Team Canada qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in men’s basketball. On Sunday, Canada advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Championship in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan with an 88-85 victory over Spain. This is the first time since Canada qualified for the Olympics in men’s basketball 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
In Canada’s victory over Spain in Jakarta, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Toronto, Ontario, led the Canadian team with 30 points and seven assists. In total, three Canadians scored in double figures. Houston Rockets small forward Dillon Brooks of Mississauga, Ontario, had 22 points and New York Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett of Toronto, Ontario, had 16 points. Brooks, Barrett and Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Luguentz Dort of Montreal, Quebec, each led Canada with five rebounds.
Canada now improves to four wins and one loss after five games. On Wednesday they play in the quarter-finals against Slovenia. Slovenia is led by Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, who leads the tournament with 26.4 points per game. The other three quarterfinals feature the United States against Italy, Germany against Latvia and Lithuania against Serbia. Lithuania grabbed headlines in the tournament on Sunday when it defeated the USA 110-104.
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