| FINAL STANDINGS 1. United States 2. Russia 3. Croatia 4. Greece 5. Australia 6. Puerto Rico 7. CANADA 8. China 9. Argentina 10. Spain 11. Brazil 12. Germany 13. South Korea 14. Egypt 15. Cuba 16. Angola | CANADIANS Steve Nash (Johannesburg, South Africa) J.D. Jackson (Vernon, B.C.) Rick Fox (Toronto, Ont.) Greg Wiltjer (Whitehorse, Yukon) Mike Smrek (Port Robertson, Ont.) Spencer McKay (Oliver, B.C.) Dwight Walton (Montreal, Que.) Martin Keane (Toronto, Ont.) Ronn McMahon (Magrath, Alta.) Kory Hallas (Almonte, Ont.) Will Njoku (Accra, Ghana) Joey Vickery (Winnipeg, man.) Ken Shields – coach Jerry Hemmings – assistant Mike Katz – assistant Andrew Pipe – doctor Rick McGuire – psychologist Jim Reardon – psychologist Gutis Obrascovs – therapist Vern Gambetta – strength training coach David DeAveiro – manager Doc Ryan – scout Ken Olynyk – scout |
| POOL A | USA | CHN | SPN | BRA | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 132-77 | 115-100 | 105-82 | (3-0) | ||
| China | 77-132 | —– | 78-76 | 97-93 | (2-1) | ||
| Spain | 100-115 | 76-78 | —– | 73-67 | (1-2) | ||
| Brazil | 82-105 | 93-97 | 67-73 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL B | CRO | AUS | CUB | KOR | Record | ||
| Croatia | —– | 83-69 | 85-65 | 104-53 | (3-0) | ||
| Australia | 69-83 | —– | 93-87 | 87-85 | (2-1) | ||
| Cuba | 65-85 | 87-93 | —– | 92-79 | (1-2) | ||
| Korea | 53-104 | 85-87 | 79-92 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL C | CAN | RUS | ARG | ANG | Record | ||
| Russia | 73-66 | —– | 84-64 | 94-57 | (3-0) | ||
| Canada | —– | 66-73 | 91-73 | 83-52 | (2-1) | ||
| Argentina | 73-91 | 64-84 | —– | 67-59 | (1-2) | ||
| Angola | 52-83 | 57-94 | 59-67 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| POOL D | GRE | PUR | GER | EGY | Record | ||
| Greece | —– | 64-72 | 68-58 | 69-53 | (2-1) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 72-64 | —– | 74-81 | 102-74 | (2-1) | ||
| Germany | 58-68 | 81-74 | —– | 78-56 | (2-1) | ||
| Egypt | 53-69 | 74-102 | 56-78 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| CLASSIFICATION E | SPN | ARG | KOR | EGY | Record | ||
| Spain | —– | 72-70 | 98-57 | 94-52 | (3-0) | ||
| Argentina | 70-72 | —– | 105-83 | 91-66 | (2-1) | ||
| Korea | 57-98 | 83-105 | —– | 89-81 | (1-2) | ||
| Egypt | 52-94 | 66-91 | 81-89 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| CLASSIFICATION F | GER | BRA | CUB | ANG | Record | ||
| Germany | —– | 96-76 | 86-74 | 86-76 | (3-0) | ||
| Brazil | 76-96 | —– | 82-76 | 78-79 | (1-2) | ||
| Cuba | 74-86 | 76-82 | —– | 75-71 | (1-2) | ||
| Angola | 76-86 | 79-78 | 71-75 | —– | (1-2) | ||
| QUARTERFINAL G | USA | RUS | AUS | PUR | Record | ||
| United States | —– | 111-94 | 130-74 | 134-83 | (3-0) | ||
| Russia | 94-111 | —– | 103-76 | 101-85 | (2-1) | ||
| Australia | 74-130 | 76-103 | —– | 94-81 | (1-2) | ||
| Puerto Rico | 83-134 | 85-101 | 81-94 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| QUARTERFINAL H | CAN | CRO | GRE | CHN | Record | ||
| Croatia | 92-61 | —– | 81-55 | 105-73 | (3-0) | ||
| Greece | 74-71 | 55-81 | —– | 77-61 | (2-1) | ||
| Canada | —– | 61-92 | 71-74 | 90-58 | (1-2) | ||
| China | 58-90 | 73-105 | 61-77 | —– | (0-3) | ||
| 13-16th | Egypt 69 Cuba 54 | |
| 13-16th | Korea 75 Angola 71 | |
| 9-12th | Spain 90 Brazil 85 | |
| 9-12th | Argentina 85 Germany 71 | |
| 5-8th | Puerto Rico 85 Canada 82 | |
| 5-8th | Australia 95 China 57 | |
| Semi | United States 97 Greece 58 | |
| Semi | Russia 66 Croatia 64 | |
| 15th | Cuba 75 Angola 67 | |
| 13th | South Korea 76 Egypt 69 | |
| 11th | Brazil 93 Germany 71 | |
| 9th | Argentina 74 Spain 65 | |
| 7th | Canada 104 China 76 | |
| 5th | Australia 96 Puerto Rico 83 | |
| Bronze | Croatia 78 Greece 60 | |
| Final | United States 137 Russia 91 | |
Canada, which qualified as host, opens with 83-52 pounding of Angola. Canada ripped off an 8-0 run to start the second half and move ahead 47-30. Forward J.D. Jackson led the way, tipping in a rebound to open the half and nailing a three as Canada took its 17-point bulge. “It was nice to get our feet wet with a win in this tournament,” said Hallas. “It was really slow in the first half, but our defence was great.” Rick Fox shot poorly all night. Canada led by as many as 14 in the first half, including a 29-15 lead midway through the half. “We’re looking at the whole tournament as eight steps to the gold,” said Hallas. “We’re on the first step now and we’ve got a few more to go.” Shields said defence was tremendous. “I was proud of our second half performance. In the first half, we were a little ragged but we really stepped it up defensively in the second half.” Defence took Angola out of its bombs-away offence. Canada led 39-30 at the half. Joey Vickery paced Canada with 14 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Kory Hallas added 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 5 boards. J.D. Jackson notched 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 steals. Rick Fox scored 10 on 2-8 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Spencer McKay added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Steve Nash scored 7 on 2-3 from the line, 1-1 from the arc and 2 steals. Greg Wiltjer notched 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 6 boards. Martin Keane scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 2 steals. Will Njoku added 5, Dwight Walton 3 and Michael Smrek 2 while Ronn McMahon was scoreless. Canada hit 24-49 (.490) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 20-27 (.741) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 23 fouls, 11 turnovers and 11 steals. Herlander Fernandez Coimbra paced Angola with 16 on 5-5 from the arc and 1-3 from the line. Ivo Alfredo added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Anibal de Jesus Moreira scored 7, Jean-Jacques Nazdi Conceicao 6, Benjamin Ucuahamba 4, Antonio Carvalho 3, Angelo Monteiro Dos Santos Victoriano 2, Paulo Morais Rebelo De Macedo 3, Garcia Joao Dos S Domingos 1 and Benjamin Romano 2, while David Bartolomeu Dias and Honorato Troso were scoreless. Angola hit 9-27 (.333) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 21 fouls, 19 turnovers and 3 steals.
Rick Fox asserted himself as Canada prevailed 91-73 over Argentina. “I want to shoulder a lot of the responsibility,” said Fox, who scored six of Canada’s first nine points of the second half as Canada converted a 30-30 tie into a 55-45 lead over eight minutes. “Maybe I was so anxious to get off to a good start (against Angola) that I was pressing a bit and I felt like I was trying to do too much,” the 6-7 Boston Celtic said. “Tonight, I was more aware of not being so assertive and I only got one shot and two fouls. I said there has to be a middle (ground) and I found it in the second half. Hallas scored 19 in the second half. “Kory had an outstanding game, offensively and defensively,” said head coach Ken Shields. “We isolated him on (Argentina forward Marcelo) Micola and it got him to foul out of the game. He had as fine an offensive game as you’ll see and he also defended well.” The score was knotted at 30 at the half. Kory Hallas paced Canada with 31 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 12-13 from the line and 7 boards. Rick Fox added 19 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. J.D. Jackson added 12 on 6-12 from the floor, 5 boards and 3 steals. Joey Vickery notched 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Ronn McMahon scored 6on 3-3 from the floor and 4 assists. Mike Smrek scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 3-7 from the line. Greg Wiltjer added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Steve Nash scored 2 on 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Martin Keane added 3, Spencer McKay 2 and Will Njoku 1, while Dwight Walton was scoreless. Canada shot 24-46 (.522) from the floor, 6-15 (.400) from the arc and 25-36 (.694) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 27 fouls, 17 turnovers and 7 steals. Juan Alberto Espil Vanotti paced Argentina with 24 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 9-12 from the line and 3 boards. Marcelo Nicola added 16 on 5-9 from the floor and 6-7 from the line. Hector Oscar Campana Marcomini added 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Daniel Farabello added 8, Marcelo Gustavo Milanesio 4, Estaban Daniel Perez Spatazza 3, Ruben Wolkowisky 3, Eduardo Domine 2 and Diego Marcelo Osella 1, while Sebastian Uranga, Orlando Fabian Tourn and Jorge Oscar Racca were scoreless. Argentina hit 20-35 (.571) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 28 fouls, 16 turnovers and 5 steals.
Russia defeated Canada 73-66 with a late 12-2 run in the final three and a half minutes of play. “The loss really doesn’t mean that much in terms of what we’re going to do,” said Shields. “If we went into the U.S. (pool), there’s only one spot open. In the pool we’re in, there’s Croatia, which is a powerful team. But we’re playing for two spots. Nothing is guaranteed.” Ronn McMahon said “it’s disappointing to lose but we set out to advance to the quarterfinals and we did advance.” Canada faltered down the stretch although 11,000 fans were on their feet. After Will Njoku nailed a 10-footer jumper to tie the game at 61 and J.C. Jackson gave Canada a 63-61 lead with a pair of threes, the Russians took command. Mikhail Mikhailov hit a layup. Sergei Babkov drilled a jumper a pair of free throws and a three. “We just didn’t play the quality of defence we need to win,” said Shields. “We don’t score a lot of points so our defence has to be outstanding and at the start of the second half, it wasn’t.” Canada led 43-36 at the half but got buzzed 15-5 in the first five minutes of the second half. Canada led 41-36 at the half. Serguei Babkov paced Russia with 18 on 1-4 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Vasily Karasev added 13 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Serguei Bazarevitch added 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Andrey Fetisov notched 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 7 boards. Evgeny Kisurin added 9 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Mikhail Mikhaylov scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Vitaly Nosov added 2, while Dmitry Domani, Evgueni Pachutine, Sergey Panov, Igor Grachev and Serguei Ivanov were scoreless. Russia shot 16-44 (.364) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 19 turnovers, 13 fouls and 7 steals. Joey Vickery paced Canada with 14 on 4-8 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Rick Fox added 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Steve Nash scored 8 on 4-5 from the floor, 3 boards and 4 assists. Greg Wiltjer added 8 on 4-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Kory Hallas scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Martin Keane added 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. J.D. Jackson scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 3 assists. Mike Smrek added 2, along with 5 boards, and Will Njoku 2, while Dwight Walton, Spencer McKay and Ronn McMahon were scoreless. Canada hit 20-47 (.426) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 21 fouls, 17 turnovers and 3 steals.
Canada finished (2-1) in their pool and advanced to a quarterfinal pool which includes Croatia, Greece and China.
In the quarterfinal pool, Canada lost a heartbreaker to Greece 74-71 before a raucous pro-Greece crowd. The ball slipped away from Rick Fox with 12 seconds to play and Greece’ Pangiotis Fassoulas slammed home an insurance dunk five seconds later as Greece prevailed. Fox “told me he could get in there and draw a foul or break his man down,” said coach Ken Shields. Fox tried a spin dribble in the Greek key. “He was just off-balance when he made the pass.” Fox said “they had a foul to give and they gave it. It just didn’t get called. I don’t just fall down going to the basket.” The majority of the crowd of 11,068 were waving the blue and white Greek flags. “It’s pretty hard for a Canadian kid to play in his own country and get booed,” said Shields. “That shouldn’t happen.” Fanis Christodoulo led Greece with 16 points. Kory Hallas added 10 for Canada. Greek coach Makis Dedrinos was elated by the support. “We are very obligated to the Greek community. I think they deserve a lot of credit.” Greece’s Fanis Christodoulo was all but unstoppable, said centre Mike Smrek. “He’s that good. The other games, he’s had off-days. This was the real Christodoulo.” Greece led 40-34 at the half. Theofanis Christodoulou paced Greece with 26 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Panagiotis Fassoulas added 18 on 8-15 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Panagiotis Giannakis added 12 on 6-11 from the floor. Georgios Sigalas scored 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Efthymios Bakatsias added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 4 assists. Athanasios Galakteros, Argirios Papapetrou, Christos Tsekos, Ioannis Milonas, Efthymios Rentzias, Nikolaos Bountouris and Constantinos Ptavoukas were scoreless. Greece hit 26-52 from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc and 7-15 (.467) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 14 fouls, 10 turnovers and 8 steals. Kory Hallas paced Canada with 20 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Rick Fox added 17 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Steve Nash scored 13 on 2-6 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Greg Wiltjer notched 10 on 5-10 from the floor and 9 boards. J.D. Jackson added 4, Mike Smrek 4 and Ronn McMahon 3, while Martin Keane, Joey Vickery, Dwight Walton, Spencer McKay and Will Njoku were scoreless. Njoku nabbed 4 boards. Canada hit 17-47 (.362) from the floor, 10-21 (.476) from the arc and 7-9 (.778) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 19 fouls, 15 turnovers and 6 steals.
Canada was pounded 92-61 by Croatia before a crowd aflutter with red-white-blue Croatian flags. Canada trailed wire to wire and never threatened. Croatia began showboating in the second half the game was such a rout.
“We got our butts whipped pretty good,” said coach Ken Shields. “We just got beaten by a very good team.” Rick Fox scored 19 for Canada. Kory Hallas added 17. Croatia opened with a 6-0 run as Canada began in confusion on defence. Canada trailed 45-30 at the half. Canada tried to get back in the game on spirited rebounding of Martin Keane and a pair from beyond the arc by Kory Hallas early in the second half, trimming a 17-point deficit to 53.46. But Kukoc fed five of Croatia’s next seven buckets and the lead was quickly 22. “Croatia is just a really, really good team,” said Hallas. “We just couldn’t stop them on defence and that’s where the game was lost.” Squabbling between Canadians on the floor didn’t help and the team unraveled down the stretch. “When the game’s at its critical point, a team shows its character,” said Martin Keane. We were at the pressure point in the game and we snapped. We have to learn from that. We were out of sync and with great players like Kukoc and Radja, you have to execute perfectly. If you don’t, you saw what happens.” Croatia led 45-30 at the half. Dino Rada led Croatia with 25 on 12-15 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Arijan Komazec added 22 on 7-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Toni Kukoc scored 15 on 4-7 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 12 assists. Vladan Alanovic notched 11 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Danko Cvjeticanin added 8, Stojan Vrankovic 7, along with 15 boards, and Josip Jerko Vrankovic 4, while Davor Pejcinovic, Miro Juric, Ivica Zuric, Alan Gregov, Veljko Mrsic and Arijan Komazec were scoreless. Rick Fox paced Canada with 19 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Kory Hallas added 17 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 6 boards. Martin Keane added 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Mike Smrek notched 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Joey Vickery scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Will Njoku notched 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Steve Nash scored 2, while dishing 4 assists. Ronn McMahon scored 2 and Greg Wiltjer 1, while nabbing 4 boards. J.D. Jackson, Dwight Walton and Spencer McKay were scoreless. Canada hit 20-50 (.400) from the floor, 5-25 (.200) from the arc and 6-12 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 13 fouls, 13 turnovers and 6 steals.
Canada crushed China 90-58 before a hometown crowd of 8,000 as Martin Keane dominated. After getting trashed by the media for their loss to Croatia, the team was looking for revenge. “These guys have been booed in their own country two nights in a row. We got beat by a very good Croatia team and they got turned on,” a livid Shields said. “They don’t deserve that. For anyone to say they didn’t come out and do their best, it’s just not right. Shields was particularly irate with a column written by Leo Rautins, who was later become the Canadian national team coach, saying that the Canadians had been playing without heart. “I’m the coach. It comes with the territory. You’ve got guys who’ve got their own agendas. The players – they don’t deserve it.” Forward Dwight Walton noted that an earlier loss to Greece was unfortunate, during which a pro-Greece crowd booed Canada at every opportunity. “But for people to come out and say we don’t have heart, it hurts really bad. Maybe it’s best Team Canada plays for itself.” Canada led 43-37 at the half. Martin Keane paced Canada with 18 points on 9-11 from the floor, 11 boards, 2 steals and seven thunder dunks. Rick Fox added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-5 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Joey Vickery notched 12 on 4-8 from the arc. J.D. Jackson scored 9 on 4-9 from the floor and 4 boards. Dwight Walton added 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Steve Nash scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kory Hallas scored 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 3 boards. Greg Wiltjer added 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 7 boards. Spencer McKay scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor. Will Njoku scored 4 and Mike Smrek 2, while nabbing 6 boards. Ronn McMahon was scoreless. Canada hit 33-59 (.559) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 9-16 (.562) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 13 fouls, 11 turnovers and 11 steals. Weidong Hu paced China with 22 on 4-4 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Wu Zheng added 11 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Yuydong Liu added 8 on 4-10 from the floor and 4 boards. Adiljan scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4 boards. Jun Sun notched 4, along with 7 boards, Quinglong Wu 3, Naigun Wu 3 and Tao Shan 2, while Daging Liu, Jingsong Zhang, Xiaobin Gong and Mingshang Ji were scoreless. China hit 13-41 (.317) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 5-7 (.714) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 14 fouls, 15 turnovers and 7 steals.
Canada finished (1-2) in the quarterfinal pool and dropped to the 5th-8th classification round.
Canada looked lackadaisical in its 85-82 loss to Puerto Rico in the classification round. Canada trailed 48-47 at the half. Canada’s performance “baffles me,” said forward Martin Keane. ‘When we were coming into the tournament, everyone said we were top three. I think we didn’t believe it. This team needed a character and every night, you didn’t know what to expect.” Forward J.D. Jackson added that “it’s been a real long haul for us. I didn’t like our energy today. I don’t think we put in 100%.” Coach Ken Shields was mystified. “It’s been emotionally draining, no question about it. Still, you have to come out and play and get the job done. But today we didn’t.” Canada rallied to within three down the stretch but a missed jumper and three straight Puerto Rico free throws put an end to their hopes. ‘it’s very difficult emotionally to keep coming back, kept coming back but they tried to. We tried to bleed the energy out of them today. But they just didn’t have it. You can’t hide that fact.” Keane said the squad lacked a take-charge guy down the stretch. “We lacked a little leadership and we need to establish that. That’s not a negative at all. That’s something we can look forward to building.” James Carter paced Puerto Rico with 22 on 5-12 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 8 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Orlando Vega Amith added 17 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-8 from the line and 6 boards. Jerome Mincy notched 15 on 5-10 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 7 boards. Dean Borges added 13 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Jose Rafael Ortiz-Rijos scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 6 boards. Eddie Casiano added 8 on 1-2 from the floor and 2-6 from the arc, while Luis Ramon Allende-Ruiz, Edgar Leon, Federico Lopez, Javier Antonio Colon, Ruben Colon and Felix Perez Rivera were scoreless. Puerto Rico hit 19-45 (.422) from the floor, 10-20 from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 18 fouls, 21 turnovers and 6 steals. J.D. Jackson paced Canada with 20 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Rick Fox added 19 on 7-11 from the floor, 5-5 from the line and 7 boards. Steve Nash scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Greg Wiltjer scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Martin Keane added 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Joey Victory scored 6 on 2-7 from the arc. Kory Hallas added 5, Dwight Walton 4, Mike Smrek 3, Spencer McKay 2 and Ronn McMahon 2, while Will Njoku was scoreless. Canada hit 24-45 (.533) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 24 fouls, 18 turnovers and 9 steals.
In the seventh-place match, Canada romped over China 104-76. “We have a lot to be proud of,” head coach Ken Shields said. “It’s always sad when a team breaks up but it was nice to finish with a win and a good time,” said centre Mike Smrek. Shields said the memories will be good. “When you lose close games, you tend to lose a bit of perspective. We have a lot to be proud of. The players are going to go home happy. Seventh place out of (200 countries which began the qualification process) is nothing to be ashamed of. They deserve credit for their dedication and Canada should be proud of them.” Hints of dissension had surfaced following a three-point loss to Greece in second round pool play and a big loss to Croatia. “We’re disappointed obviously, in not having the opportunity to play for a medal,” said Rick Fox. “But we got a lot of experience performing under pressure. Honestly, we didn’t handle the pressure well or perform to the best of our ability once the tournament began. We were together in terms of relating to each other and standing behind each other. But we tried to do too much individually on the court.” Canada led 51-41 at the half. Rick Fox paced Canada with 20 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 6 boards. Joey Vickery added 20 on 1-1 from the floor, 6-9 from the arc, 2 boards, 3 assists and 7 steals. Spencer McKay scored 12 on 5-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Mike Smrek notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Dwight Walton added 10 on 3-4 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Martin Keane scored 9 on 2-8 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 5 boards. Ronn McMahon added 8 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Steve Nash scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 3 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals. Greg Wiltjer added 4 and Will Njoku 4, while J.D. Jackson and Kory Hallas were scoreless. Canada hit 26-46 (.565) from the floor, 9-17 (.529) from the arc and 25-35 (.714) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 10 fouls, 17 turnovers and 21 steals. Weidong Hu paced China with 18 on 1-4 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Wu Zheng added 17 on 4-5 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Yudong Liu scored 16 on 8-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Adiljan notched 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 8 boards. Daging Liu added 6, Tao Shan 5, Jun Sun 5 and Quinglong Wu 2, while Naigan Wu, Jingsong Zhang, Xiaobin Gong and Minshing Ji were scoreless. China hit 19-31 (.613) from the floor, 11-29 (.379) from the arc and 5-6 (.833) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 20 fouls, 31 turnovers and 12 steals.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Shaquille O’Neal (USA); Sergei Bazarevich (Russia); Reggie Miller (USA); Shawn Kemp (USA); and Dino Radja (Croatia).
1994
In December, national team coach Ken Shields resigns to become president of the Commonwealth Centre for the Development of Sport. A Toronto Globe & Mail article suggested that Shields was racist. Basketball Canada conducts an inquiry and clears Shields of the allegations. Shields charged that Basketball Canada “dignified the charges” by conducting the inquiry. The Globe & Mail article said that Basketball Canada has a “commitment to mediocrity.” It quotes Cordell Llewellyn of Toronto and Rhode Island, as having been left off the team by Shields. Llewellyn says national team coaches “say you’ve got attitude. It’s not my game that got me cut. It’s because they think if you have Canada written across your chest, you have to be white, because to them, Canada’s white and they’d rather lose that have too many blacks on the team.” Wayne Yearwood, then at West Virginia says that Shields “perceives the black guys in a different way. …It’s more ignorance than racism.” The 3-member panel clears Shields in November 1994. Both Llewellyn and Yearwood refused to testify or participate in the inquiry.
1995
In March, 39-year-old St. Francis Xavier head coach Steve Konchalski is appointed head coach after a 25-year apprenticeship as an assistant with the national team. Konchalski replaced Ken Shields, who resigned in December 1994. Konchalski instantly reached out to blacks, who’d criticized Basketball Canada for excluding them from the program. “I would like to create an atmosphere of unity and harmony,” Konchalski said at a Toronto press conference called to announce his appointment. “We’re starting out fresh; we’re starting out with a clean slate and I want to talk to anyone who thinks he can help. It’s important that every young basketball player in Canada feels he can make the team . . . and that, if he doesn’t, the only reason will be because of a lack of ability or an attitude problem.” Born in New York City, Konchalski ventured North to Acadia to play and was chosen MVP of the 1965 CIS nationals. He was an assistant coach at Concordia University from 1971-75 before assuming the helm at St. FX. He was an assistant coach to Jack Donohue, 1973-78; coached at 1976, 1984, 1988 Olympics, 1974, 1982, 1986 world championships; 1979, 1983, 1987 Pan-American Games; 1983, 1985 World University Games; 1980, 1984, 1988 Olympic qualification tournaments. Konchalski was inducted into the Canadian basketball Hall of Fame, 1993.