With the 2023 FIBA World Cup inching closer, Canada and Spain scheduled an exhibition game to prepare for the tournament.
Canada escaped with an overtime win against Spain, 85-80. This is the second consecutive friendly that resulted in an overtime win for Canada.
Both teams have Oklahoma City Thunder representatives on their rosters: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort with Canada and Usman Garuba with Spain.
In 33 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists. He went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The 25-year-old had a chance to win this game at the end of regulation but missed a turnaround wing 3 that resulted in overtime.
Dort struggled in his outing. In 19 minutes off the bench, he went scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting and grabbed three rebounds. Despite the lack of production, he played critical minutes down the stretch in both the fourth quarter and overtime.
The biggest surprise of the OKC trio was Garuba. While Gilgeous-Alexander led the game in scoring, that is expected of him after he finished No. 5 in MVP voting last season.
Garuba — on the other hand — has been mostly an afterthought when it comes to the Thunder’s roster construction discourse. That will quickly change though if he continues to put up similar performances as he did against two of his OKC teammates.
In 23 minutes, Garuba finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, eight rebounds and a ridiculous five steals. Playing with several other NBA players on the court, the recently acquired Thunder player was one of the louder guys in the game.
Full box scores for both Canada and Spain can be viewed below:
Let’s look at instant reactions and highlights from Canada’s five-point overtime exhibition win.