With statement win over France, Canadian men prove contender status at basketball World Cup
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallies 27 points in win against Olympic silver medallists
Exhibition wins in Germany and Spain showed glimpses that this Canadian men's basketball team may be different.
Friday's gutsy and emphatic 95-65 victory over France in Canada's World Cup opener at Indonesia Arena in Jakarta may just have proved it.
"We've been preaching for the last month that we can beat and play with anyone in the world," said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led Team Canada with 27 points. "We've just got to continue to get better, and the sky's the limit,"
Yes, it was just one game and there's a lot of basketball still to be played.
But the blueprint was on full display as the Canadian men aim to win their first major senior medal since 1936 and qualify for their first Olympics since 2000.
As in any form of basketball, your stars need to be stars. Gilgeous-Alexander did just that, keying a 25-8 third quarter in which Canada grabbed a 20-point lead and never looked back.
WATCH | Gilgeous-Alexander fuels victory over France:
The Hamilton, Ont., native is one of two 2023 all-NBA players in the tournament alongside Slovenia's Luka Doncic. He struggled to a 2-for-9 start from the field in the first half, but Canada still led 43-40 at the break.
The outset of the third quarter was Gilgeous-Alexander at his best, finding creative ways to get to the rim and put points on the board.
"You're going to make and miss shots. It's the game. It's just about sticking with it and shooting what you're comfortable shooting. And I think I just stuck with it," he said.
Gilgeous-Alexander was far from the only Canadian player to start slow. RJ Barrett managed just two points and zero made field goals in a first half that also featured clanked three-point attempts and foul trouble for the starting frontcourt of Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell.
Yet Canada still emerged with the lead, thanks in large part to Olynyk, the Canadian captain playing in his first World Cup since 2010.
Olynyk makes early impact
Olynyk's aggressiveness in defending star French centre Rudy Gobert led to an unsportsmanlike foul — two free throws and the ball for Canada — and proved a key turning point at a juncture when Canada trailed by four in the second quarter.
That type of grittiness — the FIBA-style toughness that went missing for long stretches in heartbreaking losses to Venezuela in 2015, France in 2016 and the Czech Republic in 2021 —appeared to carry the day.
"If you keep pushing the wall, pushing the wall, eventually you're going to break through and I think that's what our goal is right now. This is our time to break through and we need to do it as a team together," Olynyk said at a Thursday press conference.
"There's not one person on this team that's going to do it by themselves. But that's our goal, [the] collective goal is to, when we leave the World Cup, we know we're dialed in and we're preparing everything for Paris next summer."
The Kamloops, B.C., native led the team with 12 points in the first half and finished with 18.
His contributions opened the door for Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada to be the best versions of themselves in the second half, a 52-25 drubbing of France.
Head coach Jordi Fernandez, who took over the role from Nick Nurse in June, said Canada accomplished its goal of playing hard.
"The guys showed resiliency. We didn't start very well. We took good shots that didn't go in. We stayed with it and then in the second half, our pressure, physicality [increased] and then shots started to fall," he said.
Victory crucial in path to quarterfinals
Canada is now in the driver's seat of a tournament that can feel late early if you let it. Beating France, the top-ranked team in Group H, is not only important for getting out of the group stage, but also a vital step toward reach the quarterfinals.
There, the top two teams from Group H will merge with the top two teams from Group G, which will likely include reigning champion Spain. Records carry over, and the two teams atop the standings in the new group advance to the quarterfinals.
Essentially, only two of Canada, France and Spain can move on to the quarterfinals in Manila, Philippines. Which is why banking Friday's victory over France was especially crucial.
"We're showing our identity and what we're built for. And it's not just this summer, it's gonna be moving forward, how our program is gonna grow. And our goal is not just to qualify for the Olympics or fight for a gold medal, but it's also in the next 10 years how good we can be as a program," Fernandez said.
WATCH | Ex-coach Triano confident in 2023 Team Canada:
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the cousin of Gilgeous-Alexander, contributed a pair of early three-pointers to keep Canada afloat in the first half before finishing with 12 points.
Powell provided some trademark heady defence, while Lu Dort and Dillon Brooks hounded France's Evan Fournier into a two-point second half after he tallied 19 points in the first half.
'Anything' possible for Team Canada
Asked for his thoughts after the game, Fournier kept it simple.
"We got our ass kicked."
There's still a long path to the World Cup podium or the Paris Olympics — or, dare we say, the Paris podium.
Canada must finish top-two amongst Americas teams at the World Cup to punch its Olympic ticket.
But with talent like Gilgeous-Alexander, leaders like Olynyk and depth throughout, nothing seems unrealistic.
"We have a lot of guys on this team that are hungry, talented and ultimately just want to win," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "And when you have those three things, you can do anything."
Canada returns to the court for a game against Lebanon on Sunday at 5:45 a.m. ET.
