Canada's Run at the Under-19 World Cup Comes to an End
Canada have fallen short of defending their Under-19 World Cup title in Greece after a quarter-final defeat to France.
This came after a convincing round-of-sixteen win over Senegal, who were threatening for three quarters, when Canada began the breakaway. They took a thirteen-point lead and went on to lead by eighteen in the contest, finishing 90-79 in front to book their place in the next round.
AJ Lawson led the scoring for Canada and in the game with 31 points, while Senegal saw 30 points and 15 rebounds from Biram Faye in their loss.
The pressure was turned up on Canada when play resumed a few days later and they would be facing France for a place in the semi-finals. The French team had made this stage of the tournament after finishing second in Group D and winning their first knockout stage game 77-46 over the host nation Greece.
In the build-up to the game they seemed not to be an easy task for Canada, which proved true on the night. France's high-pressure offence, led by Joel Ayayi who finished with a game-high 25 points, saw them lead by a double digit margin in the first half. Canada turned to the duo of Lawson and Tyrese Samuel - highly dependable for the team in Heraklion - to keep them within reaching distance of their unflappable opponents.
It took Canada until the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the game, but it was short-lived. France kept up their relentless and high-percentage play in the low post, which swung the advantage back to them and they were able to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the game.
Canada had five players reach the double-digit mark on the scoresheet, but France proved too hard to stop and they will play in the semi finals after defeating Canada 85-80. They will play Mali, who made history by becoming the first African team to reach the final four of the FIBA Under-19 World Cup after a ten-point win over Puerto Rico in the earlier round.
The other semi-final will be between the USA and Lithuania, the second meeting between these two teams in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Canada still have a chance to finish as high as fifth in the final tournament standings as they now enter the classification round. They will first play Puerto Rico and a win there will see them play either Serbia or Russia to finish in the best place still open to them.
A report will appear here soon on the final days of action, where Canada's final standing will be decided, while full details on all to do with the FIBA Under-19 World Cup can be found on their official website.
Picture: FIBA.com
