Sometimes high hopes and lofty expectations are just that, hopes and expectations. Reality is rarely as favourable.
That truth reared its ugly head for Canada on Tuesday as it suffered a shocking 82-73 defeat at the hands of host nation France at the Olympics, pre-emptively ending a run for the medal-hopefuls in the quarterfinals.
France dominated with an improbable cast of characters as Guerschon Yabusele scored 22, Isaia Cordinier had 20 and Mathias Lessort piled on 13. Phenom Victor Wembanyama scored only seven points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field, a number that would’ve looked like a chalked-up Canada win had you simply looked at the boxscore.
“It just makes me want to give back on the court, really this is all they’re asking from us. Every game, every gym is packed,” Wembanyama said to CBC Olympics after the game when asked about playing in front of a home crowd. “The least we can do is give 200 per cent on the court. I think it’s also what it was about today, it’s the first time we’ve been so strong for 40 minutes.”
Despite Wembanyama’s middling game, France’s size proved too much for Canada in this one, as the above trio repeatedly abused mismatches at the forward spot, scoring inside and drawing a plethora of fouls to build a lead on easy looks that it would not relinquish the entire game.
Canada, meanwhile, was led by usual suspect Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 27 points on 9-of-19 (47 per cent) from the field and picked five rebounds and four assists. RJ Barrett added another 16 points, with 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter. However, the rest of the team was unable to follow it up as they finished with 30 points on 10-of-36 (27 per cent) from the field.
Jamal Murray especially struggled, as the usually sweet-scoring guard put up seven points on a brutal 3-of-13 shooting night. Dillon Brooks also couldn’t get anything going and finished with two points on one of nine from the field.
Head coach Vincent Collet made the bold decision to bench stalwarts Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier in favour of Cordinier and Frank Ntilikina to start the game, a change that worked well right out of the gate with France building an apparently insurmountable 13-point lead heading into the first break.
They continually abused Canada’s reliance on a small-ball lineup, funnelling the ball inside and forcing a physical game, one that drew the favour of the officials in front of a roaring French crowd. They took 42 free throws, making 33, compared to Canada’s 25 with 18 made.
“We didn’t match their energy and physicality,” Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani.
“It really hurts… We just didn’t have a good game… I could have been better. I should have helped them.”
Gobert, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, didn’t touch the court until the seven-minute mark in the second quarter and played only three minutes. A shocking move from the French but perhaps the right one as the centre often struggles from the charity stripe. Despite being without its twin towers, France still managed to take advantage of mismatches with positional size elsewhere, particularly at the four.
Yabusele, who had 19 points in the pre-Olympic tune-up game between the two sides, drew first blood on a three-pointer. The “Dancing Bear” then found Cordinier down low on a nice cut and finished the dunk to get the French crowd on its feet early. Cordinier then drew a shooting foul, foreshadowing a common theme for the rest of the game, hit both free throws, and on ensuing possessions courtesy of Canada turnovers, nailed two straight three-pointers to build the lead up to eight in the opening minutes.
More than just France excelling though, Canada struggled massively in the first quarter — perhaps a product of the loud home crowd in Paris’ Bercy Arena — committing five fouls, seven turnovers, finishing 3-for-15 from the field and scoring a dismal 10 points in the frame, with a six-minute field goal drought to boot.
“They played better than us. They played harder than us…,” Gilgeous-Alexander told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani after the loss. “That’s what happens when you let teams get out to a good start.
“We all wanted to win. I don’t know why we started out that way, but it does. It hurts us.”
Though the deficit didn’t get better at half-time — as France carried a 16-point lead — it could’ve gone much, much worse. Gilgeous-Alexander was the only thing keeping the team afloat as Canada tried to cut into France’s lead, with the superstar guard scoring 11 of his team’s 19 points in the frame.
A 16-point deficit isn’t an easy one to make up, and to do it in the modern game of basketball, it would require a bevy of makes from three-point range. The Canadians just didn’t have that going for them, as they finished 5-for-21 from beyond the arc (24 per cent).
It certainly didn’t help that the hot-shooting Cordinier kept his pace in the second, channelling prime Klay Thompson and nailing his first shot of the half on a catch-and-shoot look. He finished the game four-of-five from deep and 6-of-10 from the field, with most of those looks coming off the catch-and-shoot.
Gilgeous-Alexander did everything he could to keep his team in it, scoring eight more points in the third frame. On the other end, Canada forced five turnovers from France and cut the lead to 11 by the end of the quarter.
In the fourth, Canada even managed to get it all the way down to a five-point deficit with two minutes left. But more free throws, a bad turnover from Murray, two straight offensive rebounds and a dagger three from Fournier rebuilt France’s 10-point lead— a hill far too steep to climb.
It had been 20 years since Canada last qualified for the Olympics and managed to make it to the quarterfinals. But time is a flat circle, as once again like in 2000, France extinguished its hopes, ending what looked like a promising run for a program that seems to just peter out too early and too often.
“It’s really disappointing,” Luguentz Dort said to Sportsnet’s Arash Madani after the loss. “We had goals to get all the way to the end. When it gets cut short, it’s tough and we have to live with it. We have to do whatever it takes to get back in four years.”
UP NEXT
France moves on to the semifinal for a rematch against Germany on Thursday.
Canada heads home.
Here are details from the game.
Fourth quarter
• 0:55 – Canada fails to collect not one, but two rebounds and FIBA Fournier makes the red-and-white pay by knocking down a deep triple as the shot clock expires. Feels like a dagger as the French crowd begins chanting their hearts out. 76-66 France.
• 2:16 – Defence continues to be key for Canada’s comeback hopes as Dort strips Yabusele and throws down a breakaway dunk to make it a five-point ball game yet again. 71-66 France.
• 3:48 – An immediate response for the host nation as Fournier drills a three to widen the gap. A timely bucket by the veteran. 68-60 France.
• 4:09 – Canada is not done yet! Barrett throws down a fastbreak dunk to cap a 5-0 run that has the deficit to the closest it’s been since the first quarter. 65-60 France.
• 7:51 – Powell finds Barrett curling on the right side who spots up and knocks down his first three of the game. The French crowd is starting to quiet down as Canada keeps chipping away. 61-55 France.
• 9:31 – Barrett collects a Gigeous-Alexander miss and makes it a single-digit deficit yet again for Canada on the putback. 61-52 France.
Third quarter
End of third quarter: France 61, Canada 50
• 1:06 – Wembanyama gets the ball in the post and drops a turnaround push shot over Lyles, making it a double-digit gap yet again. 60-49 France.
• 3:44 – He’s not done! Gilgeous-Alexander gets another shot to fall after zipping passed his defender and the deficit is down to single digits. 54-46 France.
• 4:48 – Gilgeous-Alexander continues to do all he can, driving through Bilal Coulibaly for an and-one make to cut it to a 10-point game. 52-42 France.
• 6:57 – Barrett gets in on the action with an and-one basket of his own, as Canada is starting to show signs of matching France’s physicality. 50-37.
• 8:13 – Brooks gets a steal on Ntilikina which finds its way to Dort who finishes through contact for an and-one…providing a much-needed spark for Canada. 48-33 France.
• 9:30 – A less-than-ideal start to the second half for Canada as Isaia Cordnier knocks down a triple moments after drawing yet another foul on the red-and-white. 48-29 France.
HALFTIME
• Arguably the lone silver lining of the half for Canada was the play of Gilgeous-Alexander. He has 13 points through 20 minutes and no other Canadian player has more than five. The two-time NBA All-Star accounted for nearly half of Canada’s points through the first half, scoring 11 of its last 13 points.
• A lot needs to change for Canada as it faces a 16-point deficit at the break, beginning with more defensive discipline. The Canadian men committed 14 fouls in the first 20 minutes, sending France to the line for 25 free throws. The French are plus-13 on made free throws so far.
• Not everyone thinks the free throw disparity is solely on the shoulders of the Canadian players, however, as Canada men’s head coach Jordi Fernandez mentions “home officiating” among his criticisms of the first half when speaking to reporters during the break.
Second quarter
End of second quarter: France 45, Canada 29
• 1:30 – Fouls continue to stymie any momentum Canada tries to muster. Barrett clips Frank Ntilikina on a three-pointer and the Frenchman knocks down all three free throws. 42-27 France.
• 3:52 – Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t done there as he sizes up Batum and drills a three to cut the deficit to single digits. 34-25 France.
• 5:30 – A welcomed sight for Canada as Gilgeous-Alexander gets back-to-back jumpers to fall for his first baskets since the first minute of the game. 30-20 France.
• 7:03 – Guerschon Yabusele goes hard to the rim and draws Canada’s fourth foul of the quarter. France’s physicality is causing a ton of problems for the red-and-white as it puts the French one foul away from the bonus less than three minutes into the frame. 30-15 France.
• 8:08 – A response by Canada! Gilgeous-Alexander drives and kicks it to Murray in the left corner who knocks down a triple. 26-13 France.
• 8:59 – Evan Fournier checks in for his first minutes of the ball game and immediately makes an impact by drilling a three from the right wing. 26-10 France.
First quarter
End of first quarter: France 23, Canada 10
• 0:00 – The red-and-white have a lot of work to do if they’re going to come back. It’s the first double-digit deficit the Canadian men have faced all tournament, previously only trailing by six or less through three games.
• 1:34 – Jamal Murray gets a long jumper to fall with a hand in his face but it’s only worth two points with a foot on the line. Canada could use a hot-shooting performance from the Kitchener, Ont. native…Murray should just imagine he’s playing the Los Angeles Lakers.
• 2:07 – Trey Lyles spins to the basket and draws a foul for Canada’s first free throws of the ball game. He splits the free throws and scores the first point for Canada since the 7:44 mark. 19-6 France.
• 6:49 – Did anyone expect an Isaia Cordinier takeover? The Frenchman hits back-to-back triples and is up to 10 points already. 13-5 France.
• 9:23 – Gilgeous-Alexander goes hard to the cup for a layup and although Nicolas Batum swats the shot it’s called a goaltend. Canada gets its first points! 3-2 France.
• 10:00 – Wembanyama wins the tip and we’re off!
Pre-game
• Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Canada is sticking with the same starting lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Luguentz Dort, Dillon Brooks and Dwight Powell. The starting five is a plus-33 through the tournament thus far.
• Meanwhile, France head coach Vincent Collet makes a bold change to his starting five as he removes veterans Gobert and Evan Fournier for the do-or-die game. Likely in hopes of matching Canada’s perimeter talent and production.
• A rematch, 8,715 days in the making: The last time the Canadian men played in a knockout stage game was the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where they were coincidentally bounced by France in the quarterfinals. Context on how long ago that was — current Canada men’s basketball general manager Rowan Barrett played in that game, and opposite him was Stephane Risacher, father of Zaccharie Risacher, the first-overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Will history repeat itself or does Canada flip the script?
