CANADA WINS FIRST HISTORIC BASKETBALL WORLD CUP MEDAL

For the first time in history, Team Canada finishes the FIBA ​​World Cup with a bronze medal after a thrilling overtime victory against the United States. Germany won the tournament for the first time after beating the powerful Serbian team.

Led by several NBA stars, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks, Team Canada concludes the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup with a long-awaited medal in the world’s biggest basketball tournament.

Since the event’s inception in 1950, only four American teams have won a medal at the World Basketball Championship, led by the United States with five gold medals, Brazil with two gold medals, the Argentina with one championship and Chile with two bronze medals. . . Now, Canada’s men’s national team joins that exclusive list with its own bronze medal.

Germany won the FIBA ​​World Cup 2023 for the first time in its history, while Serbia won their second silver medal in the last three editions of the tournament.

Canada’s path to the bronze medal included only a second group stage loss to continental rival Brazil and a semifinal loss to silver medalists Serbia. This resulted in a continental clash between the two best teams in the sport in America: Canada and the United States.

The bronze medal final was a back-and-forth affair, with Canada taking early leads in the first and second half before Team USA rallied to keep the game close. Despite outscoring Canada in the fourth quarter, the United States was unable to win in regulation and forced overtime.

However, it all came back to Canada in overtime, beating the United States 16-7 to secure the 127-116 victory and capture the country’s historic first FIBA ​​World Cup medal.

Canada was led by a standout Dillon Brooks in the final, who made eight of nine three-point attempts to lead all players with 39 points in the competition. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was right behind with 31 points, while RJ Barrett added 23 to give Canada a lethal scoring trio. The American team was led by Anthony Edwards with 24 points and Austin Reaves with 23.

In addition to winning the bronze medal, Gilgeous-Alexander was also named to the World Cup All-Star team alongside tournament MVP Dennis Schroeder of Germany, American star Anthony Edwards, Serbian sniper Bogdan Bogdanovic and Slovenian star Luka Doncic. Dillon Brooks received the Best Defensive Player award for his efforts to make life difficult for opposing players.

The Canadian and American teams also secured qualification for next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics thanks to their performances in the tournament.

Congratulations to Team Canada for winning their first FIBA ​​World Cup medal and to all the countries in the Americas who participated in the tournament!