By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lille, France – It was coming for a long time and finally, Canada has arrived. Last year’s FIBA World Cup bronze medalists proved their might against Australia beyond any doubt.
Canada defeated Australia 93 – 83 for the second straight win in the Olympic Games basketball tournament to get a huge advantage in the race for the quarterfinals. This result also keeps the qualification chances of Greece alive.
The Boomers led almost for 23 minutes, but after losing their advantage at the start of the second half, they trailed until the final buzzer.
It was a demonstration of power for the North Americans as RJ Barrett scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks added 14 points apiece.
“He is that guy”
“The concern coming into the game was their pressure and how we handled their pressure”, admitted Australia’s coach Brian Goorjian, “and fatigue was also a factor. Even though we have depth in those spots, I just thought they wore us down physically”.
Australia got 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists from Josh Giddey. Jock Landale had 16 points plus 12 rebounds while Dante Exum scored 15 points after missing the first game of the Olympics. They trailed by three (75-72) in the fourth period and they were ready to put on a fight.
However, that was the point that the Canadiens decided the game with Brooks, Barrett, and Jamal Murray scoring for an 8-0 run which gave them an 83-72 lead with five minutes left and there was no comeback after that.
“Sometimes, I don’t call plays for him and he just scores”, said Canada coach Jordi Fernandez for Barrett. “That’s what he does. Probably, I should be better and call more plays for him, but he finds a way. That comes from his family, and he’s been unbelievable. He had a tougher first half, we needed him to rebound, and I played him less minutes, but then that third quarter, he was just so aggressive”.
A strong finish in the “Group of Death”
With Australia facing Greece and Canada squaring off with Spain, pretty much everything is open for qualification.
Canada despite having a 2-0 record is not mathematically qualified, while Australia and Spain follow at 1-1 and Greece is at 0-2.
However, there’s even a scenario in which Greece ends up second if they beat Australia by 10 points and Canada prevails over Spain.
As coach Goorjian said: “Greece is going to be another battle. All of the challenges have been different. This one, you’re playing the best athlete in the world and one of the best players in the world. The good thing about the way this tournament is you get two days in between the next one. I just made sure that the guys understood when they left the dressing room”.
Photo credit: FIBA