| FINAL STANDINGS 1. Yugoslavia 2. Soviet Union 3. U.S.A. 4. Puerto Rico 5. Brazil 6. Greece 7. Australia 8. Argentina 9. Italy 10. Spain 11. Venezuela 12. CANADA 13. Angola 14. China 15. Korea 16. Egypt | CANADIANS J.D. Jackson (Vernon, B.C.) Philippe Ohl (Courtney, B.C.) Eli Pasquale (Sudbury, Ont.) Martin Keane (Toronto, Ont.) Gerald Kazanowski (Nanaimo, B.C.) Tony Simms (Kingston, Jamaica) Stewart Granger (Montreal, Que.) Dan Meagher (Kingston, Ont.) Jim Zoet (Uxbridge, Ont.) Andrew Steinfeld (Langley, B.C.) Dwight Walton (Montreal, Que.) Rick Fox (Toronto, Ont.) Ken Shields – coach |
| POOL A | PUR | YUG | VEN | ANG | Record | ||
| Puerto Rico | —– | 82-75 | 88-74 | 78-75 | (3-0) | ||
| Yugoslavia | 75-82 | —– | 92-84 | 92-79 | (2-1) | ||
| Venezuela | 74-88 | 84-92 | —– | 83-77 | (1-2) | ||
| Angola | 75-78 | 79-92 | 77-83 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | BRA | ITA | AUS | CHN | Record | ||
| Brazil | —– | 125-109 | 68-69 | 138-95 | (2-1) | ||
| Italy | 109-125 | —– | 94-89 | 115-76 | (2-1) | ||
| Australia | 69-68 | 89-94 | —– | 106-85 | (2-1) | ||
| China | 95-138 | 76-115 | 85-106 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL C | USA | SPN | GRE | KOR | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 95-85 | 103-95 | 146-67 | (3-0) | ||
| Greece | 95-103 | 102-93 | —– | 119-76 | (2-1) | ||
| Spain | 85-95 | —– | 93-102 | 130-101 | (1-2) | ||
| Korea | 67-146 | 101-130 | 76-119 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL D | SOV | ARG | CAN | EGY | Record | ||
| Soviet Union | —– | 97-77 | 90-81 | 102-76 | (3-0) | ||
| Argentina | 77-97 | —– | 96-88 | 82-65 | (2-1) | ||
| Canada | 81-90 | 88-96 | —– | 83-68 | (1-2) | ||
| Egypt | 76-102 | 65-82 | 68-83 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| CLASSIFICATION A | ITA | CAN | ANG | KOR | Record | ||
| Italy | —– | 110-81 | 86-78 | 123-100 | (3-0) | ||
| Canada | 81-110 | —– | 82-80 | 124-86 | (2-1) | ||
| Angola | 78-86 | 80-82 | —– | 104-93 | (1-2) | ||
| Korea | 100-123 | 86-124 | 93-104 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| CLASSIFICATION B | SPN | VEN | CHN | EGY | Record | ||
| Spain | —– | 122-102 | 130-86 | 107-73 | (3-0) | ||
| Venezuela | 102-122 | —– | 100-96 | 103-101 | (2-1) | ||
| China | 86-130 | 96-100 | —– | 95-87 | (1-2) | ||
| Egypt | 73-107 | 101-103 | 87-95 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| MEDALS POOL A | USA | PUR | AUS | ARG | Record | ||
| Puerto Rico | 81-79 | —– | 89-79 | 92-76 | (3-0) | ||
| United States | —– | 79-81 | 79-78 | 104-100 | (2-1) | ||
| Australia | 78-79 | 79-89 | —– | 95-91 | (1-2) | ||
| Argentina | 100-104 | 76-92 | 91-95 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| MEDALS POOL B | YUG | SOV | GRE | BRA | Record | ||
| Yugoslavia | —– | 100-77 | 77-67 | 105-86 | (3-0) | ||
| Soviet Union | 77-100 | —– | 75-57 | 110-100 | (2-1) | ||
| Greece | 67-77 | 57-75 | —– | 103-88 | (1-2) | ||
| Brazil | 86-105 | 100-110 | 88-103 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| 13-16th | Angola 83 Egypt 70 | |
| 13-16th | China 122 Korea 100 | |
| 9-12th | Spain 84 Canada 75 | |
| 9-12th | Italy 108 Venezuela 100 | |
| 5-8th | Brazil 100 Australia 93 | |
| 5-8th | Greece 81 Argentina 78 | |
| Semi | Yugoslavia 99 United States 91 | |
| Semi | Soviet Union 98 Puerto Rico 82 | |
| 15th | Korea 117 Egypt 115 | |
| 13th | Angola 112 China 96 | |
| 11th | Venezuela 93 Canada 92 | |
| 9th | Italy 106 Spain 83 | |
| 7th | Australia 98 Argentina 84 | |
| 5th | Brazil 97 Greece 94 | |
| Bronze | United States 107 Puerto Rico 105 | |
| Final | Yugoslavia 92 Soviet Union 75 | |
In round robin play, Canada defeated Egypt 83-68 in their opener as Dwight Walton came off the bench to score 28 points. Rick Fox added 16, Gerald Kazanowski 9, J.D. Jackson 8, Eli Pasquale 7, Tony Simms 6, Stewart Granger 6 and Jim Zoet 3, while Martin Keane, Dan Meagher, Phil Ohl and Andrew Steinfeld were scoreless. Canada led 38-34 at the half but cranked up its pressure defence and took command in the second frame. “All I wanted to do was keep my intensity level up and bring the level of intensity in the other players up,” said Walton. “I like to play hard with a lot of excitement and intensity.” Alain-Pierre Atallah paced Egypt with 15. Ashraf Mohammed el-Kordi added 14, Emad Mahmoud Ali 13, Sherif Nabil el-Sanadili 12, Mohammed Abdel Moteleb 5, Ashraf Sedqi Mahmoud 3, Amir Abou El-Kheir 3, Mohammed Soliman 2 and Hesham Ahmed Shaaban 1, while Ahmed Abou El-Fetouh, Mahmoud Fawzi Abdel-Latif and Fathi Abdelaziz were scoreless.
Canada squandered a 12-point lead with four minutes while falling 96-88 to Argentina. Canada led by as many as 11 in the first half and by 49-44 at the break but were plagued by poor shot selection, turnovers and questionable officiating in the second half. “I really didn’t think we’d lose to Argentina,” said point guard Pasquale. “When you get into these types of games, you’ve got to go in there and play tough for 40 minutes as a team. We sort of let up. Maybe we don’t have the kind of experience to play like we used to. There were some things that we go ourselves riled about. There were some bad calls but we let them back into the game.” Poor shot selection, turnovers and questionable calls also factored into the Argentinian rally. The turning point appeared to be a driving layup by Tony Simms with two minutes remaining, in which an Argentinian clearly whacked the ball out of the cylinder but the referee did not call goaltending. Coach Ken Shields was livid. “it was a blatant goaltending infraction. I’m not making excuses. We just couldn’t score down the stretch and then defensively, Argentina did a heck of a job getting the shots it wanted.” Hector Oscar Campana paced Argentina with 20. Sebastian Uranga added 19, Diego Marcelo Osella 14, Marcelo Gustavo Milanesio 13, Diego Maggi 13, Carlos Romano 7, Ruben Ariel Scolari 4, Miguel Alberto Cortijo 4 and Julio Ariel Rodriguez 2, while Marcelo Lorenzo Richotti, Esteban Pablo de la Fuente and Gabriel Milovich were scoreless. Tony Simms paced Canada with 21 points. Eli Pasquale added 18 but only two in the second half. Dwight Walton added 14, Gerald Kazanowski 8, Rick Fox 7, Stewart Granger 6, J.D. Jackson 6, Martin Keane 4 and Jim Zoet 4, while Phil Ohl, Danny Meagher and Andrew Steinfeld were scoreless.
The Soviet Union defeated Canada 90-81, leaving the Canadians with a 1-2 record, which forced them into the consolation round, the first time in 20 years that Canada had failed to qualify for the medals pool. “I don’t know that it will have a tremendously negative impact,” coach Ken Shields said of Canada’s failure to make the medal round. “We’re built a national team program and this is just a setback, a small setback. It’s not one that we like. We’ll just have to live with it and work hard.” Meagher said Canada wasn’t ready for the international game. “International basketball is a totally different game and atmosphere. It’s unique and something you learn from. So, I think, our future teams, if you keep a base of guys who have here through this, when you go to the Olympics, you’ll be a lot better as a team.” Shields said his troops played well against the Russians. “I’m very proud of the way the team played tonight. The players kept their composure with the officiating, except tonight I think they were frustrated at the end and showed it after the game.” Several Canadians confronted the refs after the match and one threw a towel. A trey by Dwight Walton that would have rallied Canada to within two was disallowed by a Finnish official who called an elbowing violation against Gerald Kazanowski away from the play. Valerij Tikhonenko paced the Soviet Union with 28. Aleksandr Volkov added 18, Oleg Meleshchenko 16, Viktor Berezhnoj 14, Gundars Vetra 6, Andrej Lopatov 4 and Aleksandr Belostennyj 4, while Tiit Sokk, Sergej Bazarevich, Dmitrij Sukharev, Valerij Korolev and Igor Pinchuk were scoreless. Danny Meagher paced Canada with 18. Dwight Walton added 9, Gerald Kazanowski 9, J.D. Jackson 8, Eli Pasquale 8, Tony Simms 7, Martin Keane 6, Jim Zoet 6, Andrew Steinfeld 6 and Rick Fox 4, while Phil Ohl and Stewart Granger were scoreless.
In the classification pool round, Canada stomped South Korea 124-86 as Rick Fox scored 18, Danny Meagher 18 and John (J.D.) Jackson 15. “It was tough to get up for it,” said Jackson.” Canada took an early 10 point but the South Koreans rallied to a one-point edge before a late spurt put Canada ahead 52-49 at the half. They quickly turned it into a rout in the second half. Dwight Walton added 15 points, Tony Simms 14, Rick Fox 14, Eli Pasquale 12, Stewart Granger 10, Gerald Kazanowski 9, Jim Zoet 8, Philippe Ohl 5 and Martin Keane 4, while Andrew Steinfeld was scoreless. “Once we got the lead, we started to have a little fun. That’s what we needed to get over the disappointment,” said centre Jim Zoet. Coach Ken Shields said he “was happy to see us play with some energy in the second half.” Kim Yoo-taek led South Korea with 22. Hur Jae added 19, Lee Won-woo 17, Choi Byung-sik 10, Kang Dong-hee 9, Kim Hyun-jun 5, Jung Jae-keun 2 and Kim Jin 2, while Lee Chung-hee, Pyo Pil-sang, Lee Min-hyun and Seo Dae-seong were scoreless.
Canada then defeated Angola 82-80 on a last minute three-point play by Tony Simms, who finished with 25 points. Gerald Kazanowski added 21, Rick Fox 12, Dwight Walton 6, J.D. Jackson 5, Stewart Granger 4, Jim Zoet 3, Martin Keane 3, Eli Pasquale 2 and Andrew Steinfeld 1, while Philippe Ohl and Danny Meagher were scoreless. Jean-Jacques Nzadi da Conceicao paced Angola with 26. Anibal de Jesus Moreira added 20, David Bartolomeu Dias 11, Artur Barros 7, Herlander Fernandes Coimbra 7, Nelson Timoteo Alves Sardinha 4, Jose Carlos Carvalho Ribeiro Guimaraes 4 and Paulo Jorge Morais Rebelo de Macedo 1, while Ivo Alfredo, Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano, Antonio Rafael Victor de Carvalho and Manuel Nazareth Costa de Sousa ‘Necas’ were scoreless.
Montreal’s Stewart Granger was sent back to his home in New York City by coach Ken Shields after having an on-court tantrum during Canada’s 110-81 loss to Italy. Granger complained about substitution patterns, threw a punch and then threw a towel in anger when Shields pulled him from the game. Team officials said Granger would need Shields’ permission to ever play again on a Canadian squad. “It was behaviour we could just not condone,” said Shields. “He said my substitutions were killing us in certain situations and he’s right – if I hadn’t substituted him in against Argentina last week, we’d probably be in the top eight right now in Buenos Aires.” Granger made several defensive errors and lost his composure with an official. He scored 13 in the first half again Italy, but in the second half, took a swing at an Italian player. “Shields has been playing games and when you play games with players who’ve been around, there’s going to be trouble,” said Granger. Canada committed 27 turnovers. Veteran guard Eli Pasquale said it was the right decision. “You find out what kind of character a person has when you’re losing.” Jim Zoet added that “nobody enjoys being here because you’re playing for ninth to 16th places. But you could tell by his attitude he wasn’t ready to play. It’s unfortunate to see a teammate sent home. But on the other hand, what he did on the bench with the coaches, we don’t need that.” Antonello Riva paced Italy with 32. Sandro dell’Agnello added 19, Giuseppe Bosa 14, Roberto Brunamonti 12, Riccardo Pittis 10, Davide Cantarello 8, Davide Pessina 6, Alberto Rossini 4, Andrea Niccolai 3 and Alberto Vianini 2, while Gustavo Tolotti and Francesco Vescovi were scoreless. Gerald Kazanowski paced Canada with 25. Granger added 13, Tony Simms 11, J.D. Jackson 10, Rick Fox 8, Jim Zoet 4, Danny Meagher 4, Eli Pasquale 2, Andrew Steinfeld 2 and Phil Ohl 2, while Martin Keane and Dwight Walton were scoreless.
In the 9-12th playoff, Spain thrashed Canada 84-75. Coach Ken Shields was philosophical. “Where you finish is not nearly as important as how you’re playing. You know, we’re not playing that well.” Canada led by eight early but the Spaniards rallied to a 47-37 lead at the half. The Canadians trimmed the margin to four down the stretch but the Spaniards with a pair of uncontested layups. Andres Jiminez Fernandez paced Spain with 20. Alberto Herreros Ros added 16, Jose Antonio Montero Botanch 16, Manel Bosch Bifet 14, Francisco Javier Zapata Pelayo 12 and Enrique Andreu Balbuena 6, while Jordi Villacampa Amoros, Jose Angel Arcega Aperte, Jose Miguel Antunez Melero, Rafael Jofresa Prats, Fernando Romay Pereiro and Ferran Martinez Garriga were scoreless. Tony Simms led Canada with 16. Rick Fox added 11, Dwight Walton 10, Eli Pasquale 10, Andrew Steinfeld 9, Gerald Kazanowski 8, J.D. Jackson 4, Jim Zoet 4 and Danny Meagher 3, while Martin Keane and Phil Ohl were scoreless.
In the 11th place match, Venezuela defeated Canada 93-92 after pilfering the ball in the final seconds and notching the winning layup. The 12th place finished tied the worst ever for the national team (1957 in Chile). A 17-point outburst by veteran Eli Pasquale of Victoria put the Canadians in front in the first half. With less than five minutes remaining, Toronto native Rick Fox hit a pair of three-pointers and a bucket off a fast break to break a 78-78 deadlock. But Venezuela closed to 92-91 with 40 seconds left, and then veteran guard Sam Sheppard stripped the ball from Gerald Kazanowski at halfcourt and hit the easy layup. The Canadians had one final chance to grab a victory, but a shot from Phil Ohl bounced off the rim. Ivan Jose Olivares Alvarez paced Venezuela with 18. Gabriel Ramon Estaba Garcia added 17, Alexander Angel Nelcha Dubard 17, Sam Shepherd 14, Carl Victor Herrera Alleyne 13, Cesar Eduardo Portillo Brown 8, Armando Becker 5 and Jose Echenique 1, while Victor David Diaz Diaz, Nelson Abelardo Solorzano Aponte, Rostyn Eduwardo Gonzalez Ortega and Luis Jimenez Guevara were scoreless. Eli Pasquale paced Canada with 21. Rick Fox added 18, Gerald Kazanowski 16, Danny Meagher 10, Phil Ohl 8, Tony Simms 8, Dwight Walton 4, J.D. Jackson 4 and Jim Zoet 3, while Martin Keane and Andrew Steinfeld were scoreless.
After the tournament, Shields said the squad was hampered because predecessor coach Jack Donohue did little to develop a B team and a junior team, forcing the Canadians to rely on aging vets at the worlds. “I learned that you have to be together longer to prepare properly. You have to have people who have tremendous attitude and commitment, and you have to have talent. There’s no secret. We knew going in that we had a very fragile and precarious situation.”
The all-tournament team featured MVP Toni Kukoc (Yugoslavia); Oscar Schmidt (Brazil); Vlade Divac (Yugoslavia); Kenny Anderson (USA) and Fico Lopez (Puerto Rico).