| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. France 3. Lithuania 4. Australia 5. Italy 6. Yugoslavia 7. CANADA 8. Russia 9. Spain 10. China 11. New Zealand 12. Angola | CANADIANS Steve Nash (Johannesburg, South Africa) Michael Meeks (Patrick City, Jamaica) Todd MacCulloch (Winnipeg, Man.) Rowan Barrett (Scarborough, Ont.) Peter Guarasci (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Andrew Mavis (Vancouver, B.C.) Sherman Hamilton (Toronto, Ont.) Shawn Swords (Ottawa, Ont.) Greg Newton (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Greg Francis (Toronto, Ont.) Eric Hinrichsen (Campbell River, B.C.) David Daniels (Fort St. John, BC) Jay Triano – coach Mike Katz – assistant Dave Pendergraft – assistant Jonathan Lee – manager Dana Sinclair – therapist Gary Schmidt – technical advisor |
| POOL A | USA | ITA | LIT | CHN | FRA | NZL | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 93-61 | 85-76 | 119-72 | 106-94 | 102-56 | (5-0) | ||
| Italy | 61-93 | —– | 50-48 | 76-85 | 67-57 | 78-66 | (3-2) | ||
| Lithuania | 76-85 | 48-50 | —– | 82-66 | 81-63 | 85-75 | (3-2) | ||
| China | 72-119 | 85-76 | 66-82 | —– | 70-82 | 75-60 | (2-3) | ||
| France | 94-106 | 57-67 | 63-81 | 82-70 | —– | 76-50 | (2-3) | ||
| New Zealand | 56-102 | 66-78 | 75-85 | 60-75 | 50-76 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| POOL B | CAN | YUG | AUS | RUS | SPN | ANG | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 83-75 | 101-90 | 59-77 | 91-77 | 99-54 | (4-1) | ||
| Yugoslavia | 75-83 | —– | 80-66 | 66-60 | 78-65 | 73-64 | (4-1) | ||
| Australia | 90-101 | 66-80 | —– | 75-71 | 91-80 | 86-75 | (3-2) | ||
| Russia | 77-59 | 60-66 | 71-75 | —– | 71-63 | 88-65 | (3-2) | ||
| Spain | 77-91 | 65-78 | 80-91 | 63-71 | —– | 64-45 | (1-4) | ||
| Angola | 54-99 | 64-73 | 75-86 | 65-88 | 45-64 | —– | (0-5) | ||
| QF | France 68 Canada 63 | |
| QF | Australia 65 Italy 62 | |
| QF | United States 85 Russia 70 | |
| QF | Lithuania 76 Yugoslavia 63 | |
| semi | United States 85 Lithuania 83 | |
| semi | France 76 Australia 52 | |
| 11th | New Zealand 70 Angola 60 | |
| 9th | Spain 84 China 64 | |
| 7th | Canada 86 Russia 83 | |
| 5th | Italy 69 Yugoslavia (Serbia & Montenegro) 59 | |
| Bronze | Lithuania 89 Australia 71 | |
| Final | United States 85 France 75 | |
Prior to the Olympics, Rick Fox begs off from team, citing family responsibilities and saying he was worn out by the L.A. Lakers NBA championship run. Jamal Magliore also begs off, reportedly because head coach Jay Triano wouldn’t assure him of adequate playing time. “It was more the coach’s decision than my decision,” said Magliore. “They timing was just off. I was trying to get ready for the NBA and the coach kind of wanted to go with who he had.” Steve Nash notes that “for me, I know it was just a thrill to be able to play for Canada. It’s just an awesome opportunity. Unfortunately, Jamaal, for whatever reason, didn’t have the same feelings. But I can’t judge him. I don’t know what his reasons are, what his priorities are. So, I can’t fault Jamaal.”
Canada opened with a 101-90 upset of Australia. Making their first appearance since Seoul and playing a jacked Australia on the Boomers home court, Canada recovered from a 51-48 halftime deficit as point guard Steve Nash took command of the second half. Australia took an early 20-14 lead on the strength of the perimeter shooting of their backcourt. They extended their lead to 36-27 after 12 minutes of play before Canada ripped of a 14-2 run to take a three-point lead as Nash repeatedly picked apart the Boomers defence with knifing drives and dishes. At the 7:43 mark, Todd MacCulloch blocked a three-point attempt by Australian veteran Andrew Gaze. MacCulloch pushed the ball to Nash who dished it off to Andrew Mavis, who converted his free throw and the score was cut to 36-30 for Australia. Both teams showed off their athletic prowess with back-to-back alley oop passes Paul Rogers for Australia and Rowan Barrett for Canada. At 5:44, Nash hit Mavis again on the fastbreak to bring the score to 38-36. Soon after, Nash continued to demonstrate his abilities grabbing a long defensive rebound, he was tripped up but maintained control throwing the ball down the court to Barrett on the fastbreak who hit the layup. Canada took the first lead of the game with 4:40 left in the first half. MacCulloch pulled down an offensive board, hit the putback and converted his free throw to make the score 41-38. The teams traded baskets until the break. Australia was ahead 51-48 at the half. Canada went on a 13-4 scoring spree to start the second half and maintained the lead for most of the margin until Australia s Ricky Grace nailed his third three-point shot to tie the game at 70-70. With six minutes remaining the scores were level at 76-76, but the Canadians outscored the Australians 13-3 to lead 89-79 with three minutes to go. Steve Nash controlled the offence for the Canadians and had 15 assists to add to his 15 points. “Nash is so quick,” said Australian forward Sam MacKinnon. “We weren’t able to get the ball out of his hands.” Meeks led Canada with 27, including 4-6 from the arc. Rowan Barrett added 21 on 2-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Nash recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 assists, while nabbing 6 boards and hitting 1-2 from the arc. MacCulloch scored 11, along with 7 boards, Pete Guarasci 8, along with 2 boards, Sherman Hamilton 7, along with 2 blocks, Andrew Mavis 7 on 0-3 from the arc and 2 boards, David Daniels 3 on 1-1 from the arc and Greg Newton 2, while Eric Hinrichsen and Shawn Swords were scoreless. Canada shot 36-62 from the floor, 8-16 from the arc and 23-27 from the line, while garnering 24 boards, 18 assists 1 steal, 3 blocks, 12 turnovers and 20 fouls. Andrew Gaze led Australia with 24. Sam Mackinnon added 14, Shane Heal 14, Ricky Grace 13, Chris Anstey 11, Mark Bradtke 4, Luc Longley 8, along with 7 boards, Mark Bradtke 4 and Paul Rogers 2, while Jason Smith, Brett Maher, Martin Cattalini and Andrew Vlahov were scoreless. Australia shot 33-58 from the floor, 9-18 from the arc and 15-19 from the line, while garnering 17 boards, 17 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 13 turnovers and 25 fouls. Triano said there was no secret to Canada strategy. “Obviously, we want the ball in Steve’s hands. He makes good decisions. … I’m probably the biggest Steve Nash fan and it has very little to do with 15 assists and 15 points. He leads by example every day in practice. He doesn’t take a day off. He doesn’t come with a prima donna attitude. I think that’s what makes him special.” Meeks said that “with Steve drawing attention, all you have to do is find an open spot and he’ll get you the ball.” Nash said Canada set out to do what it wanted to do and “the victory is not really a surprise for the guys in our locker room.” He called his journey to Sydney “the pinnacle of his athletic career” and said marching in the opening ceremonies in his “silly little uniform” one of the thrills of his life. “To play for your country at the Olympic Games is something I wish everyone could experience. I wish everyone could feel how I felt in bed (before the game with the Aussies. This is a blast. … I just try to be as quick as possible and clever and deceiving and be all the things that a criminal would be when I’m out there.” Nash also noted that the team is tenacious, plays hard and is cohesive, while finding a moment to tease Meeks: “A couple of times he opted not to run the play and just stood out there and let me throw it to him out there. I thought, ‘you greedy bugger’. But that’s what we need, is someone to step up and just say, I’m going to make it.”
Canada then stomped Angola 99-54 after jumping out to a quick lead and converting their first three three-point shots. Hamilton buried a three to start the game and then added a four-point play as Canada took a 20-6 lead and Triano began rolling in the reserves. The Canadians extended the margin to 50-29 at the half and then coasted. Coach Jay Triano said he was “more relieved than glad. This was one of those games you can only lose. We did what we had to do to win.” Rowan Barrett added that the team maintained its focus. “As long as we stay focused on that (the process), whether we’re playing Australia, Angola or the U.S., it will stay the same.” Barrett added that familiarity playing with Nash was a benefit. “Steve and I have been playing together since we were 16, 17 years old so we’ve been together for a while and our games complement each other. He really makes it happen for us.” All the squad hit the scoring table. With 10 minutes to play on Guarasci hadn’t scored but he broke the drought with a dunk. “You guys didn’t know I could dunk, did you?” he asked. Triano praised Guarasci’s play as “outstanding. … He’s been doing that for two years now. He doesn’t care if he scores. He wants to defend a tough player all the time.” Rowan Barrett paced Canada with 21 on 2-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Peter Guarasci added 11, along with 5 boards. Andrew Mavis scored 11 on 2-4 from the arc. Greg Francis notched 10 on 2-3 from the arc. Greg Newton scored 10 on 0-1 from the arc and 5 boards. Sherman Hamilton notched 9 on 2-3 from the arc, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Steve Nash scored 9 on 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 5 assists. Todd MacCulloch added 8, along with 3 boards, Michael Meeks 4, along with 6 bboards, David Daniels 3 on 0-2 from the arc, 4 assists and 2 steals, Eric Hinrichsen 2 and Shawn Swords 1, along with 7 boards and 5 assists. Canada hit 34-55 (.618) from the floor, 9-19 (.474) from the arc and 22-28 from the line, while garnering 39 boards, 19 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 16 turnovers and 13 fouls. Victor de Carvalho paced Angola with 10. Miguel Lutonda added 8, Victor Muzadi 8, David Dias 7, Anibal de Jesus Moreira 6, Belarmino Mario Chipongue 5, Garcia Joao Dos Santos Domingos 4, Angelo Monteiro Do Santos Victoriano 4, along with 7 boards, and Carlos Bendinha de Almeida 2, while Buila Katiavala, Edmar Monteiro Dos Santos Vitoriano and Herlander Fernandez Coimbra were scoreless. Angola shot 22-66 from the floor, 5-28 from the arc and 5-7 from the line, while garnering 22 boards, 12 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 13 turnovers and 23 fouls.
In game three, Michael Meeks scored 24 on 8-8 from the field, 4-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards as Canada routed Spain 91-77. The adept playmaking of point guard Steve Nash often caught the Spaniards napping, as support players like Peter Guarasci and captain Rowan Barrett ripped into the Europeans. The Canadians dictated terms right from the word go. They led 22-8 after seven minutes and 53-34 at half time, with an 11-0 scoring run blowing the margin out to double digits before the Spaniards had a chance to recover. Canada took a 19-point lead early and cruised. Coach Jay Triano said Nash was the difference. “He makes that first pass that lead to the next pass that leads to the open shot. We call it Gretzky pass.” Meeks said Canada benefited from its array of weapons. “We’ve got guys who can knock it down when they get an open look. One day it’s me. The next it’s Rowan Barrett or Sherman Hamilton. That opens up our post game. We can attack in a couple of different ways.” Triano cautioned that while the win “takes the pressure off,” the Canadians couldn’t afford to ease up. “This was a real test of our mental toughness. We can’t get caught up in being 3-0. The players have been really focused. They haven’t gone to see other athletes at other event. They haven’t seen their families. … We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t dream a little bit. But your dreams don’t come true if you don’t focus. That’s the biggest challenge we have in front of us right now. We have to focus on the process. But these guys make it easy for the coaches. They haven’t been to another event. They haven’t left the village. Their comment is ‘we can go to another Olympics. We’re here to play.” Meeks stressed that the Canadians weren’t looking ahead in the schedule. “We’re not even thinking about the quarterfinals yet. …When you work so hard every day leading up to this, it’s hard not to be confident. Even though not a lot of people know about Canadian basketball, I think we’re making a name for ourselves.” Pete Guarasci added 17 for Canada, along with 6 boards, Rowan Barrett 15 on 3-5 from the arc and 2 boards, Greg Newton 10, along with 2 boards, Todd MacCulloch 8, along with 5 boards, Steve Nash 7 on 1-2 from the arc and 5 assists, David Daniels 3 on 1-2 from the arc and 2 assists, Greg Francis 3 on 1-2 from the arc, Sherman Hamilton 2, Shawn Swords 2, while Eric Hinrichsen and Andrew Mavis were scoreless. Canada hit 32-52 from the floor, 10-19 from the arc and 17-21 from the line, while garnering 25 boards, 13 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 19 turnovers and 19 fouls. Johnny Berhard Rogers Rogers paced Spain with 15. Rodrigo de la Fuente added 13, along with 6 boards, Alberto Herroros Ros 10, Raul Lopez 9, Juan Carlos Navarro 9, Francisco A Angulo Espinosa 7, Jorge Garbajosa 6, along with 6 boards, Ignacio Rodriguez Marin 6 and Ignacio de Miguel 2, while Alfonso Reyes, Carlos Jimenez, Alfonso Reyes Cabanas and Roberto Duenas Hernandez were scoreless. Spain hit 28-58 from the floor, 9-21 from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 21 boards, 12 assists, 5 steals, 14 turnovers and 18 fouls.
Canada then suffered its first defeat of the Games as they dropped a 77-59 decision to Russia, largely because they were unable to cope with the Russians strength and athleticism. Russia took a 21-20 lead midway through the first half and began to pull away, leading 45-36 at the break. The Canadians simply could not contain Russia’s front court of Andrei Fettisov, Andrei Kirilenko and Alexandre Bachminov in the paint. The Russians defence also forced the Canadians into a perimeter jump shooting game and Canada wasn’t nearly as deadly as in its three previous matches, shooting just .328 from the field. After the loss, Triano told his players that they would finish 4-1 and win their pool. “When that comes from your coach at a time like that, we were all down as a team, it means a lot,” said MacCulloch. Andrey Fetissov led Russia with 15. Zakhar Pachoutine added 14, Sergey Chikalkin 11, Andrei Kirlenko 11, Aleksandr Bachminov 10, Nikita Morgunov 6, Evgueni Pachutine 5, along with 12 assists, Ruslan Avleyev 4 and Sergey Panov 1, while Valentin Kubrakov, Evgeny Kisurin, Serguei Bazarevitch and Zakhar Pshutin were scoreless. Russia shot 6-11 from the line, 32-60 (.533) from the floor and 7-18 from the arc, while garnering 34 boards, 19 assists, 6 steals, 10 blocks and 9 turnovers. Steve Nash paced Canada with 15 on 2-4 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Todd McCullough added 11, along with 3 boards, Pete Guarasci 10, along with 5 boards, Greg Newton 9, along with 4 boards and 2 blocks, Greg Francis 3 on 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards, Rowan Barrett 2 on 0-1 from the arc, Sherman Hamilton 2 on 0-1 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists, and Shawn Swords 1. Canada hit 19-58 (.328) from the floor, 3-15 from the arc and 18-28 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 10 turnovers.
Faced with the possibility of a three-way tie for second place in their pool, which would match them up against the American dream team in the quarterfinal by virtue of their 18-point loss to Russia, Canada took command of its own destiny and won pool B by stunning Serbia & Montenegro (essentially the defending world champion Yugoslavian team) 83-75 in their final round-robin match. Point guard Steve Nash dominated the affair, pounding the ball into the paint to Todd MacCulloch for easy buckets. The pair scored 47 points between them. Nash scored 26 on 4-4 from the arc, 8 boards and 8 assists. MacCulloch scored 21, grabbed 4 boards and had 4 blocks. Canada started the game with a driving dunk by Rowan Barrett but that was not enough to chase away the Baltic unit and it was the last time Canada would lead the game until there was 4:54 remaining in the game. Canada had difficulty scoring from the outside in the first half and relied on driving to the hoop. At the 13:00 minute mark Yugoslavia was on a 13-2 run ahead 20-9. MacCulloch entered the game with 12:00 remaining in the first half and made an immediate impact. The Serbia & Montenegro post players had difficulty staying out of foul trouble throughout the game and containing the Nash-MacCulloch tandem. With less than a minute remaining before the break, Barrett scored two points on a beautiful finger roll on an offensive rebound and MacCulloch scored on a driving layup to bring the score to 39-33. But Canada went into the half down 42-33. Suddenly the thoughts of the three-team tiebreaker Canada would have lost by one point were back. “We didn’t want the Spain-Australia game to determine whether or not we played the United States,” Triano later said. “We have so much respect for Yugoslavia and we knew we would be playing one of the best teams in the world.” Nash emerged from the change rooms in the mood to cause some havoc. He nailed a three to bring the score to 42-36. Then Sherman Hamilton hit a three to cut the Yugoslav lead to just four, only one minute into the half, part of a 17-9 Canadian scoring run which brought them back within reach. Canada started to hit their outside shots and opened up the inside game for MacCulloch. They rallied to within one several times but couldn’t recover the lead. Yugoslavia took a 68-65 lead on a three. But Nash dribbled back down the court and drilled a three to tie. “I knew what was coming when their guy hit that shot,” Triano said. “We didn’t have to call a play. I knew Steve was going to try and get it back for us and he did. He just loves to play the game. He’s having a great time on the floor and it shows. … Steve attracts so much attention and he loves to pass the ball. He’s extremely unselfish. He brings a competitiveness that the other guys try to keep up to.” Canada finally took the lead when Nash grabbed a long defensive rebound and threw a breakaway pass to Hamilton. Hamilton hit the layup and Canada went ahead 70-68 with 4:54 left in the game. Nash scored eight of Canada’s final points – going four for four from the free throw line. “NBA games are business,” said Nash. “These games are important because they’re for your country. … I just love to play. I try to have fun. I always smile when I play and I always play better when I smile. … This is why it’s fun. This is why you play. … This is what we expected. However, we’ll be disappointed if this is where it ends. We don’t want that to happen.” When the game ended, center Pete Guarasci picked up Nash and wouldn’t put him down as the team celebrated. “How about that Canadian grit?” said Rowan Barrett. MacCulloch noted that “Steve makes it so easy for us big guys. He makes us look a lot better than we are.” Michael Meeks added 12 for Canada on 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards, Sherman Hamilton 10 on 2-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 blocks, Rowan Barrett 9 on 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards, David Daniels 2, Shawn Swords 2, along with 2 boards and 2 assists, and Pete Guarasci 1, while Andrew Mavis and Greg Newton were scoreless. Canada shot 28-55 from the floor, 6-13 (.462) from the arc and 21-33 from the line, while garnering 25 boards, 13 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 9 turnovers and 19 fouls. Predrag Davolovic, who played for the Miami Heat, led Yugoslavia with 20. Dejan Bodiroga (also reported that it was Dragan Tarlac who scored the 13 points) added 13, Peja Stojakovic 13, along with 7 boards, Dejan Tomasevic 10, along with 7 boards, Zeljko Rebraca 8 (also reported as scoring 2), Dragan Lukovski 7 (also reported as scoring 8), along with 4 assists, Pedrag Drobnjak 2 (also reported as scoreless) and Vlado Scepanovic 2, while Predrag Danilovic, Sasa Obradovic, Vlado Scepanovic, Nikola Jestratijevic and (possibly) Pedrag Drobnjak were scoreless. Yugoslavia shot 28-55 from the floor, and 2-11 from the arc (.182) and 17-23 from the line, while garnering 29 boards, 12 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 10 turnovers and 28 fouls. Triano said he’d “never met a competitor like Steve Nash. He wants to be a part of the team and he shows that by the way he passes the ball, rebounds when he has to and competes all the time.” Nash said after the Yugoslav win that he was thinking of kids back in Canada and hoping the victory would “make them proud to be a Canada. And I hope all the basketball players will be proud to be Canadian basketball players because there’s not always been that source of pride.” Nash took Canada out of the mix of any tiebreakers with an unbelievable second half. After going 1-for-6 from the field in the first half, he made five of seven shots in the second half. When the game was on the line, he dominated it from the point guard position. He opened the second half with a three-pointer that seemed to energize the team, scored 20 in the second half. Nash scored or assisted on 18 of Canada’s last 21 points. He hit 3-pointers to tie the game at 65 and 68. His two free throws with 1:47 left gave Canada the lead for good at 74-73. Triano praised the team for not quitting despite being down 11. “They never quit. These guys played hard and they played smart, too. They didn’t panic.” Nash said it was a good test. “This is why it’s fun. This is why you play. To have a little struggle and adversity, that’s when you find out who you are. … Before the game I thought this was going to be our game.” Canada finished 4-1 in pool play, wrapping up an Olympic round-robin that reached its low point when star U.S. dream team point guard Gary Payton lamented about his opponents: “these guys don’t even ask for autographs anymore.”
When Canada went into the locker room to play Yugoslavia, coach Jay Triano had written ‘France” on the blackboard, hoping for a win so that the Canadians wouldn’t have to play the U.S. in the quarterfinals. It proved a case of don’t wish for what you get as France stunned Canada 68-63 in the quarterfinals. French defender Makan Dioumassi basically dismantled the Canadian attack with a sterling in-your-face defensive performance on point guard Steve Nash. He’d been the best non-American in the tournament but the athletic Dioumassi limited him to 10 points at a dismal 33 per cent and — crucially — helped force him into nine turnovers. Wherever he went on offence, so went his French shadow, slapping at the ball, bumping him on cuts and harassing him into errors. France had the worst record of the quarter-finalists, with only two wins from five preliminary games, but feasted on Canada’s turnovers in the first half to build a huge 38-23 lead at half time — and that was despite losing starter Yann Bonato with a sprained ankle after 10 minutes. Nash had hit a three to open the scoring. Sherman Hamilton quickly drove the baseline for a pull-up jumper. But it was the only lead Canada would enjoy. The French gave up nothing from the perimeter as they inched to an 11-10 lead. MacCulloch entered the game and hit an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 13. But with Canada’s perimeter shooting woes, the French were able to build a 15-point lead by the break. Canada came out in the second half with guns blazing and started with an 11-3 run. The lead was down to single digits, 41-32, two minutes into the second half. The second half was more productive for the Canadian side. Midway through the second half, Michael Meeks drew an offensive charge foul and on the subsequent play, Nash threw Meeks a long backdoor pass. Meeks put it up softly for the two points and converted the free throw that came along with the foul. The lead was down to five, 46-41. But France reasserted itself on defence and shut down the driving lanes. Defensive stopper 6-5 swingman Makan Dioumassi hounded Nash around the court, handchecking him and bumping him constantly. Guards Laurent Sciarra and Antoine Rigaudeau benefitted from France’s patient inside-outside offence and frequently had open jump shots. Canada reduced the deficit to six points with 12 minutes left, but successive three-pointers from Rigaudeau promoted The Blues into a lead which Canada’s final flurry could not erase. Canada managed to twice close the gap to within five points, but each time guard Antoine Rigaudeau knocked down key three pointers to end any hopes of a comeback. Todd MacCulloch ruled the paint but the frustrated Canadians could not land a three-pointer when it counted and the French were able to clog the middle with bodies and limit the impact of the Philadelphia 76ers centre. “They cut off our head,” said Triano. “We knew going in if the whistle didn’t blow in this game, we were in trouble. They were physical. They picked up Steve in the backcourt and held on to him. … I told them today we got beat by a better team. I told the players not to hang their heads because they have a lot to be proud of. They’ve come a lot further than people expected. They’re just pretty upset right now because this team believed in itself.” Nash wept openly as he left the floor. “You have to move on. But that doesn’t diminish the pain right now. This was an unbelievable group of guys. That’s what made it worthwhile. That’s why it hurts so much because I care so much for them. I felt like they should still be playing.” Meeks said that he wouldn’t trade Nash “for any player in the world right now. Everybody knows Steve is our make-or-break guy. If you control him, you’re going to control us.” Barrett credited the French with an excellent game plan. “They’re a great defensive team and they weren’t afraid to put two, three guys on Steve. Most teams, they put a guy on Steve, he breaks the guy down two or three times and the guy quits. But Dioumassi didn’t quit. …The other teams were afraid to go at Steve. But they had two or three guys on him up and down the court. If the whistle doesn’t blow, then (Dioumassi) is succeeding at it. If the whistles does blow, then Steve shoots 15 free throws. … This team exemplifies the heart of Canada. Every single guy in that dressing room is focusing on doing this for Canada. There’s no ego involved. There’s no ‘I’ve got to get my minutes.’ There’s no ‘play me or trade me.’ It’s for love. It’s for the love of country, the love of the game and the love of the other guys in the room. The guys on this team are my family. Every single one of you guys must know what it’s like to give your absolute all for something, to leave nothing on the floor, and to come up a little bit short.” Laurent Sciarra paced France with 17, along with 7 boards. Antoine Rigaudeau added 15, Jim Ruddy Anicet Bilba 9, Henry Crawford Palmer 7, Yann Jean Claude Bonato 6, Makan Dioumassi 6, Stephane Risacher 4 and Frederic Weis 4, while Moustapha Sonko, Laurent Foirest, Cyril Julian and Thierry Gadou were scoreless. France shot 11-15 from the line, 25-64 (.390) from the floor and 7-22 from the arc, while garnering 34 boards, 14 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks, 9 turnovers and 18 fouls. MacCulloch led Canada with 23 points, 9 boards and 2 blocks. “All the points I scored were from assists,” he said. “It was nothing I did. I took what came easy.” Michael Meeks added 12 on 1-3 from the arc and 9 boards. Steve Nash notched 10 on 1-5 from the arc, 8 assists, 2 blocks and unheard-of 9 turnovers, including one with 26.8 seconds to play and Canada trailing by 5. Rowan Barrett added 8 on 0-1 from the arc, 9 boards and 2 assists. Pete Guarasci scored 4, along with 6 boards, Sherman Hamilton 4 on 0-2 from the arc, and Greg Francis 2, while David Daniels, Andrew Mavis, Greg Newton and Shawn Swords were scoreless. Newton nabbed 2 boards. Canada hit 25-56 (.446) from the floor, 2-13 (.154) from the arc and 11-18 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, 13 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 16 turnovers and 15 fouls.
Canada then beat Russia 86-83 in a double-overtime thriller to capture seventh place. The teams were tied at 59 in regulation when the buzzer apparently beat Steve Nash’s successful jumper. But the referees ruled that the clock had expired and forced an extra session. The teams were tied at 76 after one overtime. Nash then had four free throws and fellow-NBA player Todd MacCulloch had two in the final three minutes, their baskets eventually securing the lead for Canada. This did not stop Russia, Serguei Tchikalkine (Chikalkin?), having a final three-point shot at the basket in the dying seconds, which could have levelled the scores again. Both teams enjoyed substantial leads during the game, but neither was able to capitalize on their position, the result being a tight competition. Nash scored a pair of buckets to put Canada ahead 84-78 with 1:15 to play in the second overtime and Canada withstood a late Russian rally to leave Sydney on a winning note. “My hope is that we’ve inspired young basketball players in Canada,” said coach Jay Triano. “We’ve never rolled over. There’s a lot of pride in that room. I told them to be proud. They went 5-2 in this tournament and beat everyone in our pool. If I would have told you that was going to happen before this tournament, nobody would have believed me.” Nash remained disappointed by the quarterfinal loss to France. “Ultimately, we may have deserved more than what we got. But when it comes down to it, we didn’t play well enough against France.” Zakhar Pachoutine led Russia with 23, along with 8 boards and 5 assists. Serguei Chikalkin added 16, Nikita Morgunov 9, Ruslan Aveleyev 8, Sergey Panov 7, Evgueni Pachoutine 6, Andrei Kirilenko 5, Aleksandra Bashminov 4, Andrey Fetisov 4 and Serguei Bazarevich 1, while Evgeny Kisurin and Valentin Kubrakov were scoreless. Russia shot 16-25 from the line, 31-65 from the floor and 5-18 from the arc, while garnering 31 boards, 14 assists, 8 steals, 6 blocks, 24 turnovers and 29 fouls. Peter Guarasci paced Canada with 21, along with 8 boards and 2 assists. Michael Meeks added 15, along with 10 boards. Steve Nash notched 14, along with 3 assists. Sherman Hamilton notched 10, along with 3 boards and 5 assists, Todd MacCulloch 9, along with 5 boards, Shawn Swords 8, along with 5 boards and 3 assists, Greg Francis 3, Andrew Mavis 3, Greg Newton 2 and Eric Hinrichsen 1, while David Daniels was scoreless and pilfered 3 balls. Canada hit 28-65 from the floor, 5-17 from the arc and 22-25 from the line, while garnering 33 boards, 14 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 22 turnovers and 23 fouls.