Canada looks perfect in FIBA World Cup 2023 group stage after beating Latvia

Posted On: April 6, 2024

MerahWhite.com – Canada managed to beat the surprise team Latvia with a score of 101-75 in the final match of Group H of the FIBA World Cup 2023 at Indonesia Arena, Gelora Bung Karno Complex, Senayan, Jakarta , Tuesday (8/29/2023). ) evening.

The victory against Latvia allowed Canada to perfectly win Group H, while also confirming its status among the champion candidates.

This is Canada's third victory after silencing France and Lebanon. For Latvia, it was the first defeat in Group H. Even though they lost, Latvia still accompanied Canada as Group H's representative in the second round of the group (Group L).

In Group L, Canada and Latvia will only have to face two representatives from Group G. The results of their respective groups, plus the two matches in Group L, will be added together to determine the two teams which are entitled to qualify for the quarter. -finals in Manila, Philippines.

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Quoted Bolaskor.com, Latvia surprised Canada in the first quarter. Five three-pointers put Luca Banchi's team up 23-12 at the end of the first quarter.

However, Canada was quick to make adjustments, particularly with regard to defense to limit the Latvian tripoin. Shay Gilgeous-Alexander led his teammates by grabbing rebounds, making a steal, making an assist and scoring six points to give Canada a 43-42 lead.

In the third quarter, Canada played more comfortably. On the other hand, Latvia found it increasingly difficult to score points as the first quarter progressed. Canada covered its passing lanes during the attack. When you have the opportunity to shoot, the ball no longer slides easily into the basket. None of the eight three-pointers shot during this quarter found the target. Latvia fell further behind 57-67.

The situation did not change in the fourth quarter. Latvia could only score 18 points and conceded 34 to lose 75-101.

Shai was Canada's best player with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. RJ Barrett contributed 22 points and 5 rebounds. Kelly Olynyk scored 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

From Latvia, Andrejs Grazulis contributed 16 points. Rodions Kurucs had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Arturs Zagars scored 11 points.

Latvia's three-point shooting accuracy decreased to 28 percent (10/36) in this game, compared to 40 percent previously (14/35). Meanwhile, Canada recorded 41 percent accuracy (16/49) from beyond the arc.

“It was a tough game. The first half was pretty good, but in the second half we started to get careless. As we expected, they started to get aggressive and we didn't “We couldn't react at first. Then we found a way, but unfortunately we couldn't finish the job in the last quarter,” Rodions said.

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Latvian coach Luca Banchi praised Canada for its strong play. He also praised the precision of his opponent's shots, especially from the tripod. But he was proud of his team's play.
“Impressively, our approach to the game was in terms of concentration, energy and the desire to impose our style of basketball,” he said.

But his team also struggled to keep up with Canada's physical strength. SKILLS individual players. According to him, it was normal that his team then lost the strength necessary to compete with the intensity of the Canadian game. Overall, he thinks his team showed their fans that they came to Jakarta to really fight in the Basketball World Cup.

“I would like to highlight the superior performance of our opponents, but Latvia also deserved a night applause of our fans,” said Luca Banchi.

Meanwhile, Shai said his team did not start the match as expected. Canada did not play as a unified team like its identity, but quickly corrected that problem. Canada begins to strengthen defense, TO DO get out of the box, bounce backand broadcasts additional passes.

“We started playing the right way and little by little the game was going our way,” the Oklahoma City Thunder guard said.

Canada coach Jordi Fernandez cited the lyrics of the song “Ironic”, which said “There are ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife”, sung by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, to about his team's poor performance. He admitted that his team played poorly and did not defend well.

“Then Nickeil became this 'knife'. It's good for us, I'm happy with it,” Jordi said. (*/Bolaskor.com)