| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Italy 3. Argentina 4. Yugoslavia 5. Romania 6. Spain 7. Brazil 8. CANADA 9. Soviet Union 10. China 11. Australia 12. Syria 13. Angola 14. Uruguay 15. Nigeria 16. Japan | CANADIANS Jeff Foreman (Selkirk, Man.) Keith Vassell (Scarborough, Ont.) John Ryan (Sussex Kings, N.S.) Peter Walcott (Montreal, Que.) Sherman Hamilton (Malton, Ont.) Rowan Barrett (Scarborough, Ont.) Joe Walker (Quispamsis, N.B.) Sean Van Koughnett (Waterloo, Ont.) William Njoku (Accra, Ghana) Rick Rosu-Myles (Arkona, Ont.) Derek Christiansen (Manila, Philippines) Deon George (Pierrefonds, Que.) Michael Meeks (Patrick City, Jamaica) David Munro (Ottawa, Ont.) Will Njoku (Accra, Ghana) Ken Olynyk – coach Eddie Pomykala – coach |
| POOL A | ROM | ARG | AUS | CHN | Record | ||
| Romania | —– | 63-76 | 75-58 | 92-82 | (2-1) | ||
| Argentina | 76-63 | —– | 75-89 | 70-62 | (2-1) | ||
| Australia | 58-75 | 89-75 | —– | 90-77 | (2-1) | ||
| China | 82-92 | 62-70 | 77-90 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | USA | SPN | NIG | JPN | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 106-101 | 86-73 | 124-51 | (3-0) | ||
| Spain | 101-106 | —– | 96-66 | 133-60 | (2-1) | ||
| Nigeria | 73-86 | 66-96 | —– | 82-52 | (1-2) | ||
| Japan | 51-124 | 60-133 | 52-82 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL D | YUG | BRZ | RUS | SYR | Record | ||
| Yugoslavia | —– | 78-87 | 90-83 | 80-67 | (2-1) | ||
| Brazil | 87-78 | —– | 95-96 | 113-80 | (2-1) | ||
| Soviet Union | 83-90 | 96-95 | —– | 99-88 | (2-1) | ||
| Syria | 67-80 | 80-113 | 88-99 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL C | ITA | CAN | URU | ANG | Record | ||
| Italy | —– | 96-78 | 114-62 | 96-59 | (3-0) | ||
| Canada | 78-96 | —– | 82-81 | 91-65 | (2-1) | ||
| Uruguay | 61-114 | 81-82 | —– | 78-74 | (1-2) | ||
| Angola | 59-96 | 65-91 | 74-78 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| MEDAL POOL A | ITA | YUG | ROM | SPN | Record | ||
| Italy | —– | 72-63 | 96-89 | 89-88 | (3-0) | ||
| Yugoslavia | 63-72 | —– | 81-59 | 95-99 | (1-2) | ||
| Romania | 89-96 | 59-81 | —– | 84-75 | (1-2) | ||
| Spain | 88-89 | 99-95 | 75-84 | —– | (1-2) | ||
| MEDAL POOL B | USA | ARG | BRZ | CAN | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 69-62 | 94-78 | 97-72 | (3-0) | ||
| Argentina | 62-69 | —– | 87-74 | 69-65 | (2-1) | ||
| Brazil | 78-94 | 74-87 | —– | 86-69 | (2-1) | ||
| Canada | 72-97 | 65-69 | 69-86 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| 13-16th | Uruguay 69 Nigeria 66 | |
| 13-16th | Angola 69 Japan 58 | |
| 9-12th | Soviet Union 82 Australia 81 | |
| 9-12th | China 93 Syria 82 | |
| 5-8th | Spain 92 Canada 77 | |
| 5-8th | Romania 104 Brazil 77 | |
| Semi | Italy 79 Argentina 63 | |
| Semi | United States 76 Yugoslavia 74 | |
| 15th | Nigeria 120 Japan 95 | |
| 13th | Angola 78 Uruguay 77 | |
| 11th | Australia 104 Syria 80 | |
| 9th | Soviet Union 134 China 77 | |
| 7th | Brazil 93 Canada 89 | |
| 5th | Romania 110 Spain 96 | |
| Bronze | Argentina 74 Yugoslavia 71 | |
| Final | United States 90 Italy 85 | |
In the opener, Italy defeated Canada 96-78 as they hit 24-30 from the line. The Italians front line dominated, collecting fouls in the paint at whim. Canada hit 19-35 from the line. Free throw shooting “has been a nemesis for us,” said coach Ken Olynyk. “We shoot very well from the line one game and then we don’t very well the other.” Gregor Fucka led Italy with 20, including 16 in the first half. He also hit 6-7 from the line and nabbed 7 boards. Massimo Ruggeri and Falvio Portaluppi each added 15. Deon George led Canada with 16. Rowan Barrett added 12. Canada had difficulty handling the size of 6-11 Fucka and 6-10 Massimo Ruggeri. “We got the ball where wanted on the court,” said Olynyk. “But we just didn’t go up.” Peter Walcott scored 14 and Sherman Hamilton 8 for Canada but more had been expected of the driving guards. “I was just doing my job,” said Fucka, who swatted several shots. “Stay close to my man and wait the Canadian guards penetration.” Italy led 52-40 at the half. Canada drew within three on a 13-0 run in the third quarter but then began being plagued by their .540 percentage from the line. Italy was .800. “Big difference in game right there,” said coach Ken Olynyk. “We held on to the ball as individuals a little much today,” he added.
In their second game, before 800 fans at the Universiade Pavilion, Canada defeats Uruguay 82-81 on a free throw by Will Njoku with 28 seconds to play. The Canadians nearly squandered a 24-point first half lead but Njoku and Sean Van Koughnett came through down the stretch to help pull out the win. Uruguay guard Gabriel Ressi hit a bomb from beyond the halfcourt line just after the final buzzer sounded, and fell to the floor in frustration when he realized the clock had expired. Njoku said the stepped up to the line with confidence. “I’ve been struggling at the free throw line all summer. I got into the groove just lately. I didn’t think I was going to miss.” The 6-9 forward hit the front end of the bonus. Van Koughnett 90 seconds earlier had hit his fourth trey to give Canada an 79-77 edge as they Canadians rallied from a 72-65 deficit. They’d led in the first half 46-29. “We ran the same play, the play before,” said Van Koughnett. “(Uruguay) was cheating one me. I went back the other way and made the shot. It comes to when you’re a little kid and down with a minute to go. When the pressure’s on, I focus better. I like those situations.” Van Koughnett added the perimeter shot is his “bread and butter.” He finished with 14 points. Njoku hit 7-8 from the line in the second half and finished with 20 points. “We’ve had experience (in pressure situations) but you’re never ready for it,” said Njoku. “We’ve got a lot of guts. We can handle it.” Ressi said the fan noise left him unaware that the “buzzer had gone. I didn’t realize it didn’t count until it had gone through and the referee (Yugoslavia’s Zoran Grbac) saved it off.” Forward Gustavo Apud, who paced Uruguay with 17 points, thought friendly timers favored the Canadians. “I’m sure four seconds didn’t transpire from the time we brought it in.”
Canada defeated Angola 91-65. “We said our goal was to be in the championship side. That means we’re in the top eight in the world,” said coach Ken Olynyk. “And they’ve accomplished that. Now we’re moving on to see if we can get in the top four.” Canada built a 51-27 lead at the half, relaxed briefly, but pulled away down the stretch. “I think sometimes we get a lead and we tend to take it easy,” said Rowan Barrett, who scored 13. “We don’t do it purposely but they’re fired up. They realize they’re down by 20 and they’ve got to get back. We didn’t come out as fired up. That’s something we’re going to have to change. Focus for 40 minutes, instead of just 20.” Guard John Ryan said the win should prove a big confidence boost. “Guys who have been struggling were getting the shots up tonight. We know if we play hard, play 100 per cent, we can beat anybody on the floor.”
Canada finishes with (2-1) record and advanced to the medals pool.
In medals pool B play, Brazil whipped Canada 86-69. Brazil took an early 26-16 lead and while Canada briefly rallied to within three, the Brazilians quickly established their dominance. They ran off a 10-0 run as they built a 48-37 lead at the half. Although Canada tried to press the Brazilians, they were plagued by defensive lapses and poor shooting in the second half. “it was hard for us to keep the tempo, the intensity,” said forward Derek Christiansen. “But we missed a lot of easy shots and our free throw shooting was brutal. If we would have made those shots, the crowd would have gotten us going too. Then your adrenalin just steps up. They were pretty hot from the three-point line. Then once their lead starts to build up, you’re constantly trying to pull it in a little bit. They keep bringing it back. After a while, it just gets too repetitive and you start to lose intensity.” The Canadians also had trouble containing Rogerio Klafke, who scored 29, including seven from beyond the arc. Coach Ken Olynyk said his troops were too inconsistent from the floor. “We’re streaky. We can get hot and play very well. Tonight, we weren’t. We had good chances, good opportunities and we didn’t capitalize.” Olynyk said Canada also did a dreadful job on the boards. “When we have five guys going hard to the boards, we usually come up with it. But when we had one or two guys and we didn’t get the ball, then they scored off rebounds and loose balls. I still don’t have any qualms about their work ethic. I think that they worked hard. I don’t think that anybody who was here can say they didn’t Our effort was good. Our execution in terms of our effort wasn’t.”
The United States thrashed Canada 97-72. John Ryan sparked a seven-point outburst as Canada rallied to within eight in the second half. But the American pulled away down the stretch. “We made a goal in the locker room from now on we’ve got to initiate the tempo and style we want to play,” said U.S. guard Jamal Falkner, who scored 12 points. Ryan noted that the Americans “always find a way. They’re used to winning down there.” Wesley Person added 12 for the States, while Khalid Reeves scored 11, Antonio Lang 11, Lance Miller 10, Cherokee Parks 9 and Edwards Stokes 9. Ryan led Canada with 14. “We started slow again,” said Ryan. “We got into a big hole. But we fought hard.” The U.S. led 45-30 at the half.
Argentina edged Canada 69-65. The loss officially eliminated Canada from medal consideration.
In the 5-8th semis, Spain clipped Canada 92-77 after rallying from an eight-point half-time deficit. “We talked about the game last night and told the guys we have to turn our halves around and play well in the first half,” said coach Ken Olynyk. “We turned it around played well in the first half – we’ve won most games if you look at the second half—then we came out and put our first half at the end and put ourselves down 10. I have no idea why, to be quite honest. Maybe we don’t play well with a lead. It’s befuddling.” Will Njoku, who scored 10 and grabbed 7 boards, noted that “we played pretty tough in the first half. We didn’t want to play for 7th or 8th. But once the game got going, we got into it and everybody came out and played the kind of basketball we know we can play and everything fell together. But at halftime, I got the feeling the whole team wasn’t ready for the second half and we came out flat.” Keith Vassell paced Canada with 13. Sean Van Koughnett added 13.
In the seventh-place match, Brazil edged Canada 93-89 as 6-8 forward Rogerio Klafke scored 25 and Andre Mataso Da Silva 19. Sherman Hamilton paced Canada with 24. Deon George added 20.
The last cut from the Canadian team before the tournament?
Steve Nash.