JAKARTA, Indonesia — Canada has never won a medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. France was favoured to collect another one this year.
One game in and the conversation for both teams has changed.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points and 13 rebounds and Canada rode a dominant second half to upset world No. 5 France 95-65 in the opening game for both Group H teams at Indonesia Arena.
Canada took a three-point lead into halftime before blowing the game wide open with a 25-8 third quarter. France, which had never lost to Canada in World Cup competition, was outscored 52-25 in the second half by an opponent that looks equipped to compete with the world powers.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA, added six assists and two steals. He entered the half struggling with just two baskets on nine shots from the floor, but ended 9-of-18.
“We wanted to come out here, play to our identity, do the right things on the basketball court on both ends,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We didn't start the way we wanted to, we started a little bit slow, but we got it on track pretty fast and it was pretty good the rest of the game.
"We did the right things on both ends of the court … When we play to our identity and the things we’ve been preaching for the last month … we can beat and play with anyone in the world. We just have to continue to get better and the sky’s the limit.”
Canadian captain Kelly Olynyk, who plays for the NBA's Utah Jazz, had 18 points, four rebounds and a block. Dillon Books, a member of the NBA's Houston Rockets, added 12 points, including an emphatic slam dunk to open the scoring for Canada.
Canadian coach Jordi Fernandez said his team's defence was superb before the offence took over.
“Our defence really kept us in the game,” Fernandez said. “The second half, we continued our defence and made some shots. Shai put a run together for himself and that really opened up the game.”
Evan Fournier scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half for France, the 2020 Olympic silver medallists. Nando De Colo and Mathias Lessort added 12 points apiece in the loss.
"They were really physical with us, taking us out of our set plays,” Fournier said. “I think as a team, they forced us to do things that we don't want to do. They kept applying pressure and it got the best of us.”
Canada next faces world No. 43 Lebanon on Sunday. Lebanon lost its opener to Latvia 109-70.
THROW-INS: Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and the Dominican Republic beat the Philippines 87-81 in Manila where fans set a World Cup attendance record. A total of 38,115 fans attended the game, breaking the record of 32,616 set at the gold-medal game of the 1994 world championship in Toronto when the U.S. rolled past Russia for the title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2023.
The Canadian Press