Canada’s men’s basketball team wins Group A in thrilling fashion.
Canada finishes with a perfect 3-0 group stage record, defeating Spain 88-85 to close out group play.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Canadians with 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 18 points and RJ Barrett chipped in with 16 points. He hit the dagger three in the corner when Spain cut the lead to just 2 in the final minute.
Spain and Canada were tied 19-19 at the end of the opening frame before Canada pulled away in the second quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 8 points and Canada took a 49-38 lead into halftime.
Spain kept fighting and made things interesting in the fourth quarter. They narrowed the gap to a single point with 2.7 seconds to go before Gilgeous-Alexander hit two clutch free throws to seal the deal.
Dario Brizuela led Spain with 17 points and made all five of his three-point attempts.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Barrett and Brooks continue to be the backbone of Canada. Nembhard was a huge boost for Canada from off the bench, especially in the fourth quarter when the starters were out.
Jamal Murray continues to struggle with his offense but he has done a good job distributing the basketball. Hopefully, Murray can get it going offensively in the knockout stage.
With the win Canada finishes atop Group A and they will head into the knockout round as a top 3 seed. They will have to wait to see how things play out before they learn where they stack up in the playoffs.
Next on tap
Canada awaits their opponent in the quarterfinals which will take place on Aug 6.
The semifinals are scheduled for Aug. 8 and medal games are set for Aug. 10.
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