Canada Set Records Against Jordan, Fall Short to Germany in World Cup
Coming up short in the group stage of the Basketball World Cup in China, Canada had missed out on a chance at the title, but still had two classification games to play against two other losing teams in order to decide their final place in tournament.
First, they set records in their first game against Jordan, making 24 three-point shots, the most ever made by a team in a World Cup game. In addition they shot over 50% from all spots on the floor, had 56 bench points and lead by as many as sixty in a resounding victory over Jordan
Kyle Wiltjer led all on the floor with 29 points, one of five Canadian players to finish in double digits, as they finish their first consolation game 126-71 over Jordan.
The day after they played their final game of the tournament against Germany, and fell behind by seven points early on. Canada's superior field shooting, though, saw them go in front in the second quarter and lead by double digits in the third. Canada's short-range offence was led by Khem Birch, who shot 85% from the field and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
As the game entered the final quarter, though, Germany stepped up their defensive efforts, shutting out Canada and converting possessions into points on the other end. With Maximilian Kleber scoring 20 points for Germany and Dennis Schroder one assist short of a triple double (21 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists), the Germans ended their campaign in China with a 82-76 win over Canada.
These final results see Canada finish 21st overall in the tournament. Kyle Wiltjer was the top Canadian scorer with 16.4 points per game and Khem Birch leading the rebounding with 7.0 boards per game. Despite the early exit, Canada have still earned a place in next year's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, keeping alive their hopes of taking part in Tokyo.
Elsewhere, the final eight-team knockout stage has been set. The USA will be taking on France, Argentina will face Serbia in the most intriguing quarter final match-up and the two biggest surprises of the tournament, Poland and the Czech Republic, will respectively be facing Spain and Australia for a semi final spot.
Picture: FIBA.com
