The last time Team Canada was in the Philippines was in 2016, when they were part of a last-chance qualifying tournament to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The youngest member of that team was a 17-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and although he didn’t play a single minute in the tournament, the experience was a monumental moment in his career.
“I was really young. I didn’t play a minute in a game. I was pissed about it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said at training camp for the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Toronto in early August. “I think I learned professional basketball that year. I learned a lot of terminology, the physicality of it, the speed of it. And it for sure was a kickstart to my professional career.”
Canada made it to the finals of that tournament only to lose to France, the No. 5 ranked basketball nation on earth, who has been to three straight Olympics and won silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and in the 2022 EuroBasket— the same team that happened to be their opponent on opening day of this summer’s FIBA World Cup.
“Coincidentally enough, seven years later, we’re in the World Cup trying to get to the quarterfinals and all the things to qualify for the [2024] Olympics and we will be in the Philippines, and our first game is against France,” Team Canada assistant coach Nathaniel Mitchell explained, alluding to the full-circle nature of Canada’s path over the phone ahead of the tournament.
“We had some of these guys [on that team], but mainly a guy that didn’t even play a minute in the tournament, in SGA, who now will probably be one of our best players if not our best player or captain — our best player, basically, going into this tournament against France, trying to qualify for the Olympics in the Philippines.”
Canada came into the most highly anticipated match of the group stage looking for revenge. They not only wanted to beat France for the first time since the 1984 Olympics, but also to set themselves up for a significantly easier path out of the group stages and into the knockout round of this World Cup in the Philippines. And they did that and more, rolling over the French side in a dominant 95-65 win in Indonesia Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“It felt good,” Gilgous-Alexander said after the game. “Most importantly, we got a dub. We won, did what we came here to do. Still only one game. We got a lot to accomplish and look forward to, but it’s a good start.”
Just like Mitchell predicted, it was 25-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder guard Gilgeous-Alexander who led the way for the Canadians, pouring in 27 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in the game, including 13 points in a third quarter that saw the Canadians outscore the French 25-8 — one of the most dominant and most important quarters in the history of the Canadian men’s national team.
That might sound like hyperbole, but it was a jittery start in which Team France jumped out to a 7-0 lead and led 18-14 after one quarter. Canada was missing wide-open shots, both Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell got into early foul trouble, and the five-man bench group was getting thoroughly outplayed to close the quarter, meaning things weren’t looking good early for the Canadians. In fact, even Gilgeous-Alexander went scoreless in the opening frame, missing his first five shots of the contest.
The only bright spot of the first quarter was Dillon Brooks, who kept it close with his tone-setting defense and a pair of huge dunks in the early going. However, Canada started to turn things around in the second quarter when Rudy Gobert elbowed Olynyk in the face, leading to an unsportsmanlike foul, two free-throws, the ball, and Gobert’s second foul of the game, forcing the French big man to take a seat on the bench.
Canada went on a 10-3 run during that time, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Lu Dort coming off the bench to fuel Canada. Thanks to Dort’s feisty defense and Alexander-Walker’s timely three-point shooting Canada went into the halftime break up three, 43-40.
But the third quarter will be one to remember for the ages, especially if Canada goes on to achieve their goals of qualifying for the Olympics through this tournament, as Canada came out of the halftime break with renewed energy on the defensive end.
Canada announced its presence on the world’s stage with authority, picking up a 30-point win over the global basketball superpower. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
They out-worked and out-smarted a very experienced French side, fighting over screens and jumping into passing lanes to contest every single dribble and pass the French side made. They held France to just 8 points in the entire quarter while Evan Fournier, who went off to score 19 of France’s 40 points in the first half, was held to just 2 points the rest of the game.
“We played really good basketball today. We did the right things on both ends of the court for the most part of the game. And we know that when we do that and play to our identity and the things that we’ve been preaching for the last month, that we can beat and play with anyone in the world,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We just got to continue to get better, and the sky’s the limit.”
It’s not only that Canada outscored France 25-8 in the frame and never looked back, limiting France to 10-of-31 shooting in the second half and outscoring them 52-25 to complete the blowout — it’s also the way they did it that was most impressive.
Sure, Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with his timely scoring and tough shot-making, but it was a full team effort from the Canadians, playing with pride for their country, sacrificing shots, starring in their roles, and sticking to the game plan by outscoring France 12-2 in fast-break points and 16-6 in second-chance points.
Plus, it was the way Canada made a powerhouse nation like France look downright shook by the end of the game.
Canada bullied France in the paint to win the free-throw battle 27-13 and the rebounding battle 45-35, despite being the significantly smaller team at both frontcourt positions. “We got our ass kicked,” was how Fournier put it after the game.
Throughout the whole game, Canada never let up.
“It’s always good to be rewarded when you’ve been working so hard,” Team Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez added. “So I give these guys all the credit in the world. Because when everybody tells you, the outside noise of how good you are, and you work and you show it and you play this hard, you got to enjoy it.”
“But like you say, my job is to get them ready for the next game. I’ve been in World Cups, Olympics, EuroBaskets, NBA Playoffs. And I think the most important game of your life is your next game. And if we think differently, we’re wrong. And we haven’t done anything… We know what we are here for and that next game, it’s gonna be [the biggest of] our lives.”
Canada will round out their group stage with games against Lebanon on Sunday and Latvia on Tuesday, but it helps to know that they will have the best player on the floor in almost every contest moving forward.
That’s Gilgeous-Alexander, the First-Team All-NBA superstar, who just became the first player to combine for 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists in his debut game at the World Cup over the last 30 years, and the first Canadian player to record a 20-point double-double in a senior men’s World Cup game.
He has come a long way from being a lanky teenager who sat on the bench watching his nation lose to France, in the Philippines, seven short years ago.
“You guys can see here a guy that is gonna be the MVP of this World Cup,” Fernandez said of his star, who was sitting beside him at the post-game podium. “But it’s, again, just one game. He’s gonna do it again next game, and next game, and the next game.”
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
