After qualifying for its first Olympics in 24 years, the Canadian men’s basketball team appears to have no interest in moral victories and is in Paris for nothing short of a medal.
That point was made clear on Friday when Canada picked up an 88-85 win over Spain to finish group play a perfect 3-0, clinching Group A.
Leading the Canadians to victory was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who finished with 20 points, doing most of his damage from the charity stripe as he drew seven fouls and knocked down nine free throws. Meanwhile, Andrew Nembhard had his best game of the tournament as he finished with 18 points in 21 minutes off the bench to go with two assists and a steal.
RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks chipped in with 16 and 13 points respectively.
On the other side, Spain concluded group play with a 1-2 record and was eliminated after finishing last in Group A. Dario Brizuela was the No. 2-ranked nation’s top performer on the day, scoring 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting from the field. Helping him was Sergio Llull and Alex Abrines who scored 13 and 12 points each.
Calling this a must-win game for Spain felt like an understatement considering a victory was the difference between winning Group A and finishing last, subsequently being eliminated. And that do-or-die desperation was on full display in the final moments of Friday’s contest.
Despite being down by as many as 14 points, getting outscored 30-19 in the second and ultimately trailing 49-38 at halftime, the Spaniards showed no signs of waving the white flag in the second half. Even after letting a game that was once tied 19-19 after the first quarter slip away.
In fact, by the end of the third quarter, Canada’s lead was down to eight points and with less than a minute to go in the fourth, a pair of Abrines free throws had the gap down to 82-80.
That was when Canada’s top two players all tournament-long stepped up and connected for the biggest basket of the game. Gilgeous-Alexander drove hard to the hoop and then kicked it out to Barrett in the left corner who nailed a triple and gave the red-and-white some much-needed breathing room.
Barrett scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and drilled his only three-point attempt of the game on that shot. Talk about thriving under pressure.
It helped Canada overcome the fact it was outscored by eight points in the second half and was getting dominated on the glass. Spain finished the game with a 40-29 edge on total rebounds and was plus-nine on the offensive glass, leading to 14 second-chance points.
The Spanish second unit also carved up Canada’s, winning that battle 50-30 as Jamal Murray was still unable to find his rhythm, finishing with only four points on the night.
That’s not to say Canada didn’t have advantages of its own, as once again, defence was a clear catalyst for victory. Spain was held to 45 and 28 per cent shooting from the field and distance, respectively, and going back to the first half those numbers were even lower at 38 and 16 per cent.
Canada also forced 15 turnovers for 21 points (plus-15).
Once the dust had settled on another barn burner between the two countries, Canada’s three-point victory came by the exact same scoreline it had when it beat and eliminated Spain in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
ELSEWHERE IN GROUP A
Earlier in the day, Greece (1-2) picked up its first win at these Olympics by downing No. 5-ranked Australia (1-2). Leading the Greeks in the 77-71 win was unsurprisingly two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
With the win, Greece’s hopes of advancing remain alive as they’ll now have to wait and see what happens through the rest of group play.
UP NEXT
Canada’s win on Friday concluded Group A’s schedule and now fans will have to wait and see who it draws to start the knockout phase of the tournament.
The quarterfinal games get underway on Tuesday.
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Here are the details and key moments from Canada’s win over Spain.
Fourth quarter
• 0:00 — Gilgeous-Alexander drains both clutch free throws and Llull misses the 3-pointer on the other end. Canada hangs on!
• 0:02 — Sergio Llull knocks down the wide-open three-pointer off the second-chance opportunity to make it a one-point game with two seconds left. The shots haven’t been falling for the Spaniards, but eventually, push comes to shove for the powerhouse nation. 86-85 Canada.
• 0:39 — RJ Barrett calls his shot in the clutch. Knocks down the corner three-pointer to make it a five-point, two-possession game with less than a minute left. Forces Spain to call a timeout. This is coming down to the wire. 85-80 Canada.
• 1:51 — Brizuela and Nembhard continue to go back and forth, trading two-point baskets in the closing minutes to turn this into an absolute stunner of a showdown. 82-79 Canada.
• 3:03 — What a quarter from Brizuela. Knocks down a pull-up three-pointer to get to 13 points in the quarter and cut the deficit to four.
• 4:22 — The Spaniards continue to keep pace with the Canadians here in the quarter, but Gilgeous-Alexander is starting to show his stuff, using sweet fakes and hesitations to force contact. Hits two of three free throws to keep the lead alive. 78-71 Canada.
• 7:22 — Spain getting carried by Dario Brizuela in the fourth as the shooting guard has scored all eight of Spain’s first points in the frame. Cuts the deficit to only three points, the tightest it’s been since the 4:01 mark in the second quarter. 68-65 Canada.
• 8:54 — Nembhard in takeover mode here in the opening minutes of the fourth, finishes two straight layups on some impressive drives, splitting defenders to get to the rim. That’s 14 for him now. 68-59 Canada.
Third quarter
End of the third quarter: Canada 64, Spain 56
• 1:02 — Much-needed baskets from Andrew Nembhard and Jamal Murray help keep Canada’s gap alive and strong despite the three-point shooting surge from Spain. Nembhard reaches a double-digit point tally for the first time at the Olympics.
• 2:43 — Spain starting to find their rhythm from beyond the arc as Alex Abrines hits a deep pull-up, his third make of the game, and cuts the deficit to six. Overall, Spain is still 6-for-25 from three-point range but has hit three shots so far this third quarter. 59-53 Canada.
• 5:05 — Willy Hernangomez getting into some foul trouble here. Picks up his fourth as he and Luguentz Dort jostle for position under the basket with Spain on offence. The former Pelican takes his seat on the bench to keep him available for crunch time.
• 7:23 — Canada’s defence continues to impress, pressures Lorenzo Brown on the drive and forces a turnover in the paint. On the other end, some clean driving and cutting from Brooks and Powell helped Canada build its lead. Canada 56-42.
• 9:19 — Santi Aldama opens up the scoring in the second half with a tough drive to the rim, misses his initial layup, but follows it up with a strong put-back dunk.
HALF TIME
Second quarter
End of the second quarter: Canada 49, Spain 38
• 0:06 — Murray sinks a floater from the free throw line to help Canada close the half on a 9-2 run and go into the break up double-digits.
• 1:19 — The Canadian crowd gets loud after Gilgeous-Alexander knocks down a pull-up three-pointer, pokes the ball away from Sergio Llull on defence, and finishes the wide-open transition dunk. Important five-point swing for Canada there.
• 3:36 — Canada’s defence comes up big, hounds Spain’s ball-handlers on the perimeter and doesn’t let them get any sort of open look for a shot clock violation. Dillon Brooks nails the open three-pointer on the other end, turning defence into offence. 38-32 Canada.
• 6:41 — The two sides are trading three-pointers as Nembhard hits his second of the game then former Raptor Juancho Hernangomez responds with a quick catch-and-shoot on the other end.
Right after, Canada gets three the (somewhat) hard way as Powell draws a foul on a drive then Rudy Fernandez gets called for a technical for arguing the call. 30-26 Canada.
• 8:15 — Andrew Nembhard comes in clutch and saves a bad possession with a three-pointer as the shot clock expires to retake the lead for Canada. On the next look, Murray shows some slick ball-handling and playmaking to get Powell open for a layup. Big swing. 24-21 Canada.
First quarter
End of the first quarter: Canada 19, Spain 19
• 0:01 — Spain’s Lorenzo Brown drains a pull-up jumper over two defenders from the charity stripe to tie it up at 19 apiece as time expires in the quarter.
• 1:36 — The dangerous Sergio Llull gives Spain the lead for the first time since the opening minute. He knocks down a look from above the break and draws the foul on Jamal Murray for the big four-point play. 17-14 Spain.
• 4:06 — Canada’s perimeter defence has been hounding Spain early on, forcing them into some misses beyond the arc, but Alex Abrines hits his team’s first deep shot of the game. Spain is 1-for-7 from three to start.
• 6:39 — Captain Kelly Olynyk makes an early appearance here for Canada. The Raptors big hasn’t gotten much play so far at these Olympics, but his added size and offensive creativity could be a point of emphasis against a smart Spanish squad. He makes an instant impact and follows up Barrett’s miss for a tip-in layup. 8-4 Canada.
• 9:14 — Willy Hernangomez gets to the rim for a layup and scores the first points of the game off the easy look inside. The size of Spain’s frontcourt could play a big role against the smaller Canadian squad
• 10:00 — Dwight Powell wins the opening tip and we’re off!
Pre-game
• Canada rolling out the same starting five it had in its previous two outings: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, Dwight Powell
• Spain using the same lineup it used in its win over Greece: Lorenzo Brown, Alex Abrines, Xabi López-Arostegui, Willy Hernangomez, Santi Aldama
• Canada: Harder than you think