FIBA World Cup Day 3: Japan thrills, while France spills its way out of tournament

This is the day the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup has been waiting for.

Games going down to the wire, a thrilling upset, a record broken, and a powerhouse dumped out of the tournament. Japan provided the event’s best moment thus far in front of their home fans, Latvia pulled off a result that will send ripples across the basketball world, while Canada, Lithuania, and Montenegro also clinched spots in the next round.

Here’s everything you need to know from Day 3 at the FIBA World Cup:

RESULTS

Group A

Dominican Republic def. Italy 87-82

Angola def. Philippines 80-70

Group D

Montenegro def. Egypt 89-74

Lithuania def. Mexico 96-66

Group E

Germany def. Australia 85-82

Japan def. Finland 98-88

Group H

Canada def. Lebanon 128-73

Latvia def. France 88-86

MAIN TALKING POINTS

Japan make improbable comeback to stun Finland

It looked like smooth sailing for Lauri Markkanen and Finland, riding a massive second quarter to lead by as many as 18 at one point and by 10 heading into the fourth quarter.

No one was ready for the Yuki Kawamura show, though. The Japanese guard erupted for 15 fourth-quarter points including four triples to help the home side erupt for a 35-15 fourth quarter and steal a 98-88 victory.

Dominicans show real Olympic promise

Three minutes into their clash against Italy, Dominican Republic head coach Nestor Garcia was forced to call his second timeout. The Italians had jumped out to a 12-0 lead and Karl-Anthony Towns had yet to even get a proper touch of the ball.

It was steady, methodical domination thereafter, as the Dominicans outscored Italy 77-48 over the next 32 minutes. Towns was instrumental with 24 points and 11 rebounds but guard Andres Feliz was arguably even more impressive with 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists including 7-of-10 shooting from deep that knocked the wind out of Italy’s sails.

Taking their foot off the gas could have serious ramifications though, as Italy’s 22-10 closing run meant that the Dominicans only came away with a five-point win. Point differential carries over from this group phase to the next, and so that could be the difference between playing the U.S. or Lithuania in a potential quarterfinal.

Make it that far and an Olympic spot will be on the line.

Canada takes care of business against Lebanon

This was never expected to be a competitive game as Canada had too much of a talent advantage. The ball movement was crisp throughout as Canada set a FIBA World Cup record with 44 assists on its 50 made field goals in a 55-point victory.

It was nice to see R.J. Barrett bounce back with 17 points after struggling against France while Kelly Olynyk and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander impressed in limited playing time due to the blowout nature of the game. Jakarta Dillon Brooks continues to have the time of his life:

Trae Bell-Haynes took full advantage of the extra playing time, providing a great spark off the bench with 15 points and eight assists.

Canada improves to 2-0 with a plus-85 point differential and has clinched a spot in the next round. Canada will play Latvia on Tuesday to determine first place in the group.

PLAY OF THE DAY

It may be some Canadian bias, but R.J. Barrett had a sweet windmill dunk to push Canada’s lead to 50 against Lebanon early in the third quarter:

MOMENT OF THE DAY

The reaction from fans, players, and coaching staff alike was a sight to behold as the final buzzer sounded in Okinawa for Japan’s stunning win over Finland:

Honourable mention:

Germany came flying out of the gates against Australia with an 8-0 start, then leading 16-5. Patty Mills has been the heart and soul of The Boomers, though, and refused to back down. He scored his country’s first 13 points including this pull-up three in transition that sent the Aussie fans in Okinawa into delirium and set the stage for a thrilling contest.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“We respect the Italy team, their players, their coach is a fantastic coach, and their staff. It’s a national team with a big, big history. But, like I said before in other press conferences, I believe too much in my guys when their focus is to play good basketball." — Dominican Republic head coach Nestor Garcia

“That was crazy. The fans were amazing, that was a big win, it was a big win for us. I’m really happy for the guys. We’re trying to create a new standard here for Japan basketball and this was definitely a big step in the right direction.” — Japan head coach Tom Hovasse

“It’s a huge, huge disappointment of course for us. We came here with huge expectations, we knew that. We let a lot of people down, ourselves first. We have a big thing (Olympics) coming up in 12 months so we have to look back, everybody from players to coach to staff to federation. Everybody gotta ask why, why we as France, so successful, one of the top teams the last 10 years, today was a big reality check for us. When you come wear that blue and white jersey with that name in front, that’s the biggest part of this, the name in front of the jersey. We didn’t do it, we clearly didn’t do it.” — France player Nicolas Batum

THREE STARS OF THE DAY

3. Joshua Hawkinson, Japan While Kawamura deservedly stole the headlines with his magical fourth quarter, Hawkinson kept Japan within striking distance with a huge 28-point, 19-rebound performance, where he shot 7-for-9 from the field and 14-for-15 at the free-throw line. The 6-foot-10 centre took full advantage of the dribble penetration by Japan’s guards and finished around the basket with ease. The American-born Hawkinson has been playing in Japan since 2017 and became a citizen earlier this year.

2. Andres Feliz, Dominican Republic I’ve already detailed Feliz’s tremendous performance earlier so just sit back and enjoy the show below:

1. Dennis Schroeder, Germany The way Schroeder was knocking down pull-up and catch-and-shoot threes with equal effect against Australia, Raptors fans will be wishing the FIBA three-point line could be applied to the NBA. He caused plenty of problems with his dribble penetration and finished at the basket with ease. His 30 points, including five threes, to go along with eight assists and four steals in a statement win is plenty to earn Sunday’s top star of the day.

LOOKING AHEAD

There are some big clashes in store for Monday. Puerto Rico and Serbia are the two best teams in Group B and will battle each other at 8:00 a.m. ET. The U.S. will look to lay a marker against its toughest Group C opponent on paper in Greece at 8:40 a.m. ET, and Luka Doncic will look to keep Slovenia undefeated against a Georgia team that opened its campaign with a 25-point win.

Defending champion Spain closes out the day’s action at 9:30 a.m. ET against a Brazil team that looked dominant in a win against Iran.