It was a hurricane. Canada swept France this Friday in Jakarta in the most notable match of the first day of the Basketball World Cup. It is a resounding victory, by 30 points, 95-65, built on a second half where the French team, current Olympic and European vice-champion, raised the white flag: only eight points in the third quarter. time, and 17 in the second quarter. last time The appointment was already decided. Canada comes to the table and establishes itself as one of the favorites to compete for medals. The team coached by Spaniard Jordi Fernández showed great physical power and collective play which was completed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a leader from Oklahoma City who particularly shone with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists.

France remained unanswered in the second half in the face of Canada’s vigorous, fast and united play. The French team took the first advantages of the match with De Colo-Fournier-Batum-Yabusele-Gobert as the ideal quintet, but the North American team quickly shook itself up, equalized the duel in the first half and flew away in second. The Canadian victory is of great importance because the two teams are the big favorites to win this first group stage, which they share in their case with Latvia and Lebanon. The two best will advance to a second group in which they will meet the qualified teams of the quartet made up of Spain, Brazil, Ivory Coast and Iran. The victories and defeats of the first phase are counted, as well as the score. Hence the value of Canada’s strong performance.

Australia, another of the teams favored to compete for medals, beat Finland 72-98 with 25 points and 8 rebounds from Patty Mills, point guard of the Atlanta Hawks. For the Finnish team, Lauri Markkanen stood out with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Germany, semi-finalist of the last Eurobasket against the Spanish team, and second in the FIBA ​​​​ranking of favorites, eliminated Japan 81-63 with 25 points and 9 rebounds from Wagner. And Lithuania easily beat Egypt 67-93 (15 points and 10 rebounds from Valanciunas).

And a fact: 38,115 spectators. The World Cup began this Friday with record attendance at a Basketball World Cup event. The Philippine Arena in Manila recorded the largest number of fans ever to attend a World Cup match. It was in the duel between one of the hosts of the tournament, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic, which they won 87-81. That mark surpasses the 32,616 spectators who watched live at the 1994 World Cup final at Toronto’s Sky Dome, when the United States beat Russia 137-91. In the NBA, the record was broken last January. To celebrate the franchise’s 50th anniversary, the San Antonio Spurs filled the Alamodome court with 68,323 fans in a game against the Warriors. In the ACB, the brand belongs to Baskonia, which on two occasions, against Madrid in 2016 and 2018, displayed the “ticket ban” sign: 15,544 supporters.

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