By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lille, France – Canada is off to a 2-0 start in the Olympic Games basketball tournament, having all but secured the qualification to the Top 8. Not bad, considering also that Canada participates in what is widely called the “Group of Death”, together with Australia, Greece and Spain.
Dillon Brooks, one of the veterans of this Canadian team, attributes this fine entrance to the chemistry that this tight group of players has managed to achieve.
“What we do together, and what we do strongly is that we share the basketball,” Brooks said following the comeback win over Australia. “We play together, we trust in each other, we make plays, and, you know, we love playing with each other.”
Canada held on against Greece in the opener, to begin with a victory and then came back from down vs. Australia to make it two in a row. There’s still a lot of room for improvement according to Brooks, especially when it comes to putting on a bigger effort on defense early and controlling the boards.
“You know, our defenses start starting the game, we improve, we can improve, and then rebounding. You know, we’re a small group, as they say, and teams find a way to get rebounds. All five of us gotta be in there and get rebounds so we can push and be fast on the offensive end.
But, you know, what we do, we will shoot,” Brooks added.
Photo credit: FIBA