Canada made history at the FIBA World Cup 2023 by winning its first-ever medal at the tournament, defeating USA 127-118 in overtime in the third-place game on Sunday in Manila, Philippines.
As expected between two NBA laden team, it was a roller coaster game that had 14 lead changes, 12-0 scoring run by the Americans and 8-0 by the Canadians, and it was punctuated by Mikal Bridges at the end of the 4th qtr; he missed 2nd free-throw on purpose, got the rebound, then hits corner 3 with 0.6 seconds left to extend the game to over time. In the OT, the Canadians had other plans, since they outscored Team USA, 16 to 7 to secure the bronze medal.
Every angle of Mikal Bridges' shot that sent it to overtime. Tell a friend.#FIBAWC x #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/TRWx563FRp
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 10, 2023
The Canadians, who had never finished higher than sixth in the World Cup, protected a 2-point lead at the start of OT and outscored the Americans 7-16.
Dillon Brooks was the hero for Canada, scoring a game-high 39 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 7-of-8 from the 3-point line. He also added four rebounds, five assists, a steals and a couple of blocks in a stellar performance.
TCL Player of the Game Dillon Brooks set a new points record in a medal game to tow third-place Canada to their first-ever medal 👏
📊 39 PTS | 5 AST | 4 REB | 7 3PM | 42 EFF#FIBAWC x #WinForCanada 🇨🇦 | #InspireGreatness pic.twitter.com/Og5wWPyHEG
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 10, 2023
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was equally impressive, adding 31 points, twelve assists and six rebounds. He scored nine of Canada’s 16 points in overtime, including an assist to RJ Barrett for a a clutch 3-pointer that gave them a 115 – 124 lead with 0:23 secs left.
Canada also got contributions from Kelly Olynyk (11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists), Luguentz Dort (11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) and Dwight Powell (4 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists).
Team Highlights
USA, meanwhile, will go home without a medal for the FIBA World Cup 2023. Team USA has not won a medal in the World Cup since 2014, that featured a roster lead by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Anthony Davis.
Six players of Team USA had double digits points; Mikal Bridges with 19 pts, 9 rebs, 2 steals and 4 assists, Anthony Edwards led the team with 24 pts and 5 rebs, then there’s Austin Reaves who contributed 23 pts, 5 rebs, an assists and a steal, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Bobby Portis Jr. also made big contributions scoring 13 pts, 10 pts and 14 pts respectively.
Despite the loss, Team USA, already qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France and we can expect that the team will have totally different roster.
W take on Dillon Brooks' "villain" status:#FIBAWC x #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/KRzUJwcA1V
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 10, 2023
Shai, oh my lord. 😳#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/E7yYfpiDlp
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 10, 2023
[…] Gilas will still have a chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics but it will a much harder path than winning in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Germany defeated Serbia 83-77 in the final to win their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup title. Canada defeated the United States 127-118 in overtime to win the bronze medal. […]