Canada picks up third runaway victory in a row at FIBA World Cup
It wasn’t always pretty for Canada today at the FIBA World Cup, but they were ultimately able to continue their winning ways.
Taking on Latvia in their final group stage game of the 2023 World Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia, Canada overcame a shaky first half to come away with the win by a 101-75 score for their third consecutive victory in the tournament.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again led the way for the Canadians, putting up 27 points on the day as he remains one of the tournament’s most impressive players through the opening week of action. Eight different players put up points for Canada in the victory, with Kelly Olynyk adding in 15 of his own.
With three wins in as many games, Canada advanced out of the group stages as the top seed in Group H, the first time they’ve won their group in tournament history.
Shai ā”ļø RJ šØ#FIBAWC x #WinForCanada pic.twitter.com/DXBcgBraWm
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 š (@FIBAWC) August 29, 2023
Latvia led 23-13 after the opening 10 minutes, which definitely caused a little anxiety throughout the Canadian lineup.
But by way of an RJ Barrett dunk in the closing seconds of the first half, Canada took a 43-42 lead into halftime after finishing the second quarter on a 20-7 run.
The Latvia result adds to a strong tournament for Canada, who have already picked up a win over Lebanon and an opening-game victory over France.
Up next for Canada is a pair of games this coming Friday and Sunday against Spain and either Ivory Coast or Brazil, based on the results of tomorrow’s games.
According to the Toronto Star’s Doug Smith, both games are set for 6:30 am PT/ 9:30 am ET.
Word I just got is that, indeed, it will be Canada vs. Brazil-Ivory Coast on Friday, Canada vs. Spain on Sunday and both will be at 9:30 a.m. ET. Set your schedules accordingly
— Doug Smith: Raptors (@SmithRaps) August 29, 2023
The results from the first round carry over, and the top two teams from Latvia, Canada, Spain, and a fourth team advance to the single elimination knockout round, beginning with the quarterfinals starting next week.
While winning the tournament is the ultimate goal, Canada has some secondary motivation to attempt to qualify for next year’s Olympics, which they can do either by winning it all or finishing as one of the top two of seven teams from the Americas.
Canada is in a prime position to improve on their best-ever finish at the tournament, which came back in 1978 and 1972 with a pair of sixth-place finishes.