Canada surprised the United States 127-118 in overtime on Sunday in the Philippines to secure bronze at the FIBA World Cup. This medal is their very first in the history of the men’s portion of the tournament.
The representatives of the maple leaf were notably led by Dillon Brooks, author of 39 points, his personal high of the event. He punctuated his performance with seven successful shots in eight attempts from the three-point zone.
Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points.
The efforts of Brooks and SGA were almost spoiled by a late comeback from the Americans. With only 4.2 seconds left in the fourth and final regular quarter, Mikal Bridges made his first free throw, then intentionally missed the second in the hope of giving his team possession back.
Bridges recovered the loose ball himself, then forced overtime by making his three-point attempt with less than a second on the clock.
The Canadians put this dramatic end of the quarter behind them and, carried by Gilgeous-Alexander, they took matters into their own hands in overtime. They quickly built a lead (118-112) which they maintained until the end.
We dominated the majority of the first 40 minutes and we didn’t think it was a fluke,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. So we tried to concentrate on dominating the next five.
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Canada wins bronze medal at FIBA World Cup.
Photo : Getty Images / Ezra Acayan
This triumph crowns a historic tournament for the men’s national team, which had never even reached the final four of the world championships.
This team was extraordinary, special. This is the start of something that will last a long time.
Fernandez’s squad notably defeated Spain, first in the FIBA rankings, during the second group stage. This gain assured Canada a place at the Paris Games next summer.
In the curtain-raiser, Canada also defeated France, another power in international basketball.
In the Americans’ camp, this is another result below expectations, they who finished in 7th place at the 2019 world championships.
The United States hasn’t won the World Cup since 2014, U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. These FIBA teams are really well coached, they are consistent and they have played together for a long time. It’s difficult.
On Sunday, Anthony Edwards was the offensive leader for the United States with 24 points, one more than Austin Reaves.
The gold medal game will pit the Germans against the Serbs, who defeated the Canadians, later Sunday.
2023-09-10 12:37:45
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