| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Japan 3. CANADA 4. Czechoslovakia 5. Lithuania 6. Great Britain 7. Croatia 8. Ireland 9. South Korea 10. Mexico 11. Russia 12. China 13. Brazil 14. United Arab Emirates 15. Hong Kong 16. South Africa 17. Finland | CANADIANS Richard Bohne (Raymond, Alta./U of Calgary) Dave Picton (Welland, Ont./Brock) Matt Hildebrand (Landmark, Man./Liberty U) Greg Francis (Toronto, Ont./Fairfield) Shawn Swords (Ottawa, Ont./Laurentian) Keith Vassell (Toronto, Ont./Brandon) Rowan Barrett (Scarborough, Ont./St. John’s) Pete Van Elswyck (Hamilton, Ont./ South Carolina) Pete Guarasci (Niagara Falls, Ont./Simon Fraser) Brendan Graves (Victoria, B.C./Santa Clara) Todd MacCulloch (Winnipeg, Man./Washington) Frederic Arsenault (Montreal, Que./Concordia) John Dore (coach) Peter Campbell (assistant) Lou Pero (assistant) Ted Gibb – manager |
| POOL A | JPN | CRO | UAE | HKG | Record | |||
| Japan | —– | 79-77 | 104-71 | 99-50 | (3-0 | |||
| Croatia | 77-79 | —– | 101-45 | 107-47 | (2-1) | |||
| United Arab Emirates | 71-104 | 45-101 | —– | 74-73 | (1-2) | |||
| Hong Kong | 50-99 | 47-107 | 73-74 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| POOL B | USA | GBR | RUS | BRZ | Record | |||
| United States | —– | 95-59 | 115-48 | 118-75 | (3-0) | |||
| Great Britain | 59-95 | —– | 78-74 | 96-70 | (2-1) | |||
| Russia | 48-115 | 74-78 | —– | 94-77 | (1-2) | |||
| Brazil | 75-118 | 70-96 | 77-94 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| POOL C | CAN | IRL | MEX | KOR | FIN | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 119-83 | 110-84 | 101-66 | 100-92 | (4-0) | ||
| Ireland | 83-119 | —– | 73-70 | 86-72 | 81-74 | (3-1) | ||
| Mexico | 84-110 | 70-73 | —– | 92-89 | 80-77 | (2-2) | ||
| South Korea | 66-101 | 72-86 | 89-92 | —– | 102-101 | (1-3) | ||
| Finland | 92-100 | 74-81 | 77-80 | 101-102 | —– | (0-4) | ||
| POOL D | CZE | LTU | CHN | RSA | Record | |||
| Czechoslovakia | —– | 101-90 | 93-71 | 105-50 | (3-0) | |||
| Lithuania | 90-101 | —– | 104-73 | 95-56 | (2-1) | |||
| China | 71-93 | 73-104 | —– | 118-51 | (1-2) | |||
| South Africa | 50-105 | 56-95 | 51-118 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| CONSOLATION POOL E | MEX | KOR | UAE | HKG | Record | |||
| Mexico | —– | 92-89 | 116-84 | 95-50 | (3-0) | |||
| South Korea | 89-92 | —– | 123-84 | 104-60 | (2-1) | |||
| United Arab Emirates | 84-116 | 84-123 | —– | 74-73 | (1-2) | |||
| Hong Kong | 50-95 | 60-104 | 73-74 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| CONSOLATION POOL H | RUS | CHN | BRZ | RSA | Record | |||
| Russia | —– | 95-70 | 94-77 | 107-56 | (3-0) | |||
| China | 70-95 | —– | 78-77 | 118-51 | (2-1) | |||
| Brazil | 77-94 | 77-78 | —– | 128-57 | (1-2) | |||
| South Africa | 56-107 | 51-118 | 57-128 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| SEMIS POOL I | JPN | CAN | CRO | IRL | Record | |||
| Japan | —– | 98-93 | 79-77 | 89-68 | (3-0) | |||
| Canada | 93-98 | —– | 91-78 | 119-83 | (2-1) | |||
| Croatia | 77-79 | 78-91 | —– | 87-67 | (1-2) | |||
| Ireland | 68-89 | 83-119 | 67-87 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| SEMIS POOL J | USA | CZE | LTH | GBR | Record | |||
| United States | —– | 77-62 | 105-81 | 95-59 | (3-0) | |||
| Czechoslovakia | 62-77 | —– | 101-90 | 85-82 | (2-1) | |||
| Lithuania | 81-105 | 90-101 | —– | 75-63 | (1-2) | |||
| Great Britain | 59-95 | 82-85 | 63-75 | —– | (0-3) | |||
| 13-16th | United Arab Emirates 87 South Africa 65 | |
| 13-16th | Brazil 139 Hong Kong 53 | |
| 9-12th | Korea 105 Russia 104 | |
| 9-12th | Mexico 92 China 87 | |
| 5-8th | Great Britain 80 Croatia 73 | |
| 5-8th | Lithuania 106 Ireland 73 | |
| semis | United States 114 Canada 89 | |
| semis | Japan 90 Czechoslovakia 73 | |
| 17th | Finland (by default) | |
| 15th | Hong Kong 59 South Africa 58 | |
| 13th | Brazil 99 United Arab Emirates 78 | |
| 11th | Russia 101 China 95 | |
| 9th | Korea 104 Mexico 80 | |
| 7th | Croatia 85 Ireland 63 | |
| 5th | Lithuania 88 Great Britain 71 | |
| Bronze | Canada 80 Czechoslovakia 72 | |
| Final | United States 141 Japan 81 | |
Canada opens with a 110-84 rout of Mexico but coach John Dore was displeased. “We were fortunate to win. We did not play the way we like. We scored a lot but we did not play well defensively.” Some 65 fouls were whistled in the chippy affair. “We started to get a lot of fouls and the game started slowing down,” said guard Keith Vassell. “But we should have been able to push through it and force up-tempo style of game.” Frederic Arsenault came off the bench to lead Canada with 16 points. “That was almost a dream for me because I won’t see a lot of playing time in this tournament and it just went very well,” Arsenault said. Canada led 58-46 at the half. Todd MacCulloch added 15, Rowan Barrett 12, Peter Guarasci 12, Shawn Swords 11, Richard Bohne 10, Brendan Graves 9, Greg Francis 7, Peter Van Elswyk 7, David Picton 6 and Keith Vassell 5, while Matt Hildebrand was scoreless. Julio Willis led Mexico with 21. Hector Martinez added 18, Horacio Llamas 14, Emiliano Montoya 9, Luis Balderrama 8, Francisco Siller 7, Gerardo Paredes 6 and Ramon Arcovedo 1.
Canada defeated South Korea 101-66 after leading 49-34 at the half. Richard Bohne paced Canada with 17 points. Rowan Barrett added 16, Keith Vassell 12, Greg Francis 11, Peter Van Elswyk 8, Shawn Swords 8, Peter Guarasci 8, Brendan Graves 8, David Picton 6, Matt Hildebrand 3, Todd MacCulloch 2 and Frederic Arsenault 2. Hee seung Yang and Seung gyun Choo each scored 15 for Korea. Jae hon Park added 11, Ji won Woo 5, Byung chul Kim 4, Ki sung Sin 4, Jae hun Jung 4, Joo yeup Hyun 4 and Hee sun Kim 3.
Canada then dumped Ireland 119-83 after leading 75-45 at the half. Canada led 44-38 at the half as Ireland sought to slow the game to a crawl. “As long as they were walking the ball up and down the court, they were able to stay in the game,” said head coach John Dore. “Once we picked up the pace, they didn’t do that anymore.” Canada scored 75 points in the second half and hit 7-11 from beyond the arc. Pete Guarasci paced Canada with 22 points. Rowan Barrett and Greg Francis each added 16, Matt Hildebrand 13, Keith Vassell 12, Richard Bohne 11, Todd MacCulloch 8, Brendan Graves 6, Pete Van Elswyck 5, Frederic Arsenault 3, David Picton 3 and Shawn Swords 3. Alan Tomidy paced Ireland with 26. Adrian Fulton added 15, Daniel Callahan 14, Karl Donnelly 11, John Burke 4, Kevin Craig 4, John O’Connell 4, Patrick Burke 3 and Allan Conlan 2.
Canada closed out pool C play by defeating Finland 100-92 despite trailing twice by nine points in the second half. A two-handed dunk by Keith Vassell gave Canada the lead for good with five minutes to play. “Defensively, we were very poor, especially in the first half,” said Dore. “At halftime, we said we were going to make the commitment to play defence and then they had 12 points in the first three minutes.” Dore promptly benched his starters. “We brought in (Matt) Hildebrand, (Greg) Francis and (Shawn) Swords to give us a little bit of life and enthusiasm and we picked up the tempo of the game and turned the tide. In any kind of tournament like this, you can’t afford to have anybody float. It’s a mental thing.” Canada led 52-46 at the half. Greg Francis paced Canada with 20. Todd MacCulloch added 16, Keith Vassell 14, Richard Bohne 13, Matt Hildebrand 9, Peter Van Elswyk 7, Peter Guarasci 6, Shawn Swords 5, Rowan Barrett 5, David Picton 3 and Brendan Graves 2, while Frederic Arsenault was scoreless. Martti Kuisma led Finland with 35 points. Jari Vekkila added 13, Mika-matti Tahvanainen 12, Jyri Lehtonen 9, Juha Luhtanen 8, Peter Muhonen 6, Pasi Riihela 6, Jarkoof Ahlbom 2 and Mikko Noopila 1.
In semis pool play, Canada dumped Croatia 91-78 after leading 44-38 at the half. Rowan Barrett led Canada with 21 points. Keith Vassell added 16, Peter Guarasci 12, Brendan Graves 10, David Picton 8, Todd MacCulloch 7, Peter Van Elswyk 6, Richard Bohne 4, Matt Hildebrand 3, Greg Francis 2 and Shawn Swords 2, while Frederic Arsenault was scoreless. Dubravko Zemljic led Croatia with 19. Gordon Giricek added 17, Mate Milisa 16, Sandro Nicevic 16, Mario Bosnjak 8, while Kresimir Novosel and Zoran Antic each scored one.
Canada then fell 98-93 to Japan, which led 52-35 at the half. Makota Hasegawa paced Japan with 27. Takuya Kita added 15, Michael Takahashi 14, Kenichi Sako 14, Makoto Akaho 13, Satoru Furuta 13 and Makota Minamiyama 2. Richard Bohne led Canada with 20. Brendan Graves added 15, David Picton 11, Keith Vassell 11, Peter Guarasci 11, Rowan Barrett 8, Greg Francis 6, Todd MacCulloch 5, Shawn Swords 3 and Peter Van Elswyk 3
Canada finishes (4-0) in opening round and qualifies for Group E pool (winner’s side)
Canada defeats Croatia 91-78, as Rowan Barrett scored 21 off the bench. Coach John Dore said Barrett’s contribution was invaluable. “Rowan came on and had a great game and played the best defence he’s played in the whole tournament.” Dore added that “right now, we’re in the final four. We still have a shot at finishing first in our pool and we’re going to have a helluva tough time against Japan.”
Dore’s comments proved prophetic as Canada dropped a 98-93 decision to host Japan to finish second in its pool. Richard Bohne scores 20. Brendan Graves 15, Dave Picton 11, Keith Vassell 11 and Peter Guarasci 11. Japan’s lightning quickness befuddled the Canadians. The Japanese led by as many as 10 within seven minutes of play. “We talked about it as a team. I don’t think we’ve seen that type of speed and agility, one through five, on very many teams,” said guard Richard Bohne. “It’s very, very rare.” Canada’s man-to-man defence proved totally ineffective as Japan led 52-35 at the half. The Japanese ball movement was breathtaking. Canada switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half and clawed its way back into the game. They tied the game at 80 with five minutes to play but never led. “The Canadian players were confused with our quickness,” said Japanese coach Toshimitsu Kawachi.
Despite the loss, Canada finishes second in pool and qualifies for semi-finals.
In semis, the United States scored the game’s first 10 points and never looked back. The Americans lead 67-44 at the half and Canada never threatened. Coach John Dore called it a clunker of a performance. “It’s a blow to our egos, losing the way we did. From our perspective, it really wasn’t much of a game. They dominated us early.” The U.S. led 25-5 after six minutes of play. “Our players did an excellent job of opening the game strongly, both offensively and defensively,” said U.S. coach Lon Kruger. Allen Iverson led the US with 26 points. Ray Allen added 21, Kerry Kittles 20, Brian Evans 9, Tim Duncan 9, Charles O’Bannon 8, Chucky Atkins 7, Jason Lawson 7, Othella Harrington 4 and Austin Croshere 3, while Jerod Haase was scoreless. Richard Bohne paced Canada with 22. Rowan Barrett and Todd MacCulloch each added 12. Keith Vassell scored 9, Greg Francis 8, David Picton 6, Shawn Swords 5, Brendan Graves 5, Peter Van Elswyk 4, Peter Guarasci 4 and Frederic Arsenault 2, while Matt Hildebrand was scoreless. Canada committed 31 turnovers to America’s 19.
Canada rebounded from the loss to capture bronze by dumping Czechoslovakia 80-72. “Any time you can leave something like this with a medal – leave your mark – I think you’ve got to be happy with that,” said Rowan Barrett. “At least we leave on a high note and we bring something back for our country, so we’re pretty with that.” Todd MacCulloch was delighted with the medal. “My goal was to get a medal and this is the highest achievement that I’ve ever had, so I wanted to do my best.” Coach John Dore was pleased with the squad’s performance. “I don’t think the people in North America – Canada and the U.S. – realize how tough international basketball is, how physical it can be. We played eight games in nine days and it’s a real grind on the athletes.” Canada led 35-34 at the half. Barrett led Canada with 18. MacCulloch added 13, David Picton 12, Richard Bohne 10, Keith Vassell 9, Brendan Graves 8, Peter Van Elswyk 4, Shawn Swords 3 and Peter Guarasci 3, while Matt Hildebrand and Greg Francis were scoreless. Marian Pribyl led Czechoslovakia with 19. Vladan Vahala added 15, Petr Treml 13, Stanislav Kamenik 7, Pavek Becka 7, Petr Czudek 3, Lukas Kratky 3, Jiri Formanek 3 and Martin Janda 2.