| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Yugoslavia 2. Russia 3. United States 4. Greece 5. Spain 6. Italy 7. Lithuania 8. Argentina 9. Australia 10. Brazil 11. Puerto Rico 12. CANADA 13. Nigeria 14. Japan 15. Senegal 16. Korea | CANADIANS Sherman Hamilton (Toronto, Ont.) Martin Keane (Toronto, Ont.) Rowan Barrett (Scarborough, Ont.) Greg Newton (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Todd MacCulloch (Winnipeg, Man.) Michael Meeks (Patrick City, Jamaica) Kory Hallas (Almonte, Ont.) Joey Vickery (Winnipeg, Man.) Will Njoku (Halifax, N.S.) Peter Guarasci (Niagara Falls, Ont.) David Daniels (Fort St. John, B.C.) Greg Francis (Toronto, Ont.) Steve Konchalski – coach |
| POOL B | YUG | RUS | PUR | JPN | Record | ||||
| Yugoslavia | —– | 82-74 | 80-66 | 99-54 | (3-0) | ||||
| Russia | 74-82 | —– | 86-73 | 83-58 | (2-1) | ||||
| Puerto Rico | 66-80 | 73-86 | —– | 78-57 | (1-2) | ||||
| Japan | 54-99 | 58-83 | 57-78 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| POOL C | LIT | USA | BRA | KOR | Record | ||||
| Lithuania | —– | 84-82 | 66-62 | 97-56 | (3-0) | ||||
| United States | 82-84 | —– | 83-59 | 88-62 | (2-1) | ||||
| Brazil | 62-66 | 59-83 | —– | 76-73 | (1-2) | ||||
| Korea | 56-97 | 62-88 | 73-76 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| POOL D | SPN | ARG | AUS | NGR | Record | ||||
| Spain | —– | 68-67 | 77-76 | 80-68 | (3-0) | ||||
| Argentina | 67-68 | —– | 68-62 | 68-51 | (2-1) | ||||
| Australia | 76-77 | 62-68 | —– | 70-64 | (1-2) | ||||
| Nigeria | 68-80 | 51-66 | 64-70 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| GROUP A | CAN | GRE | ITA | SEN | Record | ||||
| Greece | 78-72 | —– | 64-56 | 68-57 | (3-0) | ||||
| Italy | 79-69 | 56-64 | —– | 76-66 | (2-1) | ||||
| Canada | —– | 72-78 | 69-79 | 70-57 | (1-2) | ||||
| Senegal | 57-70 | 57-68 | 66-76 | —– | (0-3) | ||||
| GROUP F | USA | SPN | LIT | ARG | AUS | BRA | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 75-73 | 82-84 | 87-74 | 96-78 | 83-59 | (5-1) | ||
| Spain | 73-75 | —– | 86-80 | 68-67 | 77-76 | 73-63 | (5-1) | ||
| Lithuania | 84-82 | 80-86 | —– | 84-75 | 61-71 | 66-62 | (4-2) | ||
| Argentina | 74-87 | 67-68 | 75-84 | —– | 68-62 | 86-76 | (3-3) | ||
| Australia | 76-96 | 76-77 | 71-61 | 62-68 | —– | 75063 | (3-3) | ||
| Brazil | 59-83 | 63-73 | 61-66 | 76-86 | 63-75 | —– | (1-5) | ||
| GROUP E | YUG | RUS | GRE | ITA | PUR | CAN | Record | ||
| Yugoslavia | —– | 82-74 | 70-56 | 60-61 | 80-66 | 95-55 | (4-1) | ||
| Russia | 74-82 | —– | 60-48 | 71-55 | 86-73 | 81-72 | (4-1) | ||
| Greece | 56-70 | 48-60 | —– | 64-56 | 71-64 | 78-72 | (3-2) | ||
| Italy | 61-60 | 55-71 | 56-64 | —– | 68-63 | 79-69 | (3-2) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 66-80 | 73-86 | 64-71 | 63-68 | —– | 94-81 | (1-4) | ||
| Canada | 55-95 | 72-81 | 72-78 | 69-79 | 81-94 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| QFs | Russia 82 Lithuania 67 | |
| QFs | United States 80 Italy 77 | |
| QFs | Yugoslavia 70 Argentina 62 | |
| QFs | Greece 69 Spain 62 | |
| 13-16th | Japan 60 Senegal 55 | |
| 13-16th | Nigeria 89 Korea 65 | |
| 9-12th | Brazil 76 Puerto Rico 64 | |
| 9-12th | Australia 88 Canada 71 | |
| 5-8th | Italy 76 Lithuania 71 | |
| 5-8th | Spain 77 Argentina 64 | |
| Semi | Russia 66 United States 64 | |
| Semi | Yugoslavia 78 Greece 73 ot | |
| 15th | Senegal 75 Korea 72 | |
| 13th | Nigeria 70 Japan 60 | |
| 11th | Puerto Rico 92 Canada 81 | |
| 9th | Australia 79 Brazil 75 | |
| 7th | Lithuania 77 Argentina 76 | |
| 5th | Spain 64 Italy 61 | |
| Bronze | United States 84 Greece 61 | |
| Final | Yugoslavia 64 Russia 62 | |
Canada entered the tournament with star Steve Nash unable to play because of a foot injury and post Todd MacCulloch hobbled by a twisted knee. Rick Fox and Bill Wennington were unwilling to play because of their unresolved NBA contract status.
In their opener against Greece, Canada lost 78-72, frittering away a chance to upset the hosts. “At some point, you have to win those games,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “I don’t care if we’ve got a young team or an old team, we have to win these games.” Canada battled back from a series of double-digit deficits, including 14, midway through the first half, and almost won it down the stretch except for suspect rebounding and key missed free throws. “I’m not disappointed with our effort. I’m disappointed we were in a tie game with Greece in Greece with two and a half minutes to go and couldn’t pull it out.” But Canada didn’t score again. With 1:24 on the clock, Rowan Barrett missed a pair from the line and Canada trailing 75-72. Giorgios Baloyiannis drilled a three. Todd MacCulloch had a shot blocked and then Greece iced it from the line. “Fighting back against Greece in Greece showed some character for this team,” said guard Joey Vickery, whose 6-7 shooting from the beyond the arc led to a game-high 23 points. “But we still think we should have won.” With Fragiskos Alvertis and Nikos Economou, who finished with 21 and 20 points respectively, drilling virtually everything they threw up, Greek built a 26-12 lead. Vickery rallied Canada back. “Overall, we haven’t shot free throws real well all summer,” said Konchalski. “We’re about a 61 or 62% free throw shooting team. I think that’s what we shot tonight. So free throws have hurt us.” Greece led 43-37 at the half. Fragkiskos Alvertis paced Greece with 21 on 4-5 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 10 boards. Nikolaos Oikonomou added 20 on 2-7 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Evangelos Koronios added 9, Panagiotis Fassoulas 9, along with 11 boards, George Ballogannis 6, Dmitrios Papanikolaou 6, Efthymios Rentias 6 and Nikolaos Bountouris 1, while Georgios Sigalas, Georgios Kalaitzis, Georgios Karagkoutis and Iakovos Tsakalidis were scoreless. Greece hit 14-34 (.412) from the floor, 11-21 (.524) from the arc and 17-27 (.630) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 24 fouls, 11 turnovers and 3 steals. Joey Vickery paced Canada with 23 on 1-1 from the floor, 6-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 assists. Sherman Hamilton added 14 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-5 from the line and 2 assists. Todd MacCulloch scored 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 6 boards. Michael Meeks added 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Greg Newton scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Rowan Barrett added 4, Martin Keane 3, Peter Guarasci 2 and Kory Hallas 2, while Dave Daniels and Will Njoku were scoreless. Canada hit 17-39 (.436) from the floor, 7-11 (.636) from the arc and 17-28 (.607) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 24 fouls, 9 turnovers and 5 steals.
Canada jumped out ahead 15-0 against Senegal and cruised to a 70-57 win. “Senegal is the type of team that plays hard and are very athletic. But we were able to sustain all their runs and come through,” said coach Steve Konchalski. Canada led 38-30 in the second half when the Senegalese trimmed the margin to 41-39. But Canada responded with a 10-2 run capped by a three by Sherman Hamilton. “Personally, I didn’t play like Martin Keane (against Greece) and Martin Keane never plays bad twice in a row,” he said. “I had to play hard. Everyone had to play hard. I think it was a great team win. It’s me today. It’s Michael Meeks tomorrow. It’s Todd MacCulloch the next day. Each guy can give it to you at any given moment. I’m just in the spotlight today but tomorrow the most important thing is to try and win that game and try our best.” Canada led 38-30 at the half. Martin Keane paced Canada with 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 11 boards and 2 steals. Sherman Hamilton added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Joey Vickery notched 9 on 3-7 from the arc, 3 assists and 2 steals. Rowan Barrett scored 7 on 7-10 from the line and 3 boards. Will Njoku scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Todd MacCulloch notched 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Greg Newton scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Peter Guarasci added 5, Michael Meeks 5, along with 4 boards, and Kory Hallas 2, while David Daniels was scoreless. Canada hit 18-38 (.333) from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 25-36 (.694) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 29 turnovers and 8 steals. Raymond Edouard Carvalho paced Senegal with 12 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-15 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Cheikh Yaha Dia added 9 on 3-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Samba Aly Ngone Niang added 7, along with 5 boards, Mamadou Diouf 7, Mouhamadou Sow 6, Mamadou Ndiaye 4, Boubacar Aw 3, Kader Malik Fall 3, Assane Ndiaye 2, Omar Ba 2, Makhtar Ndiaye 3, while Vincent Da Sylva was scoreless. Senegal hit 15-54 (.278) from the floor, 5-27 (.185) from the arc and 12-21 (.340) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 2 assists, 28 fouls, 12 turnovers and 7 steals.
Canada lost 79-69 to Italy. Canada’s Kory Hallas coughed up the ball on the final play of the first half to guard Gianmarko Pozzecco, who lobbed it up. It went in and Hallas fouled him. Pozzecco hit the free throw and Italy went into the lockers hooting with a 43-31 lead. It was that kind of bonehead play that killed Canada’s chances as they fell 79-69 to Italy. “We didn’t play physically,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “We didn’t play aggressive and the result showed.” Italy outshot Canada .530 to .380. A Rowan Barrett three and a Vickery feed to Sherman Hamilton for a layup cut the lead to seven early in the second half. But then Italy got hot again and moved ahead 61-45. Vickery and Hamilton hit threes to cut the lead to seven with 40 seconds to play but the Italians ran out the clock. Andrea Meneghin paced Italy with 18 on 3-4 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 2 steals. Roberto Chiacig added 15 on 7-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 6 boards. Gianmarco Pozzecco added 13 on 3-5 from the floor, 7-11 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Carlton Ettore Francesco Myers added 11 on 2-6 from the arc and 5-5 from the line. Gregor Fucka scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Gianluca Basile added 4, Alessandro De Pol 4 and Alessandro Frosini 4, while Davide Bonora, Giacomo Galanda, Alessandro Abbio and Dilglay Marcelo Damio were scoreless. Italy hit 21-40 (.525) from the floor, 7-18 (.389) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 17 fouls, 11 turnovers and 9 steals. Sherman Hamilton paced Canada with 17 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kory Hallas added 10 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Rowan Barrett scored 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Todd MacCulloch added 9 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Martin Keane scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Joey Vickery added 6 on 2-5 from the floor and 2 assists. Michael Meeks added 6 on 2-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. David Daniels notched 2, while Greg Francis, Will Njoku, Peter Guarasci and Greg Newton were scoreless. Canada hit 16-42 (.381) from the floor, 9-19 (.474) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 23 fouls, 16 turnovers and 5 steals.
Canada finishes (1-2) in pool A. Advances to quarterfinal pool E.
Canada gets a 95-55 “butt-kicking” from Yugoslavia, as coach Steve Konchalski said. The first sign of things to come: 7-0 centre Zeljko Rebraca blew past Michael Meeks to open the contest for a layup. The second worst loss Canada suffered in the history of the event. “There’s not much to be said when you get a good, old-fashioned butt kicking by a very good basketball team,” said Konchalski. “They ran a clinic,” added assistant Doc Ryan. “They’re a savvy team. The ball doesn’t stay in anyone’s hands for very long.” Yugoslavia took a 25-10 lead midway through the half and led 44-23 at the break. Canada did as abysmally against Yugoslavia’s reserves in the second half. “We just couldn’t stop Yugoslavia,” said Konchalski. “Their weak-side defence was tremendous. When we got the ball inside in the first half, they seemed to block every shot. It seemed like they made every open shot that they took.” Konchalski said “our transition defence was just terrible. We gave up so many four-on-threes and five-on-fours… We have to make sure we make a better job of getting back on defence.” Miroslav Beric paced Yugoslavia with 13 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 assists. Sasa Obradovic added 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 steals. Dejan Bodiroga notched 10, Vlado Scepanovic 9, Milenko Topic 9, Nikola Loncar Arsenijevic 8, Dragan Lukovski 8, Nikola Bulatovic 8, Zeljko Rebraca 5, Aleksander Djordjevic Garic 5, Dejan Tomasevic 5, along with 14 boards, and Predrag Drobnjak 3. Yugoslavia shot 23-37 (.622) from the floor, 11-20 (.550) from the arc and 16-28 (.571) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 18 fouls, 12 turnovers and 16 steals. Greg Newton paced Canada with 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 7 boards. Michael Meeks added 11 on 3-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 8 boards Peter Guarasci notched 9 on 3-4 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Martin Keane added 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Sherman Hamilton added 5, Rowan Barrett 4, Joey Vickery 2, David Daniels 2 and Will Njoku 2, along with 4 boards. Greg Francis, Korey Hallas and Todd MacCulloch were scoreless. Canada hit 16-48 (.333) from the floor, 2-13 (.154) from the arc and 17-20 (.850) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 24 fouls, 19 turnovers and 7 steals.
Canada gets pounded 94-81 by Puerto Rico. Canada led 42-40 in dying seconds of the first half. But Greg Francis coughed up the ball to James Carter at mid-court who streak for a layup. On the ensuing inbounds play, Peter Guarasci passed into the hands of Carmelo Travieso, who was fouled by Kory Hallas. Travieso hit both to give Puerto Rico a 44-42 lead at the break. Trailing to start the half, Canada stopped pounding the ball inside and again retreated to its perimeter shooting attack. Puerto Rico ripped off a 9-0 run to open the half and moved ahead 52-42. They stretched their lead to 74-52 with a 13-0 run capped by a pair of threes and it was game over. “I thought we played a good, solid first half and stayed within our game plan,” said Konchalski. “The second half, we started out, we stopped taking the ball inside and started shooting jump shots. …We made some bad decisions,” Konchalski said. “In the span of 2-3 minutes, the whole flow of the game just changed. It went from a two-point game to us going down 10 or 12.” Konchalski said Newton had a great game. “He’s just playing some excellent basketball. Arguably, he could be our best player here. He just plays with so much intensity. The most positive thing that’s happened this summer is Greg Newton establishing himself in our program. I think he’s a player who’s going to get better and be a mainstay on our team for years to come.” Todd MacCulloch did not dress because he was nursing a sore knee. Eddie Casiano paced Puerto Rico with 23 on 1-5 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc and 6-6 from the line. Orlando Vega Smith added 16 on 6-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Jose Rafael Ortiz-Rijos notched 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 3-8 from the line and 10 boards. James Carter added 14 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 5-5 from the line. Javier Colon added 11 on 4-7 from the floor and 3-5 from the line. Edgar Francisco Leon scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Jerome Mincy added 5 and Carmelo Travieso Pena 2, while Eddin Orlando Santiago Cordero, Rolando Hourruitiner Ortiz, Daniel Santiago and Eugenio Felipe Soto Diaz were scoreless. Puerto Rico hit 23-43 (.548) from the floor, 8-21 (.381) from the arc and 24-35 (.686) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 21 fouls, 8 turnovers and 7 steals. Greg Newton paced Canada with 25 on 9-13 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-10 from the line and 8 boards. Michael Meeks added 12 on 6-10 from the floor and 7 boards. Will Njoku notched 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 5 boards. Peter Guarasci notched 10 on 2-8 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 8 boards. Martin Keane scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor. Rowan Barrett added 5, Korey Hallas 3, Joey Vickery 3, Sherman Hamilton 2, along with 4 assists, and Greg Francis 2, while David Daniels was scoreless. Canada hit 28-61 (.459) from the floor, 4-11 (.364) from the arc and 13-23 (.565) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 28 fouls, 14 turnovers and 6 steals.
Against Russia, Canada fell 81-72. After scratching and clawing their way back into the contest and trailing 66-63 with four minutes to go, 6-10 Greg Newton was tagged for a rebounding foul against Sergei Babkov. Newton grabbed the loose ball and fired it into the ground. He was immediately assessed a technical. Babkov hit a free throw and Mikhail Mikhailov hit both technicals to make the score 69-63, a gap Canada couldn’t overcome. “It’s disappointing to come up short again and not get a win in the second round,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “But by the same token, it was probably the best game that we’ve played in the second round. And had we played this caliber of basketball earlier in the tournament, we’d probably have a couple more wins that we already do.” Newton scored a team-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 11 boards. “Greg’s played some terrific basketball. Once again, he led us in scoring and rebounding. And he’s been our leading scorer and rebounder in the tournament. I think he’s a player.” Russia moved ahead 42-35 late in the first half on a three-point play by Babkov. Michael Meeks, who scored 12, sank a three with two seconds to play to cut the margin to 42-38 at the half. Russia quickly extended its lead to 11 early in the second half. Canada rallied back to take a 61-59 lead when Newton hit a bucket with 6:36 to play. But Russia pulled away down the stretch. “I think we could have taken better care of the ball and made some better decisions in our offence toward the end of the game,” said guard Sherman Hamilton. He added it was difficult to compete when the losses kept mounting. “You kind of get in funks when you get in a situation like that. And I try to stay on an even Keel. But sometimes you see it in the game where it gets to me and I think it shows in my play.” Vasily Karasev paced Russia with 21 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals. Serguei Babkov added 14 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Sergey Panov notched 14 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4 assists and 4 steals. Mikhail Mikhaylov scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Valeri Tikhonenko added 7, Evgeny Kisurin 4, Nikita Morgunov 3, Igor Kudelin 3, Zakhar Pashutin 3, and Vitaly Nosov 2, along with 6 boards. Dmitry Domani and Igor Kurashov were scoreless. Russia hit 23-39 (.590) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 14-24 (.583) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 21 fouls, 13 assists and 11 steals. Greg Newton paced Canada with 145 on 7-10 from the floor and 11 boards. Peter Guarasci added 13 on 3-7 from the floor, 7-7 from the line and 9 boards. Michael Meeks scored 12 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-5 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Sherman Hamilton notched 10 on 5-12 from the floor, 3 assists and 3 steals. Will Njoku added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Greg Francis scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 assists. David Daniels added 3, Korey Hallas 3, Joey Vickery 3 and Michael Keane 3, while Rowan Barrett was scoreless. Canada hit 23-45 (.511) from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 24 fouls, 21 turnovers and 6 steals.
Canada finished (0-5) in medals pool play and fails to make quarterfinals, moving into the 9-12 classification round.
In 9th-12th classifications, Canada gets creamed by Australia 88-71. “That’s not what we came for (to play for 11th). But we have a young team,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “It’s disappointing. Even though we don’t have our NBA guys, I felt we could do better. … At key times in the game, we turned the ball over. We had 20 turnovers to Australia’s eight. We’re hurting ourselves in certain areas.” Canada jumped ahead 17-7 at the start but then just stopped playing. Australia ripped off a 19-2 run to take a 26-19 lead. Australia led 39-35 at the half. Canada was content to bomb from the perimeter in the second half. They hit 26-57 from the floor and only 3-20 from the arc. “Our decisions in transition, I thought was what really hurt us,” Konchalski said. “We had too many turnovers in transition and too many jump shots in transition.” Michael Meeks said “it’s really a tough way to learn. And unfortunately, the whole world is watching. But we have faith in what we’re doing. And we know we’re going to make mistakes right now. But we’re sticking together.” Andrew Gaze paced Australia with 33 on 8-11 from the floor, 5-12 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Chris Anstey added 20 on 7-14 from the floor, 6-10 from the line and 14 boards. Shane Heal notched 14 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 8 assists. Sam MacKinnon scored 10 on 5-8 from the floor and 4 assists. Simon Dwight scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 9 boards. Brett Maher added 3, Benjamin Mel meth 2 and Anthony Ronaldson 2, while Scott Fisher, Frank Drmic, Andrew Vlahov and Paul Rogers were scoreless. Australia hit 27-49 (.551) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 10-19 (.526) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 16 fouls, 8 turnovers and 9 steals. Sherman Hamilton paced Canada with 16 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 assists. Rowan Barrett added 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Greg Newton notched 12 on 6-11 from the floor and 17 boards. Joey Vickery scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 2 assists. Greg Francis scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Peter Guarasci added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Michael Meeks scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 9 boards. Martin Keane added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. David Daniels, Will Njoku and Korey Hallas were scoreless. Canada hit 26-57 (.456) from the floor, 3-20 (.150) from the arc and 10-17 (.588) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 15 fouls, 20 turnovers and 6 steals.
In the 11th place game, Canada got killed by Puerto Rico 92-81. “It was a tough way to finish the tournament, really,” said coach Steve Konchalski. “We have to take what we learned here, both with regard to strategy, with regard to personnel decisions, with regard to basketball scheduling and training camps and so forth …and put it to practice so that we maximize our opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games. … The biggest thing is that we didn’t have Steve Nash. Steve has been in every major tournament for Canada in the past five years. Nash would not only lead the team but he would have gotten people the ball.” With Todd MacCulloch also out of the lineup, “our margin of error was a fine line,” Konchalski said. “We had to play to the top of our game for 40 minutes to compete with the best teams in the world. And we weren’t able to do that. Unfortunately, the biggest tournament we played in my tenure, we fall flat on our face.” Konchalski added that the team obviously lacked character. “If I were to have anticipated that going in, I would have had different people.” Konchalski added that, at times, the players quit on him. “It was very tough one me. But at the same time, I believe in myself. I can look at myself in the mirror and know that I did my job. Maybe I have to do it a little better, but I can say to myself that if I fell short, it wasn’t from lack of effort. I have been coaching the national team for 10 years, 16 as an assistant and four as head coach. I have always dreamed to be its head coach in a major tournament such as the Olympic Games or the World Championship. Of course, my dreams did not include this kind of results, which were disappointing for me. Nevertheless, I have now a clear idea about the direction our national team has to follow from now on, in order to qualify for the next Olympic Games, but also for the future in general. Today, we had a disastrous first half, when we allowed 60 points. But we came back in the second thanks to a team effort, to which we have to rely also in our plans for the future.” Rowan Barrett noted that “for me, as also for most players of our young team, it was the first participation in the World championship. We had of course played in some tournaments with the national team but not in such a big one. We thought we could win some games. Then we took a couple of knocks and had to get back up. However, we learned a lot, both as individuals and as a team.” Puerto Rico led 60-33 at the half. Orlando Vega Smith paced Puerto Rico with 21 on 7-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Eddin Orlando Santiago Cordero added 21 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 11-13 from the line and 5 assists. Jose Rafael Ortiz-Rijos scored 12 on 6-7 from the floor, 8 boards and 3 assists. Daniel Santiago added 9, Carmelo Travieso Pena 9, Eddie Casiano 7, Jerome Mincy 6, along with 11 boards, Rolando Hourruitiner Ortiz 5 and Eugenio Felipe Soto Diaz 2, while Javier Colon, James Carter and Edgar Leon were scoreless. Puerto Rico hit 25-47 (.532) from the floor, 9-20 (.450) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 21 fouls, 20 turnovers and 16 steals. Rowan Barrett paced Canada with 23 on 9-16 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Greg Newton scored 15 on 7-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 12 boards. Peter Guarasci added 14 on 4-7 from the floor, 6-10 from the line and 6 boards. Joey Vickery scored 9 on 3-7 from the arc and 2 steals. Sherman Hamilton added 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Michael Meeks scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor and 3-4 from the line. David Daniels added 3 on 1-2 from the arc and 3 assists. Greg Francis scored 2 and Will Njoku 1, while Martin Keane was scoreless. Canada hit 24-55 (.436) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 15-26 (.577) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 24 fouls, 16 turnovers and 7 steals.
With point guard Steve Nash sidelined by a foot injury, Canada finishes 12th, prompting the firing of Konchalski. Nash was diagnosed with inflamed tissue or plantar fasciitis. Told to rest foot over the summer or undergo surgery.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Dejan Bodiroga (Yugoslavia); Vasili Karasev (Russia); Albert Herreros (Spain); Gregor Fucka (Slovenia) and Zeljko Rebraca (Yugoslavia)
1999
In February, Steve Konchalski is sacked for a second time as national head coach. “I fought the good fight. I feel like I lost a double overtime game but I left everything out on the court,” said Konchalski. “At least I made Basketball Canada accountable for their actions. Hopefully, it will make it better for coaches down the road and for whomever they get to replace me.” Basketball Canada President Art Rutledge said “we felt the current structure would not result in our team qualifying for the Olympics in 2000.”
Later in the month, he is reinstated as head coach by a three-member appeals panel. Their ruling is not binding.
In March, former national team player Jay Triano is appointed national team head coach. “I love a challenge and I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think we could qualify (for the 2000 Olympics),” Triano said while being introduced. “I want to compete again and I can’t do it as a player, so I’ll do it as a coach.” Prior to taking the position, the 40-year-old Triano was director of community relations for the Vancouver Grizzlies. “We were in an impossible spot in 1988 when we went to Uruguay (to qualify for the Seoul Games),” Triano said. “No one thought we could go there and qualify, but we ended up beating them in their own country in the game to get to the Olympics.” Triano played from 1978-88 for the national team and coached for Ken Shields on the 1992 squad that failed to qualify for the Barcelona Olympics.