| PLACINGS 1. United States 2. Soviet Union 3. West Germany 4. CANADA 5. Israel 6. Yugoslavia 7. Cuba 8. Brazil 9. Turkey 10. Finland 11. Mexico 12. Great Britain 13. China 14. Poland 15. Greece 16. Japan | CANADIANS Dan Becker Barry Bekkedam (Prescott, Ont.) Cord Clemens (Vancouver, B.C.) Eric Hammond (Toronto, Ont.) J.D. Jackson (Vernon, B.C.) Tom Johnson (Victoria, B.C.) Patrick Jebbison Martin Keane Spencer McKay Phil Ohl (Victoria, B.C.) David Turcotte (Ottawa, Ont.) Joey Vickery (Winnipeg, Man.) Ken Shields – coach |
| POOL A | YUG | CUB | CHN | GRE | Record | |||
| Yugoslavia | —– | 79-78 | 105-101 | 93-52 | (3-0) | |||
| Cuba | 78-79 | —– | 90-73 | 103-50 | (2-1) | |||
| China | 101-105 | 73-90 | —– | 122-77 | (1-2) | |||
| Greece | 52-93 | 50-103 | 77-122 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| POOL B | USSR | CAN | MEX | TUR | Record | |||
| Soviet Union | —– | 74-70 | 88-80 | 76-77 | (2-1) | |||
| Canada | 70-74 | —– | 99-91 | 105-84 | (2-1) | |||
| Mexico | 80-88 | 91-99 | —– | 76-75 | (1-2) | |||
| Turkey | 77-76 | 84-105 | 75-76 | —– | (1-2) | |||
| POOL C | USA | BRA | GBR | POL | Record | |||
| United States | —– | 126-93 | 108-67 | 128-75 | (3-0) | |||
| Brazil | 93-126 | —– | 80-82 | 99-77 | (1-2) | |||
| Great Britain | 67-108 | 82-80 | —– | 78-82 | (1-2) | |||
| Poland | 75-128 | 77-99 | 82-78 | —– | (1-2) | |||
| POOL D | GER | ISR | FIN | JPN | Record | |||
| West Germany | —– | 85-71 | 87-71 | 97-57 | (3-0) | |||
| Israel | 71-85 | —– | 97-76 | 94-68 | (2-1) | |||
| Finland | 71-81 | 76-97 | —– | 77-62 | (1-2) | |||
| Japan | 57-97 | 68-94 | 62-77 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| QFs | United States 104 Israel 79 | |
| QFs | West Germany 117 Brazil 92 | |
| QFs | Canada 117 Yugoslavia 99 | |
| QFs | U.S.S.R. 103 Cuba 86 | |
| 13-16th | China 91 Greece 78 | |
| 13-16th | Poland 95 Japan 67 | |
| 9-12th | Turkey 86 Mexico 85 | |
| 9-12th | Finland 88 Great Britain 64 | |
| 5-8th | Israel 97 Brazil 90 | |
| 5-8th | Yugoslavia 92 Cuba 90 | |
| Semi | United States 103 West Germany 85 | |
| Semi | U.S.S.R. 88 Canada 71 | |
| 15th | Greece 76 Japan 71 | |
| 13th | China 86 Poland 78 | |
| 11th | Mexico 86 Great Britain 79 | |
| 9th | Turkey 79 Finland 69 | |
| 7th | Cuba 90 Brazil 89 | |
| 5th | Israel 107 Yugoslavia 85 | |
| Bronze | West Germany 86 Canada 83 | |
| Final | United States 88 Soviet Union 80 | |
The Games were originally scheduled to be held in Sao Paulo. But Brazil backed out five months before the games started, forcing FISU to find another host. Duisberg accepted on the provision that the original 10-sport program be cut strictly to track and field, rowing, fencing and basketball.
In their opener, Canada thrashed Turkey 105-84 as Dave Turcotte scored 17. Dan Becker added 16. Barry Bekkedam notched 11, along with 9 boards.
Canada then loses 74-70 to the Soviet Union despite leading 46-38 at the half. The Soviets rallied to knot the score at 70 with a minute to play. Joey Vickery was fouled but missed both free throws. The Soviets came back and took their first lead on a putback rebound. They added a pair of free throws to ice it. Tom Johnson led Canada with 16. Joey Vickery added 12 and Barry Bekkedam 11. Coach Ken Shield was disappointed with the way his troops lost. “My concern was our rebounding. The Soviets got four baskets on tip-ins over our big people, when we had inside position, including the tie-breaking basket. That’s an unforgivable sin.”
Canada defeated Mexico 99-91 in overtime as Cord Clemens scored 23 and grabbed 10 boards. J.D. Jackson added 19. Barry Bekkedam, coming off a season-ending knee injury at Villanova, added 6, along with three boards, while playing solid defence in overtime. “The defensive press near the end really got me going but I missed those shots early,” Bekkedam told Canadian Press. “I can’t think about anything but rebounding. It’ll be the most important thing for the big men in our quarterfinal against Yugoslavia.” Canadian coach Ken Shields said Bekkedam had been inconsistent through the tournament. “He played hard, he rebounded pretty well, he did what we asked of him.”
Canada finishes (2-1) in pool play, advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Barry Bekkedam scored 27 as Canada stunned defending champion Yugoslavia 117-99. Bekkedam, a 6-11 forward, gave the Yugoslavians fits from the perimeter, hitting all five of his three-point shots. Canada led 61-45 at the half. Coming off a season-ending knee injury at Villanova University in Philadelphia, Bekkedam told Canadian Press that he was determined to silence critics who said he was finished. “I relaxed and played within myself. I had a chance to fun up and down the floor and play around the basket, crash the boards from the wing, and I can shoot the three when I’m relaxed.” Coach Ken Shields called it a major breakthrough for an inexperienced unit. “I think it’s a big step for Canadian basketball to have one of our younger teams go out and face the defending champions here and not be intimidated. We talked a lot about it at the hotel before we left, the fact that we had to believe that we could deal with these people and we could beat them and play that way, because we hadn’t been playing like we believed we could win. It was a bit step for the team.” Cord Clemens added 24 points and grabbed 9 boards. Joey Vickery and Dave Turcotte each scored 19, while Tom Johnson scored 17, including five from beyond the arc. All told, the Canadians hit 15 from beyond the arc.
In the semifinals, the Canadians dropped an 88-71 decision to the Soviet Union, which hit 13-27 from the arc and shot. 530 from the field as they built a 45-38 lead at the half, which they never relinquished. Canada hit a mere 3-14 from the arc and shot .360 from the floor. J.D. Jackson paced Canada with 21 points. Canada briefly rallied to within three in the second half but wilted down the stretch. “We never got it together and the Soviets, the whole game, they were together,” said Jackson.
In the bronze medal match, Canada squandered a 14-point lead late in the second half and fell 86-83 to host West Germany. The teams were tied at 43 at the half but Canada built a lead with full-court pressure before themselves falling victim to the West German’s press. They committed a series of rash turnovers, forced several quick shots and completely lost their poise, often shouting at each other in frustration. Tom Johnson paced Canada with 23 points, including a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer to pull Canada within three with seconds to play. Johnson said the team’s inexperience showed. “When up by 10, we have to be able to put our foot on the gas and push up to 20. The guys got complacent on a couple of situations. Even when we were disorganized on defence, we got the ball inside but we didn’t finish and the big guys got frustrated. That’s evidence it was a long tournament. J.D. Jackson scored 14 on timely steals and knifing layups. Cord Clemens added 13, Eric Hammond 11 and 4 boards. Phil Ohl grabbed 8 boards. Hammond said he started hollering at his teammates in hopes of motivating them, adding that he was tired of watching leads slip away. “At the junior worlds a couple of years ago, we were sixth and we’re fourth here. So, it’s an improvement and hopefully when it comes time for the Olympics in ‘92, we’ll be in top form.” West Germany shot .570 from the field, while Canada shot .460. The Canadians hit 18-28 from the line. Coach Ken Shields was disappointed “that the team didn’t have the toughness necessary to win this medal. Maybe I’m too competitive and my expectations are too high, but I didn’t feel there was a game we lost that we couldn’t have won. Still, we have a lot of things to be proud of here.” West Germany hit 57 per cent from the field to Canada’s low 46 per cent. Canada was 18 for 28 from the foul line.