Canadian men’s basketball team improves to 3-0 at Olympics with win over Spain

After qualifying for its first Olympics in 24 years, the Canadian men’s basketball team appears to have no interest in moral victories and is in Paris for nothing short of a medal.

That point was made clear on Friday when Canada picked up an 88-85 win over Spain to finish group play a perfect 3-0, subsequently winning Group A.

Leading the Canadians to victory was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who finished with 20 points, doing most of his damage from the charity stripe as he drew seven fouls and knocked down nine free throws. Meanwhile, Andrew Nembhard had his best game of the tournament as he finished with 18 points in 21 minutes off the bench to go with two assists and a steal.

RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks chipped in with 16 and 13 points respectively.

On the other side, Spain concluded group play with a 1-2 record and was eliminated after finishing last in Group A. Dario Brizuela was the No. 2-ranked nation’s top performer on the day, scoring 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting from the field. Helping him was Sergio Llull and Alex Abrines who scored 13 and 12 points each.

Calling this a must-win game for Spain felt like an understatement considering a victory was the difference between winning Group A and being eliminated. And that do-or-die desperation was on full display in the final moments of Friday’s contest.

After trailing by as many as 14 points before going into halftime down 49-38, the Spanish showed no signs of waving the white flag in the second half. By the end of the third quarter, Canada’s lead was down to eight points and with less than a minute to go, a pair of Abrines free throws had it down to 82-80.

That was when Canada’s top two players all tournament-long stepped up and connected for the biggest Canada basket of the game. Gilgeous-Alexander drove hard to the hoop and then kicked it out to the left corner to Barrett who nailed the triple and gave the red-and-white some much-needed breathing room.

Barrett scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and drilled his only three-point attempt of the game on that shot.

It helped Canada overcome the fact it was outscored by eight points in the second half and was getting dominated on the glass. Spain finished the game with a 40-29 edge on total rebounds and was plus-nine on the offensive glass, leading to 14 second-chance points.

The Spanish second unit also carved up Canada’s, winning that battle 50-30 as Jamal Murray was still unable to find his rhythm, finishing with only four points on the night.

That’s not to say Canada didn’t have advantages of its own, as once again, defence was a clear catalyst for victory. Spain was held to 45 and 28 per cent shooting from the field and distance, respectively, and going back to the first half those numbers were even lower at 38 and 16 per cent.

Canada also forced 15 turnovers for 21 points (plus-15).

Once the dust had settled on another barn burner between the two countries, Canada’s three-point victory came by the exact same scoreline it had when it beat and eliminated Spain in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

ELSEWHERE IN GROUP A

Earlier in the day, Greece (1-2) picked up its first win at these Olympics by downing No. 5-ranked Australia (1-2). Leading the Greeks in the 77-71 win was unsurprisingly two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.

With the win, Greece’s hopes of advancing remain alive as they’ll now have to wait and see what happens through the rest of group play.

UP NEXT

Canada’s win on Friday concluded Group A’s schedule and now fans will have to wait and see the draw for the knockout stage.

The quarterfinals get underway on Tuesday.