Group A was the group of death at the Olympics, but Canada came out unscathed with a 3-0 record in Lille.
They beat Spain 88-85 in their final game on Friday, leaving Greece, Australia, and Spain in a three-way tie, which put the FIBA EuroBasket bottom of the pile, and as a result, the Spanish are out.
Canada’s lead peaked at 14 points and was comfortable. However, Spain were going to take their swing, and they cut the gap down to 80-77 with 2:22 left, thanks to Dario Brizuela’s offensive impulse off the bench.
Canada held on, though, and RJ Barrett shut Spain’s coffin and nailed it with a three to make it 85-80 with 38.8 seconds left. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the winners with 20 points as they now advance to the final stages in Paris.
From unbeaten to pure survival mode – Greece got their first win in the nick of time as they beat Australia 77-71 in the other Group A clash and finished third.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 20 points and seven rebounds were enough for Hellas in a tight group that lived up to its pre-tournament billing.
World champions Germany sent out a strong message to end their Group B with a devastating masterclass that sunk hosts France 85-71.
With Germany leading 24-18 after one, both teams were still feeling each other out. That was until Germany pressured the Olympic hosts until submission.
A 24-9 second quarter was France’s undoing as they couldn’t handle the Germans’ all-around skillset, and ruined a Fantastic French Friday, where the host nation racked up golds in other events happening around the country.
Dennis Schroder had 26 points and nine assists for Germany, securing 3-0 in the group, dropping France to second at 2-1.
Brazil stayed alive in the Olympics by seeing off Japan 102-84 in the second Group B game, sending the Asian powerhouses home without a win.
With Rui Hachimura out for Japan with a calf injury, it was always going to be hard against a Brazil side boasting a packed forward line and so it proved.
Bruno Caboclo was inspired as he hit all four of his three-pointers for 33 points along with a monster 17 rebounds.
The men’s Group play ends on Saturday, check the schedule here.
Photo: FIBA
