| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. CANADA 3. Brazil 4. Italy 5. South Korea 6. Great Britain 7. Mexico 8. Nigeria 9. Lithuania 10. Czech Republic 11. Finland 12. Japan 13. China 14. Russia 15. Hong Kong 16. South Africa | CANADIANS Brian Leonard (Ottawa, Ont./Carleton) David Daniels (Fort St. John, B.C./Colorado Christian) Greg Francis (Toronto, Ont./Fairfield) Titus Channer (Hamilton, Ont./McMaster) Hennssey Auriantal (Montreal, Que./Wisconsin) Shawn Swords (Ottawa, Ont./Laurentian) Eric Hinrichsen (Campbell River, B.C./Victoria) Brendan Graves (Victoria, B.C./Santa Clara) David Morgan (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Nevada-Reno) Jamie Cammaert (London, Ont./Niagara) Kevin Jobity (Toronto, Ont./Niagara) Tim Beckett (Mount Pearl, Nfld./Hofstra) Mike Katz – coach Peter Campbell – assistant David DeAveiro – manager Don Fuller – trainer |
| POOL A | ITA | MEX | LTU | CHN | Record | ||
| Italy | —– | 82-65 | 80-59 | 110-54 | (3-0) | ||
| Mexico | 65-82 | —– | 87-86 | 109-63 | (2-1) | ||
| Lithuania | 59-80 | 86-87 | —– | 114-58 | (1-2) | ||
| China | 54-110 | 63-109 | 58-114 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | USA | GBR | HKG | RSA | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 88-48 | 120-28 | 110-32 | (3-0) | ||
| Great Britain | 48-88 | —– | 100-59 | 100-53 | (2-1) | ||
| Hong Kong | 28-120 | 59-100 | —– | 88-79 | (1-2) | ||
| South Africa | 32-110 | 53-100 | 79-88 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL C | BRA | NGR | JPN | RUS | Record | ||
| Brazil | —– | 96-71 | 85-60 | 96-81 | (3-0) | ||
| Nigeria | 71-96 | —– | 80-78 | 76-74 | (2-1) | ||
| Japan | 60-85 | 78-80 | —– | 78-69 | (1-2) | ||
| Russia | 81-96 | 74-76 | 69-78 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL D | CAN | KOR | CZE | FIN | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 86-82 | 69-47 | 74-59 | (3-0) | ||
| South Korea | 82-86 | —– | 76-67 | 81-64 | (2-1) | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 47-69 | 67-76 | —– | 62-60 | (1-2) | ||
| Finland | 59-74 | 64-81 | 60-62 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| QFs | Canada 85 Great Britain 68 | |
| QFs | Brazil 83 Mexico 80 | |
| QFs | United States 94 South Korea 64 | |
| QFs | Italy 70 Nigeria 49 | |
| 9-16 QF | Lithuania 82 Russia 65 | |
| 9-16 QF | Finland 90 Hong Kong 67 | |
| 9-16 QF | Japan 74 China 72 | |
| 9-16 QF | Czechoslovakia 108 South Africa 74 | |
| Semi | Canada 85 Brazil 58 | |
| Semi | United States 67 Italy 51 | |
| 13-16th | China 78 South Africa 77 | |
| 13-16th | Russia 74 Hong Kong 62 | |
| 9-12th | Czechoslovakia 101 Japan 50 | |
| 9-12th | Lithuania 96 Finland 89 | |
| 5-8th | Great Britain 83 Mexico 79 | |
| 5-8th | South Korea 91 Nigeria 74 | |
| 15th | Hong Kong 74 South Africa 60 | |
| 13th | China 91 Russia 79 | |
| 11th | Finland 91 Japan 87 | |
| 9th | Lithuania 88 Czechoslovakia 68 | |
| 7th | Mexico 67 Nigeria 64 | |
| 5th | South Korea 99 Great Britain 97 | |
| Bronze | Brazil 77 Italy 69 | |
| Final | United States 72 Canada 64 | |
Canada walloped Czechoslovakia 69-47 after taking a 23-point lead within five minutes of the tip-off. Titus Channer led Canada with 22, including 17 in the second half. Greg Francis added 16. “This was a big win for Canada against a very tall Czech team,” said head coach Mike Katz. “We had a tremendous defensive effort by everyone, especially in the second half, where we held them to 23 points all half.”
Greg Francis scored 20 to lead Canada past Finland 74-59. “I am very pleased with how the team has been able to dominate to date,” said Katz.
Canada trailed South Korea 47-42 at the half but cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half and allowed only 35 Korean points to be scored. “It was the game plan of tight defence that won the game in the second half,” said Katz. “Tough defence, not a run and gun offence, is what will lead this team to victory. Our defence has been successful in creating breaks for our team.” Eric Hinrichsen led Canada with 23. David Daniels added 20, Greg Francis 10 and David Morgan 10. “We started three backcourt players (Daniels, Francis and Channer) and two inside players (Graves and Hinrichsen),” said coach Mike Katz. “we felt that gave us the best defensive scheme and shot-making ability. We weren’t blessed with low post scoring but did have good rebounders. This was all obvious pretty early on.”
Canada won its pool with a (3-0) record and advanced to the quarterfinals.
In quarterfinals, Canada defeats Great Britain 85-68. Trailing by seven with two minutes left in the first half, Canada ripped off 12 unanswered points and take a 45-40 lead into the lockers. The Canadians shut down the Brits in the second half with stingy defence. Greg Francis led the way with 25 points, including 4-7 from the arc. Titus Channer added 17, David Daniels 11 and Brendan Graves 11. “We continued to grow as a team with this victory,” said Katz. “When we switched to our zone defence we rattled off 24 straight points and that was the key.”
Francis continued his torrid pace in the semis, scoring 32 as Canada smashed Brazil 85-58. “He didn’t miss a shot,” said Katz. “It was really uncanny. Good shots – he made them. Off balance shots – he made them. He even made bad shots. Greg single-handedly kept us in the final down the stretch. It seemed he got stronger as the tournament wore on. It looked like he dedicated the tournament to himself somehow. … “It’s been just tremendous shooting. He had 29 (yesterday), 26 the game before and 25 before that. He’s been lighting it up.” Canada led 40-34 at the half and by as many as 30 in the second half. Brazil rallied back by David Daniels and Shawn Swords each hit a pair from beyond the arc and then Channer stole the ball for a layup to put the outcome out of reach. Francis hit 6-7 from the arc.
In the gold medal final, Canada fell 72-64 to the United States. The game saw 11 lead changes and five ties. The first half was a see-saw affair, although, at one point, Canada went on a 15-7 run to take a 29-22 lead. But Earl Boykins took over the game and scored nine straight points as the US moved ahead, with the help of a steal from Scott Padgett, 31-29. The Americans led 35-33 at the break. The game was tied at 48 after Earl Boykins and Bryce Drew nailed treys midway through the second half when the U.S. went on a 12-3 run to take a 60-51 lead with 8:07 to play and then cruised to the win. Although Canada narrowed the gap to within three with two minutes to play, they fell just short of a comeback. Greg Francis scored 20, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. David Daniels scored 15 and Brendan Graves 9 and 12 boards. “I am very proud of my teammates and what we have accomplished here in Sicily,” said Francis. “It was our turnovers that killed us tonight. We played hard but the turned the ball over at key times.” Earl Boykins led the US with 23 points. Bryce Drew added 9, Buckner 7, Scott Padgett 11, Skinner 0, Staples 9, Ruffin 4, Brewer 1, Sesay 0, Woods 5 and Thomas 2. Greg Francis led Canada with 21. Coach Mike Katz was elated with the silver. “We had a clear idea of our strategy and we applied it even better, when you consider that the team was only together for ten days,” said coach Mike Katz. “Canada has demonstrated that it belongs to the international basketball elite on the university level. The country has student sportsmen and women of the highest calibre.” Katz added that “gold was not to be. We didn’t make our late shots like we did early on. Yet it is still satisfying to look back and consider all that we went through to get that silver. . . This team shows that these younger players must compete in international competitions. They must have such experience if our national team is going to be any good. …We had a clear idea of our strategy and we applied it even better, when you consider that the team was only together for 10 days. Canada has demonstrated that it belongs to the international basketball elite on the university level. The country has student sportsmen and women of the highest calibre.”