| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. France 3. Serbia 4. Germany 5. CANADA 6. Australia 7. Brazil 8. Greece 9. South Sudan 10. Spain 11. Japan 12. Puerto Rico | CANADIANS Shae Gilgeous-Alexander (Hamilton, Ont.) Jamal Murray (Kitchener, Ont.) Luguentz Dort (Montreal, Que.) Dillon Brooks (Mississauga, Ont.) R.J. Barrett (Mississauga, Ont.) Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Toronto, Ont.) Dwight Powell (Toronto, Ont.) Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.) Andrew Nembhard (Aurora, Ont.) Khem Birch (Montreal, Que.) Melvin Ejim (Toronto, Ont.) Trey Lyles (Saskatoon, Sask.) Jordi Fernández – coach Nate Bjorkgren – assistant Nathaniel Mitchell – assistant Boniface N’Dong – assistant Sebastian Arnold – director operations Rowan Barrett – general manager Garrett Blakey – strength & Conditioning David Blatt – consultant Abby Bruyer – services lead Marc Bubbs – nutritionist James DePoe – manager Jacob Gallant – therapist Sam Gibbs – director health services Jon Goodwillie – scout Connor Griffin – video coordinator Dr. Peter Jensen – mental performance lead Phil Jevtovic – director analytics & strategy Jason Meehan – therapist Michael Meeks – assistant general mangager Kayla Minott – coordinator operations John Philpott – physician Kevin Tucker – security lead Krisjon Vargas – therapist Muad Issa – media attaché Josh Su – media attaché Matt Walker – media attaché | ||||||
| POOL A | CAN | AUS | GRE | SPN | Record | ||
| Canada | —– | 92-83 | 86-79 | 88-85 | (3-0) | ||
| Australia | 83-92 | —– | 71-77 | 92-80 | (1-2) | ||
| Greece | 79-86 | 77-71 | —– | 77-84 | (1-2) | ||
| Spain | 85-88 | 80-92 | 84-77 | —– | (1-2) | ||
| POOL B | GER | FRA | BRZ | JPN | Record | ||
| Germany | —– | 85-71 | 86-73 | 97-77 | (3-0) | ||
| France | 71-85 | —– | 78-66 | 94-90 | (2-1) | ||
| Brazil | 73-86 | 66-78 | —– | 102-84 | (1-2) | ||
| Japan | 77-97 | 90-94 | 84-102 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL C | USA | SER | SUD | PUR | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 110-84 | 103-86 | 104-83 | (3-0) | ||
| Serbia | 84-110 | —– | 96-85 | 107-66 | (2-1) | ||
| South Sudan | 86-103 | 85-96 | —– | 90-79 | (1-2) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 83-104 | 66-107 | 79-90 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| QF | United States 122 Brazil 87 |
| QF | Serbia 95 Australia 90 |
| QF | Germany 76 Greece 63 |
| QF | France 82 Canada 73 |
| Semi | United States 95 Serbia 91 |
| Semi | France 73 Germany 69 |
| Bronze | Serbia 93 Germany 83 |
| Final | United States 98 France 87 |
Direct qualifiers:
Host: France
7 highest continental finishers at 2023 FIBA World Cup, as follows:
FIBA Africa (1): South Sudan [17th @ WC]
FIBA Americas (2): Canada [3rd at WC]; United States [4th at WC]
FIBA Asia (1): Japan [19th @ WC]
FIBA Europe (2): Germany [1st @ WC]; Serbia [2nd @ WC]
FIBA Oceania (1): Australia [10th @ WC]
FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament winners (4): Spain; Greece; Brazil; and Puerto Rico
Canada Basketball and NBA politics played a huge role in the selection of the Olympic team. In the run-up to the Games, Canada Basketball invited 20 players to a training camp in Toronto. Two of those, budding NBA stars Bennedict Mathurin and Shaedon Sharpe, were invited to participate but weren’t eligible for roster spots because they had failed to make a three-year commitment to the Canadian national team to toil in the World Cup and any matches required to qualify for the Games (which became unnecessary when Canada won bronze at the Worlds). Among the uninvited were two players who had made the three-year commitment (Kevin Pangos and Kory Joseph), as well as Indiana point guard Andrew Nembhard, Memphis post Brandon Clarke, Dallas wing Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Toronto forward Chris Boucher and Portland guard Dalano Banton. Golden State Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins had not made the three-year commitment but was nevertheless invited because he had toiled for Canada in a previous, unsuccessful bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. But shortly before the start of the training camp, Wiggins announced that he would not participate for medical reasons (supposedly to treat an ankle injury). But Canada Basketball executive vice-president Rowan Barrett said it was a Warriors decision to prevent Wiggins from participating. In the cloud of confusion surrounding the decision, Associated Press reported that it was a “mutual” decision. Similarly, two-time NCAA player of the year Zach Edey announced that he would not participate because he wanted to concentrate on preparations for his rookie NBA season. Among the training camp cuts were Phillip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.), Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.), Mfiondu Kabengele (Burlington, Ont.), Kyle Alexander (Scarborough, Ont.), Oshae Brissett (Mississauga, Ont.) and Trae Bell-Haynes (Toronto, Ont.). The final roster included 12 players, 4 coaches and a staggering 22 support staff, including 3 media attachés, as Basketball Canada exploded its travel budget.
In their opener, Canada dispatched Greece 86-79 in a horribly officiated game. Canada broke to a 6-0 lead as their defensive pressure wreaked havoc. They extended the Margin to 19-7 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks drilled treys, while Gilgeous-Alexander notched an and-one. But Greece rallied to within 26-22 after one quarter as they generated open looks from the arc with crisp ball movement. Brooks hit another trey as Canada regained a double-digit lead but Greece benefited from several ridiculous calls to remain within 48-38 at the half. Lugentz Dort drained a trey, R.J. Barrett a driving layup and Brooks a trey as Canada extended its lead to 56-40. But within minutes, Dort and Brooks each picked their fourth fouls on phantom calls and Greece drew within 60-53. Kelly Olynyk responded with a pair of free throws and Andrew Nembhard an elbow jumper before turning over the ball and then fouling a Greek shooter on the arc, which allowed Greece to draw within 64-58. Barrett notched a putbakc and Jamal Murray a runner in the final seconds as Canada took a 68-60 lead into the final frame. Canada pounded the ball inside to start the fourth. Barrett hit a pair of free throws and Powell a bucket in the paint as Canada took another double-digit lead. But Greece countered with a pair of treys to draw within 72-68. Dort drained an enormous trey and Gilgeous-Alexander another as Canada quelled the Greek rally. But Dwight Powell, Brooks and Dort soon fouled out on altogether questionable calls. Greece promptly ripped an 8-0 run to draw within 8-0-76 with just over a minute to play. A Barrett turnover led to an Antetokounmpo slam. But Gilgeous-Alexander had the answer in the form of a runner that gave Canada an 82-78 lead and they iced the win as Murray hit a pair from the line and Barrett a runout slam down the stretch. Barrett said “guarding Giannis [Antetokounmo] is not an easy task,” Barrett said. “Dillon, Lu, Dwight tried their best. Put pressure on them all game long. That’s not an easy task. I mean, like I said, it’s a team. It’s all of us, and we did our job today.” Coach Jordi Fernández said “I like the start. We were very physical. Our ball pressure was really good. We were running and moving and obviously, great teams with a lot of experience like [Greece], they’re going to punch back, and they did. We played against one of the best players in the world in Giannis, he put on a show out there. We tried, we couldn’t stop him and we found a way [to win]. The next game is going to be Australia [which is] a very good team, a very connected team. They play very physical and very fast. I’m excited to play against them, and we’ll be ready.” Gilgeous-Alexander told Canadian Press that “they’re a really good team so it’s gonna happen. They’re not gonna quit, obviously. We expected that when we make our run, (they would) have a little more juice to make their run. For us, it was just about weathering the storms and sticking to our game plan throughout the runs. Just try to weather the other teams’ better than they weather yours.” Murray said he was completely recovered from injury. “I’m just trying to ramp up my minutes. We got a great group of selfless guys, though. Our captain Kelly [Olynyk] is coming off the bench, an NBA champion is coming off the bench and the starting unit is rolling. … Everyone’s embraced their role.” Fernandez said “the game plan didn’t work because I think he (Antetokounmpo) scored 34 points. He’s done an amazing job, he made his free throws. Whoever plays him next, they’re gonna look at this game and be asking themselves, ‘How are we gonna stop him’?” R.J. Barrett paced Canada with 23 on 7-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 21 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 9-10 from the line, 5 boards, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Dillon Brooks notched 14 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Lugentz Dort scored 8 on 2-4 from th earc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Jamal Murray added 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 assists. Dwight Powell scored 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Kelly Olynyk added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Andrew Nembhard scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Trey Lyles and Khem Birch were scoreless. Lyles nabbed 3 boards. Melvin Ejim did not play. Canada hit 25-58 (.431) overall, 17-33 (.515) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 28-32 (.875) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 27 fouls, 14 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced Greece with 34 on 11-16 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 12-15 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Kostas Papanikolaou added 17 on 2-2 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Vasilis Toliopoulos notched 9 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Thomas Walkup scored 5 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Dinos Mitoglou added 5 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Giannoulis Larentzakis scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-6 from the arc. Nick Calathes added 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-4 from the line, 4 boards and 7 assists. Georgios Papagiannis scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc, while Vasilis Charalampopoulos, Dimitris Moraitis, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis and Nikos Chougkaz did not play. Greece (coach Vasilis Spanoulis, assistant Ilias Kantzouris, assistant Adamantios Panagiotopoulos) hit 23-59 (.390) overall, 14-27 (.519) from the floor, 9-32 (.281) from the arc and 24-32 (.750) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 24 fouls, 12 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks.
Canada improved to (2-0) by clipping Australia 93-83. Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was forced to the bench with 2 quick fouls in the first 2 minutes and Australia, particularly Josh Giddey, began breaking Canada down off the dribble as they built a 19-13 lead. But with Lugentz Dort, R.J. Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Andrew Nembhard and Jamal Murray all drilling treys in the first frame, Canada rallied to within 28-26 after one quarter. Giddey hit his second trey to open the second frame. Canada countered with a 7-0 run on a pair of Gilgeous-Alexander jumpers and Dort and-one. But Australia kept attacking off the dribble to rebuild a 49-45 lead at the half. Canada opened the third frame with a 7-2 run as R.J. Barrett drove for a layup, Dillon Brooks hit a baseline jumper and Gilgeous-Alexander a fallaway jumper. Giddey answered with a trey but Barrett and Dort countered with treys and Dwight Powell a layup off a Barrett feed as Canada took a 560-54 lead. Australia responded with an 8-2 run featuring a pair of Dante Exum floaters. Barrett drove for a layup and Dort pilfered the ball for a runout slam but McVeigh hit a pair of late treys as Australia drew within 72-70 heading into the final frame. Canada opened the final quarter with a 11-2 run on a Gilgeous-Alexander elbow jumper, a Khem Birch layup, a Brooks elbow jumper, a Barrett trey and a improbable Murray jumper, as well as several excellent defensive stops by Dort. Australia rallied no closer than 7 down the stretch. Coach Jordi Fernandez was pleased with “the resiliency and how relentless this group is. The way they fought in that second half, we were not playing great defensively in the first half. I think we came back with a purpose in the third quarter. We did a great job, 22 deflections in the second half, only 16 points in the paint allowed and that ignited our offence. The way we can run the floor, we scored a lot out of their turnovers. … Starts with the defence, starts with the ball. Once again, Lu Dort was amazing, Dillon was amazing. I think Khem Birch gave us great minutes, Dwight [Powell] with nine rebounds. Great team effort. It wasn’t perfect but for game two, we’re still growing and we’re about to face one of the best programs in the world.” Dillon Brooks said “we got stops, we got rebounds — and consecutive stops. That’s the key in this game, you get consecutive stops and you’re able to score, that’s when you make a run. And then, they’re hitting every shot in the first half, they were hot, they were playing together, confident. We stayed poised, stayed together, made a couple adjustments and we went on our run.” Fernandez told Canadian Press that Gilgeous-Alexander, “sometimes I don’t call plays for him, and he just scores. That’s what he does. He’s been unbelievable.” Fernandez added that Australian point guard Josh Giddey “was very, very good in that first half. I think Lu took the assignment, and he executed our defence. Not just by himself, but as you can tell, he is extremely physical. If you’re bringing the ball up the court, you don’t want to face that guy. … I wasn’t happy with our physicality in the first half. We have to put four quarters together. It wasn’t perfect, but at the end of the day, in the game of basketball, there are a lot of imperfections; you have to fight through it. We had a lot of players helping the team. That’s how you’ve got to be. You’ve got to be selfless. The team is first. And those guys were truly happy for the win. They were not thinking of themselves.” Dort shut down Giddey in the second half, holding him to 4 points. Dillon Brooks said “Lu was a definite game-changer for us. We found a way to get rebounds and stops consecutively. Overall, we were making plays for each other, making shots, RJ’s having a tremendous tournament, shaping it all. And we got guys coming up the bench ready to play, [Andrew] Nembhard, Khem [Birch]. So we got to continue that, anybody’s ready to play, and that second half, we stayed poised, stayed together. And the chemistry showed.” Fernandez told The Athletic that “we have ideas but then the players have to execute them, and he (Dort) was amazing. Lu has been amazing back-to-back games defensively. Right now he’s making a statement and I’m happy, very happy for him.” Fernandez told CBC that “we didn’t have a good start defensively. We went at halftime and talked about some of the stuff we could have done. We came out in the second half and really started clicking.” R.J. Barrett paced Canada with 24 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 16 on 8-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Dillon Brooks notched 16 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 boards. Lugentz Dort scored 11 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 assists and 3 steals. Dwight Powell added 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Khem Birch scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 2 boards. Jamal Murray added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 5 assists. Andrew Nembhard scored 5 on 0-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Trey Lyles added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kelly Olynyk were scoreless. Melvin Ejim did not play. Canada hit 35-69 (.507) overall, 26-44 (.591) from the floor, 9-25 (.360) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 16 fouls, 11 turnovers, 11 steals and 4 blocks. Josh Giddey paced Australia with 19 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Jock Landale added 16 on 7-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 12 bords and 4 assists. Donte Exum notched 15 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Dyson Daniels scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Jack McVeigh added 9 on 0-1 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Patty Mills scored 8 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Nick Kay added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Duop Reath scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova, Josh Green and Will Magnay were scoreless. Australia (coach Brian Goorjian, assistant Matt Nielsen, assistant Adam Caporn) hit 32-67 (.480) overall, 24-42 (.570) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 11-14 (.790) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 18 fouls, 18 turnovers, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
Canada closed out pool of death play at (3-0) by edging Spain 88-85 in a spectacular thriller. Canada took an early 6-2 lead on a driving layup by Dillon Brooks and a steal for a runout by Dwight Powell. A putback by Kelly Olynyk and a 15-foot jumper by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander extended the lead to 10-4. But Spain dominated the offensive boards as they rallied to a 17-14 lead on the perimeter shooting of Sergio Llull. Trey Lyles knotted the score with a trey and Andrew Nembhard notched a runout before Willy Hernangomez hit a bucket to knot the score at 19 after one quarter. Lorenzo Brown gave Spain a 21-19 lead of an inside feed but Nembhard hit a pair of treys, including one with a pair of Spanish defenders in his face against an expiring shot clock, while Jamal Murray delivered a breathtaking feed to Powell for a layup as Canada took a 27-23 lead. Dillon Brooks hit three free throws, Gilgeous-Alexander a driving layup and Khem Birch a layup, while Brooks notched a trey and R.J. Barrett a post-up layup as Canada took a 40-32 lead. Santi Aldama notched three free throws as Spain rallied to within 40-36 but Canada closed out the half with a 9-2 run featuring a Gilgeous-Alexander trey and steal for a runout slam, an R.J. Barrett layup off another dazzling Murray feed and a 8-foot runner by Murray to take a 49-38 lead into the lockers. Canada extended their lead to 56-42 on turnaround baseline jumper by Gilgeous-Alexander, a driving Barrett layup and a Powell layup off a feed from Brooks and stellar defensive play by Lugentz Dort. But three sloppy turnovers allowed Spain to rally within 59-53 on a trey by Llull and a pair of treys by Alex Abrines. Nembhard stemmed the bleeding with a corner 18-footer but Hernangomez notched a trey to draw Spain within 61-56. Murray countered with an elbow jumper and Nickeil Alexander-Walker a free throw as Canada took a 64-56 lead after three quarters. Although Nembhard pilfered the ball for a runout and drove for a layup, Spain’s Dario Brizuela came off the bench to score 9 straight points to draw the Spaniards within 68-65 as Canada struggled to resolve Spain’s zone. But Brooks hit a fadeaway jumper and a driving layup, Nembhard a 12-foot floater and Barrett a layup on a feed from Brooks as Canada rebuilt its lead to 76-67. Brizuela notched another jumper and Jamie Pradilla a layup to trim the margin to 76-71. Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a pair of free throws. Pradilla countered with a putback before Barrett hit a pair of free throws. Brizuela notched another trey and Llull a free throw to draw Spain within 80-77 with 2:22 to play. Nembhard drained a 10-jumper but Brizuela drove for a layup to cut Canada’s lead to 82-79. Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a foul while missing a trey. Abrines hit a free throw. Barrett countered with a corner trey to give Canada an 85-80 lead with 38.8 seconds to play. Pradilla answered with an offensive tip-in but Gilgeous-Alexander hit a free throw before Llull hit another trey with 2.7 seconds to play to draw Spain within 86-85. Gilgeous-Alexander hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds on the clock and a desperation trey by Llull at the buzzer fell short as Canada hung on for the win. Gilgeous-Alexander said his last free throw weren’t “nerve-wracking at all. Obviously, they didn’t want to go away. They were playing for their lives. We knew that going to the game, it’s a really good team. We played them last summer, and we know it. They gave us everything they had, and it was a good game. … We have guys across the board who come in and make a difference, all one through twelve. We know that, we expect that. Today, we had the Andrew Nembhard game. We’re not surprised. … I always knew, I knew he (Nembhard) was good, obviously. Didn’t know he was this good, but yeah, he’s a really talented player, works hard, super poised, can pass, can do a lot of things on the basketball court to hurt you, and whatever team has him is lucky to have him.” Nembhard said “I can’t say I didn’t feel like this was going to happen. We have a really talented group, and we should be in this position, but it’s nice to see it kind of come to fruition and seeing how many years it took us to get back to this point. It’s good for the country.” Kelly Olynyk told Canadian Press that “you could see them fighting for their lives right to the end. For us, we’re trying to put ourselves in the best position possible to succeed and hopefully we’ve done enough to do that.” Nembhard said “I’m playing with a new team, new guys, just trying to get a feel for it. And I think as the games go on, experience goes on, you get more and more comfortable. I think today, I just filled in the gaps where I was needed most.” Coach Jordi Fernandez said Nembhard “had a great performance. We’ve always talked about being the X factor. When you have so many great NBA players that have different roles on their NBA team, and they come here and they’re asked to do something else and — most of them — play less minutes, just the fact that they are selfless and they do whatever it takes for the team to win, that means the world for not just the rest of the team, but for the program. So these guys have the right mindset to be successful. … We were not good enough (in the second half). … I think we were a little loose with our execution, we were not good with rebounding throughout the game. But we found a way. And when you don’t have experience in this type of games, and you don’t know what this type of games mean, the only way that you can get experienced is going through it.” Gilgeous-Alexander said “you always want to win, so we’ll take it. We played a lot of really good teams. We beat them all. Some things we can clean up for sure, but we’ll take it.” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Canada with 20 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 9-13 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Andrew Nembhard added 18 on 6-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2 assists. R.J. Barrett scored 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 assists. Dillon Brooks scored 13 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Dwight Powell added 9 on 3-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 2 steals. Jamal Murray scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 6 assists. Trey Lyles added 3 on 0-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Kelly Olynyk scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Khem Birch added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 1 on 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Lugentz Dort and Melvin Ejim were scoreless. Dort nabbed 2 boards and dished 2 assists. Canada hit 32-61 (.520) overall, 26-43 (.600) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 18 fouls, 9 turnovers and 5 steals. Dario Brizuela paced Spain with 17 on 5-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Sergio Llull added 13 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Alex Abrines notched 12 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Jamie Pradilla scored 10 on 5-6 from the floor and 6 boards. Willy Hernangomez added 10 on 5-6 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 steals. Juancho Hernangomez scored 8 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. Santi Aldama added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Lorenzo Brown scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 assists. Xabi Lopez-Arostegui added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Usman Garbua scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards, while Rudy Fernandez and Alberto Diaz were scoreless. Fernandez nabbed 2 boards. Spain (coach Sergio Scariolo, assistant Luis Guil, assistant Angel Sanchez-Canete) hit 31-69 (.450) overall, 21-33 (.640) from the floor, 10-36 (.280) from the arc and 13-17 (.760) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 20 fouls, 15 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
A draw determined the quarterfinal pairings. Qualifying teams were divided into 4 pots. Pot D comprised the top two-ranked first-placed teams from the group phase (United States and Germany). Pot E comprised the lowest ranked first-placed team and the best-ranked second-placed team from the group phase (Canada and Serbia). Pot F comprised the remaining second-placed teams from the group phase (France and Australia). Pot G comprised the two best third-placed teams (Brazil and Greece). Teams from the same group were precluded from playing one another.
In the quarterfinals, France drained a barrage of treys and free throws while outmustling, outhustling and stunning Canada 82-73. France exploded to a 19-5 lead as Isaia Cordinier nailed a pair of treys, a pair of free throws and a slam, while Guerschon Yabusele notched a trey, a bucket in the paint and a pair of free throws. Trey Lyles finally stemmed the bleeding of a 12-0 French run by hitting a free throw. Jamal Murray added an 18-footer but Victor Wembanyama twice pilfered the ball, leading to a pair of buckets for Mathias Lessort, as France took a 23-10 lead after one quarter. Evan Fournier drilled a trey as France extended its lead to 16. Murray hit a trey and R.J. Barrett a free throw and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a trio of elbow jumper as Canada rallied within 10. But with France in the bonus after just three minutes of play in the quarter, while dominating the offensive boards as Canada making ill-advised passes, France kept draining free throws, including 6 by Lessort to rebuild the French lead to 34-22. Gilgeous-Alexander countered with a trey but Cordinier responded with another bomb. The French parade to the free throw line continued unabated as Lessort hit a pair and Frank Ntilikina a trio of charity shots as France rebuilt a 15-point lead. Khem Birch responded with a tip-in but Yabusele answered with a trey that gave France a 45-29 lead at the half. Cordinier opened the second half with another trey as France extended its lead to 19. Canada countered with a 10-2 run as Gilgeous-Alexanader hit a pair from the line, while Dort and R.J. added and-ones, and Gilgeous-Alexander a transition layup. Gilgeous-Alexander hit a pair from the line and a floater, while Murray drove for a runner as Canada rallied within 54-46. They trimmed the margin to 7 on a Birch tip-in but France kept dominating the offensive glass and hitting free throws to rebuild their lead to 61-50 heading into the final frame. Barrett notched a putback and a trey as Canada rallied within 6 but Cordinier hit a pair from the line and Yabusele a bucket in the paint as France regained a double-digit lead. Gilgeous-Alexander hit a free throw, Brooks a turnaround baseline jumper and Barrett a bucket in transition as Canada trimmed the margin to 65-60. Evan Fournier countered with a trey, Victor Wembanyama a free throw and Fournier a bucket while being called for an offensive foul as France regained a 71-62 lead. Dwight Powell countered with a pair of free throws and Lugentz Dort a steal for a runout but Fournier answered with a pair of free throws as France took a 73-66 lead with 2 minutes to play. Three consecutive offensive boards and a desperation trey by Fournier against an expiring shot clock buried Canada’s hopes of completing a miracle rally. Gilgeous-Alexander said “they came out the aggressors, they punched us in the mouth. We obviously tried to make our run in the second half. It wasn’t enough, but that’s what happens when you let teams get off to a good start. … We all wanted to win. Don’t know why we started like that, but we did. Obviously, it hurts us. Get better from it. We’ll try it again in four years. … It’s the best basketball players in the world, so it’s a very hard tournament, if not the hardest. Once you get to the elimination round, everything matters a little bit more. I think we’ll be more prepared for that next time.” Canadian coach Jordi Fernández said “we didn’t match their energy and physicality. I thought our guys fought in the second half, but still, the second-chance points and the free throws didn’t really help us on the defensive end. … [We’ve] got to learn from these types of games. It’s pretty cool that we get to play them and have those experiences because it really hurts. We’re going to come back stronger and that’s how you can overcome this feeling. … [France] was a team with a lot of energy. Obviously, what they did, with Isaia and Victor starting, made sense that they had a good juice going on, made threes to start, and we were playing catch up from there. We didn’t match their physicality and energy, and I thought that when we fought, it wasn’t perfect. These guys have worked hard. They’re committed to represent their country, and they work really hard for their country, and I think that everybody should appreciate that. Obviously, you want a better outcome, you want a better result. It didn’t happen. It’s part of sports. We have very good players. We have players that will be in the next Olympics, and that’s how we have to look at it.” Gilgeous-Alexander told Canadian Press that he had “no clue” what Canada could have done differently at the start. “We all wanted to win. Obviously it’s no one person, we’re in this together. We don’t know, but we’ll learn from it.” Jamal Murray said “France played a hell of a game. Give it to them — they played physical, they played like they’re at home. And they brought that energy from the start. We were never able to make enough shots, in my opinion, to kind of take over the way that we wanted to.” Fernandez said “we’ve just got to be better. I appreciate my players’ effort. We shot free throws to cut it to one possession. Nobody can say that we didn’t fight. It wasn’t perfect, but I will always support my players.” France’s Evan Fournier said “these guys are really good. They kicked our ass last year (in the FIBA World Cup). They finished first during the group phase. So, it feels good to beat a good team. But what feels better is that we played our brand of basketball tonight. … The crowd was amazing. People that were here, they gave us everything.” Fernandez said “I think that as much as I can I tell them how the crowd is going to be, and how tough it’s going to be, and that the officials are not going to give you a call, and how frustrating it’s going to be. I don’t know if you have kids but I do, and I tell them, ‘Watch out, because this is going to happen.’ And they don’t until they go through it. That’s how you learn.” Fernandez told the Globe & Mail that France “had good juice going on. Made threes to start. We were playing catch-up from there. We didn’t match their physicality … We didn’t share the ball offensively … questionable fair officiating.” Gilgeous-Alexander said “if you don’t earn it, that’s what happens.” France’s Victor Wembanyama told CBC the home crowd’s enthusiasm “just makes me want to give back on the court, really this is all they’re asking from us. Every game, every gym is packed. The least we can do is give 200 per cent on the court. I think it’s also what it was about today, it’s the first time we’ve been so strong for 40 minutes.” Fernandez told Sportsnet that “it really hurts… We just didn’t have a good game… I could have been better. I should have helped them.” Lugentz Dort said “it’s really disappointing. We had goals to get all the way to the end. When it gets cut short, it’s tough and we have to live with it. We have to do whatever it takes to get back in four years.” French coach Vincent Collet told The Athletic that he started Frank Ntilikina, Nic Batum, Guerschon Yabusele, Isaia Cordinier and Victor Wembanyama, rather than Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, because Gobert had injured his left ring finger in practice two days earlier. “Yesterday evening, despite the (doctor) saying he [Gobert] could play, he had pain, so we didn’t know exactly (if) he could play,” Collet said. “But finally, this morning, he said, ‘I can play.’ But my idea was to protect him if I could do it, (and) I wanted to have him on the bench. As it was working well with the other big men, I prefer to keep him on the bench and he will be ready for the next game. … The main reason (for both starting lineup changes) was the lineup from Canada. They always start the game with (6-foot-6 guard) Dillon Brooks at position four, and they play small ball. … I wanted Wemby to start at position five (rather than Gobert), so that’s why I put back Yabusele at position four, and the second change was Cordinier for Evan Fournier, because I wanted to start with a defensive starting five.” Gilgeous-Alexander said “I think (the problem) was just the start, the urgency, the aggressiveness, paying attention to details. When you start like that, it’s hard to play against any team. … I think I just attribute tonight to the start. I know I sound like a broken radio, but I think that’s what it was.” Murray said “France played a hell of a game. Give it to them. They played physical. They played like they’re at home, and they brought that energy from the start.” The Athletic’s analysis was brutal. “This was a loss you might lay at whoever’s feet you want: the coaching staff, the player development pipeline, the executives and/or the players. As far as Canada has come in men’s basketball since they were last in the Olympics, this game smacked immaturity from a program still figuring things out. … Without obvious mismatches on the perimeter, either when France played traditionally or switched liberally, Canada was stuck moving the ball with little pace. There was not much dribble penetration and even fewer advantages created by cutting; just a lot of surveying and then shooting over or driving into a set defence. That is how Canada went more than six minutes without a point in the first quarter, as so little of the intricate passing that has crept its way into the NBA was evident from Canada. After the game, Fernández called it Canada’s most selfish offensive game of the tournament. It certainly scanned that way.” Guerschon Yabusele paced France with 22 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 8-9 from the line and 5 boards. Isaia Cordinier added 20 on 2-5 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Evan Fournier notched 15 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 assists. Mathias Lessort scored 13 on 2-3 from the floor, 9-14 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Victor Wembanyama added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 12 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Frank Ntilikina scored 5 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-5 from the line and 3 assists, while Nicolas Batum, Rudy Gobert, Nando De Colo, Andrew Albicy, Matthew Strazel and Bilal Coulibaly were scoreless. Batum nabbed 5 boards and dished 3 assists. France (coach Vincent Collet, assistant Pascal Donnadieu, assistant Kenneth Atkinson, assistant Ruddy Nelhomme) hit 20-48 (.420) overall, 11-20 (.550) from the floor, 9-28 (.320) from the arc and 33-42 (.790) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 24 fouls, 17 turnovers, 7 steals and 4 blocks. Shae Gilgeous-Alexander paced Canada with 27 on 8-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 8-11 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. R.J. Barrett added 16 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Lugentz Dort notched 8 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Jamal Murray scored 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Khem Birch added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Dwight Powell scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 2o n 2-2 from the line. Trey Lyles scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Dillon Brooks added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 steals, while Kelly Olynyk, Andrew Nembhard and Melvin Ejim were scoreless. Canada hit 25-66 (.380) overall, 20-45 (.440) from the floor, 5-21 (.240) from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 27 fouls, 14 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks.
The all-tournament team (as selected by FIBA) included MVP LeBron James (United States); Stephen Curry (United States); Victor Wembanyama (France); Nikola Jokic (Serbia); and Dennis Schroder (Germany).
The 2nd-team featured: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada); Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia); Franz Wagner (Germany; Guerschon Yabusele (France); and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece).
The Rising Star Award (young player of the tournament) went to Wembanyama.