| FINAL STANDINGS 1. France 2. CANADA 3. New Zealand Turkey 5. Philippines Senegal | CANADIANS Shai Alexander (Hamilton, Ont.) Joel Anthony (Montreal, Que.) Anthony Bennett (Toronto, Ont.) Khem Birch (Montreal, Que.) Melvin Ejim (Toronto, Ont.) Tyler Ennis (Brampton, Ont.) Brady Heslip (Burlington, Ont.) Cory Joseph (Toronto, Ont.) Levon Kendall (Vancouver, B.C.) Philip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) Tristan Thompson (Brampton, Ont.) Jay Triano – coach Dave Smart – assistant Scott Morrison – assistant Nathaniel Mitchell – assistant Steve Nash – general manager |
| POOL A | CAN | TUR | SEN | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 77-69 | 58-55 | (2-0) | ||
| Turkey | 69-77 | —– | 68-62 | (1-1) | ||
| Senegal | 55-58 | 62-68 | —– | (0-2) | ||
| POOL B | FRA | NZL | PLP | Record | ||
| France | —– | 66-59 | 93-84 | (2-0) | ||
| New Zealand | 59-66 | —– | 89-80 | (1-1) | ||
| Philippines | 84-93 | 80-89 | —– | (0-2) | ||
| Semi | Canada 78 New Zealand 72 | |
| Semi | France 75 Turkey 63 | |
| Final | France 83 Canada 74 | |
Among players who opted not to participate were NBA stars Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Olynyk (who was recuperating from shoulder surgery), as well as pros Nik Stauskas (disinclined), Andrew Nicholson (free agent without insurable contract), Dwight Powell (free agent without insurable contract) and Robert Sacre. Wiggins noted indifferently in a statement that he was taking the summer off and wasn’t particularly interested in representing Canada. “I understand my increased role with the Timberwolves and dedication to the upcoming season must have my total focus. We are building a championship contending team, which has always been my goal.” As well, Kentucky guard Jamal Murray, who had just selected seventh in the NBA draft, also chose to sit out because he hadn’t yet signed an insurable contract.
In their opener, Canada dispatched Turkey 77-69. Canada took control in the second quarter by pushing the tempo. Point guard Cory Joseph and post Tristan Thompson quelled a Turkey rally to give Canada its first double-digit lead, from which the Turks never recovered. Canada led x-x at the half after dictating tempo through its backcourt. Turkey made a late run in the fourth quarter to cut a 13-point lead to seven with 48 seconds to play but Philip Scrubb drilled a trey and Tyler Ennis a pair of free throws to quell the threat. “We still have a lot to work on, but ultimately we got the job done,” point guard Cory Joseph told the Toronto Star. “We’ve just got to keep on continuing to build throughout the tournament and try to get to our end goal.” Coach Jay Triano said “bottom line is it was a win and it helps us with what our goal is, so we’ve got to turn around, play again tomorrow, and we have to keep getting better.” Triano told Inquirer.net that it “was a very tough game. We have a lot of respect for Turkish basketball. This Turkish team is a very well-coached team so we knew it was going to be a great battle and it was. Throughout the whole game, even though we got ahead by 13 at one point it was still a tight basketball game and we were concerned of their ability to shoot the basketball. … I thought Corey was outstanding the way he had a feel for the game, his ability to use the pick and roll was pretty good and he got his teammates involved.” Turkish guard Sinan Guler said “we did not play good on the offensive side of the game. We played good defense but on offense we did not capitalize on our strengths.” Cory Joseph paced Canada with 21 on 7-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Philip Scrubb added 10 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Tristan Thompson added 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Thomas Scrubb notched 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Melvin Ejim added 7 on 1-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Tyler Ennis added 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Brady Heslip added 6 on 0-1 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Anthony Bennett scored 4 on 1-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Khem Birch added 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 7 boards, while Levon Kendall, Joel Anthony and Shai Gilgeous Alexander did not play. Canada hit 25-59 (.424) overall, 18-40 (.450) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 20-24 (.833) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 27 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks. Sinan Guler paced Turkey with 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-22 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 steals. Cedi Osman added 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line and 5 boards. Melih Mahmutoglu notched 9 on 3-3 from the arc. Semih Erden scored 8 on 2-6 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 8 boards. Birkan Batuk scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Oguz Savas added 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Samet Geyik scored 4 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 6 boards. Omer Asik notched 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 6 boards. Furkan Korkmaz added 2 on 2-3 from the floor. Kenan Sipahi scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Ali Muhammed added 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Ender Arslan was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. Turkey (coached by Ergin Ataman, assisted by Ufuk Sarica and Fikret Yakup Seikizkok) hit 22-61 (.361) overall, 16-35 (.457) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 19-34 (.559) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 25 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 1 block.
Canada completed pool play undefeated at (2-0) by nipping Senegal 58-55. Bluntly put, Canada survived, often looking slow and clueless against the aggressive, quicker Senegalese. Point guard Cory Joseph hit three of four free throws in the final 11 seconds and had a chance to seal the win with three seconds to play but missed, which allowed Senegal’s Clevin Hannah a chance at a three-point heave on the final play but he missed. “Cory does a great job of getting into the lane and creating for us offensively, and I though he was the focus of their defence, and they did a great job disrupting him,” Canadian coach Jay Triano told Canadian Press. “He still made a couple plays when he had to, but they tried to take him away and out of what they do and I give them a lot of credit. That’s why the game was so close. … It was a great game if you love defence. I thought both teams were very good defensively. It was a very well-fought game and we’re fortunate to get the victory.” Maurice Ndour hit a trey for Senegal with 59 seconds to play cutting the margin to two but Clevin Hannah missed two treys in the final minute, allowing Canada to escape. “We’ve had a mixture of game, we’ve had some blowouts or close-to-blowouts, and tonight was a close game,” said Tyler Ennis. “I think it’s great for us heading into the next couple games, just having one that was close under the belt and we had to really steal the game at the end.” Triano told the Toronto Star that “I give (Senegal) credit but we’re going to have to be a lot better. We’re two games in and we’re going to have to be better from here on out.” Canada’s perimeter shooting was abysmal and the Canadians struggled in half-court sets but Melvin Ejim stepped up with several buckets and boards at critical moments. “They did a really good job of disrupting us and taking us away from our transition and our ability to shoot the three-point shot,” Triano said. “I “I thought they switched a lot on us and the guys that were switching on us were just as good at containing the basketball. It made it tough for us to get into a drive and kick game and I thought they played a great game.” Ennis said “they did a great job of changing our shots and taking away the three-point line. Offensively, as a team we have to do a better job of finishing and making plays at the rim but also shooting a higher percentage.” Canada led 47-42 after three quarters. Tyler Ennis told Syracuse.com that “they did a good job of not only changing our shots but also taking away the 3-point line. Offensively as a team, we’ve got to do a better job of finishing and making plays at the rim, but also shoot a better percentage.” Cory Joseph paced Canada with 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Tyler Ennis added 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 3 assists. Melvin Ejim notched 11 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Anthony Bennett added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 7 boards. Tristan Thompson notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 10 boards. Joel Anthony added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Phil Scrubb notched 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Thomas Scrubb scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Brady Heslip was scoreless on 0-2 from the floor and 0-5 from the arc, while Shea Gilgeous-Alexander, Levon Kendall and Khem Birch did not play. Canada hit 21-65 (.323) overall, 19-48 (.396) from the floor, 2-17 (.118) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 16 fouls, 12 turnovers, 1 steal and 4 blocks. Maurice Ndour paced Senegal with 16 on 1-7 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 6 blocks. Clevin Hannah added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Maleye Ndoye scored 6 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Cheikh Mbodj scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Ibrahima Thomas added 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Hamady Ndiaye scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Louis Adams added 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Thierno Niang added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 5 boards and 4 assists, while El Hadji Ndiaye, Antoine Mendy and Serigne Gueye were scoreless and Abdoulaye Ndoye did not play. El Hadji Ndiaye and Mendy each nabbed 2 boards. Senegal (coached by Porfirio Fisac De Diego, assisted by Dame Diouf) hit 19-69 (.275) overall, 10-40 (.250) from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 24 fouls, 16 turnovers, 3 steals and 8 blocks.
In the crossover semis, Canada survived New Zealand 78-72. With Canada leading 73-71, New Zealand guard Corey Webster missed two consecutive shot, which allowed Melvin Ejim, who pilfered the ball and then rebounded a missed Cory Joseph layup in traffic, to notch an and-one. Khem Birch added a bucket and Canada pulled out the win. Canada’s Tristan Thompson dominated the glass but the Canadians missed 10 free throws and were once again, abysmal from the arc. Their defence, though, particularly down the stretch, when they forced a series of turnovers, was solid. “I think our confidence level in shooting the ball is down,” Canadian coach Jay Triano told the Toronto Star. “We keep talking about we have to be so good defensively because there could be a game where you don’t make shots — well, we’ve had three where we haven’t made shots. Things have to turn for us, we’re not shooting the ball the way (we can) but I love the way the guys are fighting and we keep defending, we keep forcing tough shots, we keep forcing teams to shoot a low percentage against us. That gives us chance until we’re going to start making shots.” Triano said Melvin Ejim’s effort proved critical down the stretch. “Melvin is just our energy guy, we kind of trust him down the stretch. He’s a fierce competitor on the glass, he’s a fierce competitor defensively and was extremely valuable to us.” Tristan Thompson said “on a team, everyone has to make sacrifices and identify their role, coach Jay has said that from Day 1. For me, it’s just to compete every night and play hard. I’m not worried about the stats, for me it’s competing and doing whatever it takes to win. Winning trumps everything.” Triano told Canadian Press that when New Zealand made a run late in the third quarter to take a 66-64 lead, he told his troops to “breathe, just relax. … I think we were getting caught up just a little bit. We missed a defensive assignment, they hit a three, that hurts us. The tempo of the game was in our pace early then it kind of slowed down for us. But I still thought at the end of the game our execution, spreading the floor and being able to use our athleticism was our strength.” Thompson said “we came to put ourselves in a position to win. Coach Jay, the whole coaching staff and front office put a team together to come here and win. We’ve travelled this far, the guys went to multiple destinations to prepare for this moment. I’m glad I’m able to be a part of this. We have one more game.” Triano said “we’re a better shooting team than we’ve shown. We eventually have to make shots. We have one more game to get that done.” New Zealand led 25-23 after one quarter. The teams were tied at 42 at the half. Canada led 58-54 after three quarters. Triano told the Toronto Sun that “we’ve got so many talented players, it’s a challenge for me sometimes to get them all on the floor but everybody we called on, even in short minutes, did a great job. Khem Birch was outstanding in his short minutes, Anthony Bennett was very good and Melvin was just our energy guy. We are able to trust him down the stretch. … We keep talking about how we need to be so good defensively, because there could be a game where we don’t make shots, well, we’ve had three where we haven’t made shots, so, things need to turn for us. Our confidence is down. We need to drive and attack the rim to shrink the defence and then be able to kick and make threes.” Thompson said “we have one have one more game. Coach wanted to break this tournament down to four quarters. It’s the fourth quarter (Sunday), guys got to be prepared and ready. We came this far, we came to put ourselves in a position to win.” Cory Joseph paced Canada with 23 on 8-16 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Melvin Ejim added 13 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Tristan Thompson notched 13 on 4-5 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 10 boards. Anthony Bennett added 9 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, and 5 boards. Khem Birch added 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the line and 5 boards. Thomas Scrubb added 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Tyler Ennis added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-3 from the line and 2 boards. Philip Scrubb added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Brady Heslip added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2 boards, while Shea Gilgeous-Alexander, Levon Kendall and Joel Anthony did not play. Canada hit 30-69 (.435) overall, 26-49 (.531) from the floor, 4-20 (.200) from the arc and 14-25 (.560) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 14 fouls, 12 turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Corey Webster paced New Zealand with 21 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Thomas Abercrombie added 16 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Tai Jack Webster notched 15 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Mika Vukona added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 8 boards and 2 assists. Robert Loe scored 6 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 4 assists. Shea Ili added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Isaac Fotu scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc, while Evarard Bartlett, Benny Anthony and Jordan Ngatai were scoreless and Derone Raukawa and Michael Karena did not play. New Zealand (coached by Paul Henare, assisted by Pero Cameron and Fraser Ross McMains) hit 28-71 (.394) overall, 17-42 (.405) from the floor, 11-29 (.379) from the arc and 5-7 (.714) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 27 fouls, 13 turnovers, 5 steals and 2 blocks.
In the final, France dispatched Canada 83-74. The French backcourt of Tony Parker and tournament MVP Nando De Colo dominated. Down the stretch, with two minutes to play, Parker coolly drained a trey to extend France’s lead to seven and bury Canada’s hopes of qualifying for the Games at Rio de Janeiro. Canada once again struggled to hit open looks from beyond the arc. Canada trailed by five points going into the fourth quarter of a fierce back-and-forth battle. Parker drilled a three-pointer with five-and-a-half minutes to play to put France up by eight points, but an Anthony Bennett three and a bucket from Tyler Ennis pulled the Canadians within three, setting the stage for Parker’s dagger. Canada led 30-25 after one quarter. A Boris Diaw trey at the buzzer sent France into the dressing room with a 39-36 lead. France opened up an 11-point gap in the third quarter, but the Canadians had pulled to within 56-51 after three quarters. “I’m not sure overall if the Olympics resonate with the younger generation like it did, especially in certain sports,” Canada Basketball general manager Steve Nash told the Toronto Star. “The world is changing all the time that it’s just one of those things. Kids have so many more options now to use and outlets — it doesn’t quite have the same resonance that it did before. … Other than improving our shooting, which I think every country wants to do, it’s experience and it’s a matter of our guys continuing to grow, not only in their careers away from the international game, but also playing for their country. The next time this group gets together, they’ll be a much different, older group.” Cory Joseph noted that he was honoured to represent the country. ““I keep Canada close to my heart, so whenever I get a chance, I’m honoured to play for them, and I try to go out there and leave it all on the court. Playing for Canada, we have a great coaching staff, so I’m still working on my game, still getting better, and there’s no better competition you’ll get in the world in the summertime than playing.” Nash said “I think we’ve developed at an alarming rate and the project is moving in the right direction. We’re all very, very disappointed but it’s a young group, minus Joel and Levon. We’re talking very early 20s and we were playing teams that were much more experienced.” Canadian coach Jay Triano told Canadian Press “we’re a young team, and hopefully we learn and grow from this,” said head coach Jay Triano. “I’m very proud of my team, the way that we fought, not just this game, but the whole tournament, throughout the summer. … Being the youngest team here is a good growing experience for us. We’re going to keep getting better, we’ve got some great talent, and I definitely appreciate the sacrifices our players made. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get a win and have these guys be rewarded by becoming Olympians.” Triano credited Joseph and Thompson for playing after both went deep into in the NBA playoffs. “It means a lot for our country.” Joseph said “we battled hard, I thought at the end Tony got it going. We weren’t able to get it done. We fought hard and I’m proud of my guys.” Nash told CP “we’re obviously all heart-broken, and disappointed but very proud of the guys, the staff and everyone involved. I thought we acquitted ourselves well even if we didn’t reach our goal of the Olympics this cycle.” Tony Parker paced France with 26 on 6-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Nando De Colo added 22 on 8-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Boris Diaw added 9 on 0-4 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Nicolas Batum notched 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Thomas Huertel added 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 assists. Charles Kahudi added 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Joffrey Lauvergne notched 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. A Diot scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Mickael Gelabale added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc, while Florent Pietrus and Kim Tillie were scoreless and Adrien Moerman did not play. France (coached by Vincent Collet, assisted by Jacques Commeres and Ruddy Nelhomme) hit 30-61 (.492) overall, 21-34 (.618) from the floor, 9-27 (.333) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 16 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. Cory Joseph paced Canada with 20 on 9-13 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Melvin Ejim added 19 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Tyler Ennis notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Tristan Thompson added 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 7 boards. Anthony Bennett added 7 on 1-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. Thomas Scrubb scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Khem Birch scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards. Brady Heslip added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc, while Shea Gilgeous-Alexander, Levon Kendall and Joel Anthony did not play. Canada hit 31-61 (.508) overall, 24-42 (.571) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 5-8 (.625) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 17 fouls, 21 turnovers, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
2016 OLYMPIC REPECHAGE, BELGRADE, SERBIA
| POOL A | SER | PUR | ANG | Record | ||
| Serbia | —– | 87-81 | 83-60 | (2-0) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 81-87 | —– | 91-81 | (1-1) | ||
| Angola | 60-83 | 81-91 | —– | (0-2) | ||
| POOL B | LAT | CZE | JPN | Record | ||
| Latvia | —– | 71-59 | 88-48 | (2-0) | ||
| Czech Republic | 59-71 | —– | 87-71 | (1-1) | ||
| Japan | 48-88 | 71-87 | —– | (0-2) | ||
| Semi | Puerto Rico 77 Latvia 70 | |
| Semi | Serbia 96 Czech Republic 72 | |
| Final | Serbia 108 Puerto Rico 77 | |
Serbia’s Nikola Jokic was chosen tournament MVP by the media. No all-tournament team was selected.
2016 OLYMPIC REPECHAGE, TURIN, ITALY
| POOL A | GRE | MEX | IRN | Record | ||
| Greece | —– | 86-70 | 78-53 | (2-0) | ||
| Mexico | 70-86 | —– | 75-70 | (1-1) | ||
| Iran | 53-78 | 70-75 | —– | (0-2) | ||
| POOL B | ITA | CRO | TUN | Record | ||
| Italy | —– | 67-60 | 68-41 | (2-0) | ||
| Croatia | 60-67 | —– | 72-52 | (1-1) | ||
| Tunisia | 41-68 | 52-72 | —– | (0-2) | ||
| Semi | Italy 79 Mexico 54 | |
| Semi | Croatia 66 Greece 61 | |
| Final | Croatia 84 Italy 78 | |
Croatia’s Dario Saric was chosen tournament MVP by the media. No all-tournament team was selected.