stay alive at FIBA World Cup
After a pair of upsets on Friday, Canada is now in a win-or-go-home situation at the FIBA World Cup.
With Brazil defeating Canada and Latvia beating Spain, all four teams in Group L are tied with seven points apiece. For Canada, their win-or-go-home game will come on Sunday against Spain, who are currently first in the FIBA rankings.
If Canada is to pull off the win, they will advance to the quarter-final and take on whoever comes out on top between Brazil and Latvia. Prior to Friday’s loss to Brazil, Canada had a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament.
The win was especially massive for Brazil in that their goal to play in the Olympics is still alive. The top two Americas teams qualify, and USA has already done so. That leaves Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Canada battling for the final spot.
While defeating Spain will be no easy task, Canada has impressed despite their most recent loss, scoring 389 points through their four games. That ranks third throughout the entire tournament, trailing only USA’s 403 and Serbia’s 390. Meanwhile, their +107 point ranks second behind only USA. That said, they weren’t nearly good enough in their most recent game, particularly when it came down to their offence.
“Give Brazil a lot of credit for the win. They played really hard,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said after the outing. “Defensively, I think we were fine. When a team shoots 40 percent from the field and 19 percent from three, you should have a chance, but offensively we were not willing to do anything for each other. Space the floor, move the ball, move bodies. When you play like that, it’s really hard to win. Today was an example [We had] 10 assists to nine turnovers. Shot 33 from the field and 27 from three. We didn’t deserve to win.”
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been leading the way for Canada thus far, as his 22.3 points per game sit seventh amongst all players in the tournament. He also leads Canada in rebounds per game with 7.3, as well as assists with 4.8. That said, the 25-year-old knows he and his teammates need to be better on Sunday.
“Good game, tight game obviously,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after Friday’s loss. “They were the better team in the second half. They wanted it a little more. Especially with the rebounding, that really hurt us. We lose, we learn from it. Onto the next one.”
Leading the way for Spain has been Willy Hernangomez. The former New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets centre has averaged 16.5 points per game and a team-leading 5.5 rebounds. The 29-year-old left the NBA this offseason after signing a three-year deal with FC Barcelona.
Sunday’s game between these two clubs will get underway at 6:30 am PT/ 9:30 am ET.
- You might also like:
- Canada loses to Brazil in thrilling FIBA World Cup game