Canada loses to Brazil in thrilling FIBA World Cup game
After clearing the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup group stage with a perfect 3-0 record, Canada lost their first game of Round 2 by a 69-65 score against Brazil on Friday.
The tightly fought first quarter did not see either country put up too many points in front of the Jakarta, Indonesia, crowd, but ultimately featured Brazil taking a 16-13 lead over the Canadians.
Canada responded quickly, though.
Going into halftime with a 37-27 lead, Canada outscored Brazil 24-11 in the second quarter with star guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander finishing the half with 11 points of his own.
Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander. š®āšØ@CanBball | #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/o8ae6yuoV9
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Canada lost their momentum a little in the third, starting the final quarter with a six point lead.
Things got worse at in the final quarter with Brazil tying things up and taking the lead on multiple occasions.
Big time players show up in big time moments. š@CanBball | #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/2HDEvCCDRL
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 1, 2023
Down 60-59 with less than two minutes on the clock, Canada brought the score back to a tie on a free throw.
But it wasn’t enough, as Brazil completed the upset over the highly favoured Canadians.
While winning the tournament is the ultimate goal, Canada has some secondary motivation to attempt to qualify for next yearās Olympics, which they can do either by winning it all or finishing as one of the top two of seven teams from the Americas.
And despite losing today, Canada still has a chance to get to the next round. They will play Spain on Sunday in a do-or-die game that will see the winner advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals.
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