Canadian men upend Latvia to win group, stay unbeaten at basketball World Cup

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 27 points and Canada overcame a sluggish first quarter to rout Latvia 101-75 on Tuesday at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Canada trailed 23-13 after the first quarter and led by just one point at the half before dominating the rest of the game.

With the win, Canada (3-0) finished at the top of its group for the first time at a World Cup.

Gilgeous-Alexander added six rebounds, six assists and two steals for Canada. RJ Barrett had 22 points and five rebounds, with Kelly Olynyk (15 points) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (14 points) also scoring in double digits.

WATCH | Canada improves to 3-0 at FIBA World Cup:

Canada defeats Latvia to win FIBA World Cup group for 1st timeShai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and RJ Barrett added 22 points, as Canada used a strong second-half surge to beat Latvia 101-75 and finish atop Group H at the FIBA World Cup with a perfect 3-0 record.

“I didn’t start the game the way I needed to, the way the team needed me to,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 16 of his points in the third quarter. “Just with my energy level, my activeness on both ends of the floor.

“I looked in the mirror and tried to be better from that point on. Tried to make that my focus, to be better every possession for my team. If I do that, it would set the tone and the tide would turn.”

Andrejs Grazulis had 16 points for Latvia (2-1).

“You’ve got to give credit to Latvia,” said Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez. “They prepared better than any other team we’ve played before. They challenged us.”

The momentum shifted in the second quarter, with Canada finishing the half on a 20-7 run and taking the lead into the half on Barrett’s layup at the buzzer.

Fernandez says he had plenty to say at halftime, but the most important challenge came from the players themselves.

“The best thing is when you walk in the locker room and the guys are already talking to each other,” Fernandez said. “At that point, yes, I’m trying to help them as the head coach of the team, but they pretty much did it themselves. Holding each other accountable and staying together. You saw the result in the second half.”

Canada opens 2nd round on Friday

Canada and Latvia will next go into a group with the top two teams in Group G, which wraps up play Wednesday. Canada, which outscored its opposition by an average of 37 points a game in the first round, will bring its unbeaten record and plus-111 point differential into the next round.

Defending champion Spain is already through to the group, with Brazil and Ivory Coast battling for the other spot.

Canada will play its first game of the second round on Friday.

“Our first goal was to win the group stage, but we’re not done,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’re not satisfied. We have five more games to try to go win.”

Elsewhere Tuesday, the Dominican Republic, Australia and Italy advanced to the knockout stage. Through play Tuesday, 10 teams have reached the final 16 with six more berths to be determined Wednesday.

The United States, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Montenegro previously clinched a berth in the next round.

Australia 109, Japan 89

Josh Giddey scored 26 points, Xavier Cooks added 24 and Australia (2-1) advanced to the knockout stage by taking second place behind group winner Germany. The Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists entered the World Cup as one of the favourites.

Japan (1-2) disappointed home fans in Okinawa and could not repeat its rousing come-from-behind win on Sunday against Finland. Hawkinson led Japan with 33 points and Yuta Watanabe chipped in with 24.

Hawkinson hit 12 of 13 two-point field goal attempts and was 1 of 3 on 3-pointers.

Italy 90, Philippines 83

Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio had 18 points and six rebounds and Italy advanced after knocking out the hometown Philippines in Manila.

Italy (2-1) finished second in the group behind the Dominican Republic. Giampaolo Ricci scored 14 points for Italy, which pulled away in the second quarter to lead 48-39 at halftime and held off a late rally from the Philippines.

Jordan Clarkson had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Philippines (0-3), which needed to win in a blowout to advance.

Lithuania 91, Montenegro 71

Also in Manila, Rokas Jokubaitis had 19 points, five rebounds and six assists, while Mindaugas Kuzminskas had 15 points. Tadas Sedekerskis led his team with 11 rebounds.

The victory gave Lithuania (3-0) first place in the group with Montenegro (2-1) taking second. Both had already advanced and the game decided the top two spots.

Nikola Vucevic led Montenegro with 19 points. Marko Simonovic and Kendrick Perry each had 13 points.

Dominican Republic 75, Angola 67

The Dominican Republic advanced to the knockout stage at the World Cup with a 75-67 victory over Angola on Tuesday in Manila.

The Caribbean nation is 3-0 in Group A and is the eighth team to advance. Eight more places will be decided on Tuesday and Wednesday, the final days of group play. Angola has no chance of advancing.

Andres Feliz hit 17 points and Victor Liz scored 13 to lead the Dominican Republic, which trailed by one after three quarters but outscored Angola by nine in the final quarter.

Silvia De Sousa led Angola with 19 points. Neither team shot well. Angola made only two of 21 three-pointers and the winners were only 5 of 25.

Germany 101, Finland 75

At Okinawa, Dennis Schroder and Isaac Bonga led Germany (3-0) with 15 points each, and Johannes Theimann added 13. Germany had already advanced to the second round and Finland (0-3) had already been eliminated from contention.

Olivier Nkamhoua had 14 points for the Finns and Lauri Markkanen and Ilari Seppala added 12.

Egypt 100, Mexico 72

Playmaker Ehab Amin had 22 points and 10 assists as Egypt earned a consolation win over Mexico in Manila. Centre Patrick Gardner added 20 points for Egypt (1-2), which extended an early 14-point lead to a 59-35 advantage at the half.

Pako Cruz and Joshua Ibarra each scored 21 points for Mexico (0-3), which was 6 of 23 on 3-pointers.

Both teams had already been eliminated from contention for the round of 16.

France 85, Lebanon 79

Guerschon Yabusele had 18 points and teammate Evan Fournier had 17 as France (1-2) salvaged a victory in the tournament in Jakarta. France won the Olympic silver medal two years ago in Tokyo and was probably the most disappointing team in the World Cup.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert did not play because of an ankle injury.

Wael Arakji had 29 points for Lebanon (0-3), which lost its opening two games by an average of 47 points.

Both teams had already been eliminated from contention for the knockout round.

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