Spain missed the victory against Canada (80-85) in the fourth friendly match of five in preparation for the World Cup and added another defeat after losing to the United States. The team gave its best in previous matches, and against Canada it also left nothing in one of the last opportunities to get in shape before the World Cup in Indonesia, in the Philippines and Japan, which will begin on August 25 and end on September 10.

Canada took the lead in the first quarter, closing within nine points, but Scariolo’s early changes woke Spain up. Sergio Llull appeared after not playing in any of the previous friendlies. The Real Madrid player scored a well-timed three-pointer to give his team a boost. Garuba, also returning after being injured against Slovenia, excelled with a fast-break dunk to keep the Canadians from taking the lead. (21-27)

Spain improved its defense in the second quarter to hold off Canada. An early triple from Rudy Fernádez and another from Víctor Claver gave the team the lead for the first time in the match. Canada barely scored in the first five minutes of the quarter, with only one successful free throw. But Gilgeous-Alexander, who added 22 points, tied the game with a shot from outside the perimeter. Juancho, shy until that point, was seen with four points that sent the game into halftime with Spain in the lead. (44-40)

The team slowed down in the third quarter, even if Canada, also in failure, was unable to recover (56-50). The tie remained in the final period, with neither team managing to get out on the scoreboard and ending with a draw (73-73). Canada picked up speed in overtime and although Spain tried, they couldn’t recover, adding another loss en route to the World Cup.

If against Slovenia and the United States it was Santi Aldama and Hernangómez who supported the team, this time the spotlight was distributed more evenly. Juancho, with 12 points, was once again the top scorer of a team in which all players scored except Alberto Díaz. Garuba, with 10 points and 7 rebounds, also stood out during his return. Juan Nuñez once again led the team from the starting quintet in which he has already earned his place. The 19-year-old point guard has proven to be the best alternative to replace the injured Lorenzo Brown and Ricky Rubio. In Canada, Gilgeous-Alexander was the best, followed by RJ Barret (18) and Olynyk (13).

Spain only have one warm-up friendly match left to get up to speed before the World Cup. It will be against the Dominican Republic tomorrow at 9:30 p.m., a week before the debut in Jakarta against the Ivory Coast. Scariolo still has three names left to exclude from the shortlist, down to the 12 chosen to defend the title won in China in 2019.

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