The 2023 FIBA World Cup is set to start on Aug. 25, but before the international tournament teams will play a handful of exhibition games.
Team Canada has a five-game slate of exhibition matches. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort began their campaign by facing Germany on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Despite a valiant comeback attempt, Canada fell short, 86-81, to Germany. Gilgeous-Alexander had a solid second quarter while Dort had a stellar fourth quarter.
In 22 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight points on 2-of-10 shooting and four rebounds. Dort had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting including going 2-of-4 from 3.
Canada got off to a slow start as they quickly trailed Germany 27-14 following the first quarter. That deficit grew to 16 points by halftime as Germany led Canada, 50-34.
Leaving halftime, Canada had a much better outing in the third quarter as they cut Germany’s lead to 66-58 by the end of the 10-minute session. Despite cutting the deficit to single digits, Canada couldn’t overcome the hole they dug themselves into early in this one.
Let’s look at some instant reactions and highlights to the five-point loss as Gilgeous-Alexander tries to lead Canada to hardware later this month.
After making the Guinness Book of World Records in 2021, Olivier Rioux has once again taken the internet’s notice with some highlight footage from Brookwood Elite, a Canadian AAU team. At 17 years old, Rioux is 7-foot-6, according to his Instagram …
After making the Guinness Book of World Records in 2021, Olivier Rioux has once again taken the internet’s notice with some highlight footage from Brookwood Elite, a Canadian AAU team.
At 17 years old, Rioux is 7-foot-6, according to his Instagram page (and 231 cm on his FIBA page, to be exact, which is closer to 7-foot-6.5). He is listed at 300 pounds on 247Sports, an encouraging number, given as many prospects of his massive size are very thin — Bol Bol, for instance, was about 180 pounds in the summer of 2016, when he was 16 years old, according to DraftExpress.
(USA TODAY Network)
Rioux grew up in Canada and has been at IMG Academy since July 2021. The game looks easy at his size, as highlight reels show him being a menace at the rim on both sides of the ball, grabbing offensive rebounds and swatting away shot attempts.
7-foot-6 Olivier Rioux is going off this summer! He holds the Guinness World Record for tallest teenager 😱 pic.twitter.com/k21JYdldPA
He played for the Canadas U19 team this summer. Rioux was at the end of the bench, appearing in 31 total minutes over five games, but in those limited minutes, he averaged 3.2 points and 3.4 rebounds, including 1.4 offensive rebounds per game. Rioux made seven of the eight shots he attempted.
Take a look at actual game footage instead of only highlight footage. You can start with about 4:45 left in the game to see him play a somewhat uninterrupted stretch. Team Canada switched to a 2-3 zone when Rioux entered, so he was camped in the paint on defense the whole time; while on offense, he did some pick-and-roll action and worked to get position down low.
It appears Rioux has received relatively minimal recruiting action, as On3 sites offers from only Stetson and Florida Atlantic. With two years left of high school basketball, collegiate programs will likely look to see if his offensive skills go beyond height and see how he defends on the perimeter and adjusts to offensive schemes.
On3 lists him as a 3-star prospect, while 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals all do not have him ranked.
While collegiate teams might not be paying a ton of attention yet, Rioux has garnered attention from the pros. He made a congratulations Instagram post to Jamal Murray after the NBA Finals, reminding the Denver Nuggets point guard about that time several years ago when Murray asked for a picture from Rioux, who at that point was a 12-year-old standing 6-foot-10.
Canada announced its 2023 FIBA World Cup training camp roster on Thursday with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort — unsurprisingly — highlighting the group.
Gilgeous-Alexander will represent his country after enjoying the best season of his young career thus far. In 68 games last season, he averaged 31.4 points on 51% shooting, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. The 25-year-old earned All-NBA first-team honors for the first time in his career.
The Oklahoma City Thunder duo joins several other NBA players on the 18-man extended roster. This includes Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The team will be coached by Jordi Fernandez, who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.
Training camp will last from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6. Team Canada will play five games in Germany and Spain from Aug. 9 to Aug. 18. The group stages of the FIBA World Cup are scheduled to begin on Aug. 25.
Rutgers baseball class of 2023 commit Hugh Pinkney came up clutch in the WBSC U-18 World Cup for Team Canada
The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup is currently being held in Bradenton Sarasota, Florida and there is a familiar face playing for the team from Canada.
A member of the class of 2023, Hugh Pinkney is playing for his native Canada in the World Cup. In Monday ngiht’s game against Team USA, Pinkney came to the dish in the top of the third inning with two outs and the bases loaded. The catcher came up big with an opposite field hit, driving in two clutch RBIs to give his team the lead 3-1.
🇨🇦💥 Clutch 2 RBI single by Hugh Pinkney and Canada leads 3-1!
Pinkney finished the game going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, but his team would end up on the losing end of this one. Team USA rallied late to come back and win 7-6. Canada moved to 0-3 in the tournament.
[lawrence-related id=18649]
The games began on September 9 and wrap with the Championship on September 22. A member of the class of 2023, Pinkney committed to Rutgers over some other top schools in the nation. The catcher/outfielder was even drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2022 MLB Draft, but decided to stay with the Scarlet Knights and pursue an education.
I want to thank @padres for selecting me in the 2022 MLB Draft and introducing me to their incredible organization. It was a difficult decision but I have decided to pursue @B1Gbaseball Championships with my teammates and coaches @rutgersbaseball! See you soon ⚔️ @RUAthleticspic.twitter.com/WrKZ43fxBl
Pinkney spoke with Rutgers Wire after his commitment about why he chose to play for the Scarlet Knights:
“I committed to Rutgers because of the opportunity to earn a degree from a school with the academic reputation like Rutgers,” Pinkney told ‘Rutgers Wire’ this weekend.
“Also, the opportunity to play Big Ten baseball with an up and coming program, with great coaches was too good to pass up.”
SGA helped led Team Canada to one more win before shifting his focus back on the Thunder.
In what will likely be his final game playing for his home country, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to lead Team Canada to a 99-87 win over Team Argentina. This was a Group E game in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting that included going 5-of-13 from three, eight assists and four rebounds in 37 minutes.
With Oklahoma City Thunder training camp roughly a month away, Toronto Raptors reporter Michael Grange said he’s heard that Gilgeous-Alexander will not play any additional Team Canada games.
This news comes 12 hours after the Thunder announced No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren was going to miss the entire 2022-23 season due to a foot injury he suffered in a Pro-Am scrimmage this past weekend.
Gilgeous-Alexander finishes the summer averaging 26.3 points and five assists on 57.6 percent shooting that included going 47.6 percent from three for Team Cananda.
Shai is ridiculous lol.
Look at the acceleration, deceleration & the tough and-1 middy.
I think it’s fair to say SGA is the best player on Team Canada.
In a FIBA World Cup qualifier during this past Monday, Team Canada blew out Team U.S. Virgin Island by a score of 113-67.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way as he finished with 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting in just 19 minutes of action.
Gilgeous-Alexander continues to impress on Team Canada as he has racked up 56 points on 22-of-35 shooting (62.8 percent shooting) in just the two games he’s appeared in and in just 48 minutes total.
The 23-year-old is slowly but surely ascending into being the team’s best player on the roster as he scores with ease on all three levels of the game.
In his first World Cup qualifying game, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Team Canada in a decisive win over Team Dominican Republic, 95-75, on Friday.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points and scored 15 points in the third quarter to blow the game open. Gilgeous-Alexander also added five assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Overall, the 23-year-old shot 9-of-20 from the field that included going 5-of-11 from three.
This was Gilgeous-Alexander’s first game action since March after missing the last 10 games of the regular season due to an ankle injury.
Team Canada’s next game is scheduled for Monday, July 4 against the Virgin Islands.
Former Oregon Ducks forward Dillon Brooks – but not center Chris Boucher – is among Canada’s 14 core players ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games
14 Canadian basketball players – ranging from NBA stars to NCAA and international performers – committed to representing Canada over the next three years as the country ramps up for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
One former Oregon Ducks star – Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks – is among the commitments for the Canadians. At this time he will not be joined by fellow countrymen and Oregon alumni Chris Boucher.
Many felt Boucher’s size and outside shooting would be a huge boost for the Canadian squad, but Boucher’s upcoming free agency likely caused him to forego the events happening this summer, lest he risk injuring himself and jeopardizing his NBA future.
As noted by Sportsnet writer Blake Murphy, additional events in 2023 will almost certainly include more Canadian players, and perhaps Boucher will be among them at that time.
For now, Brooks will be joined by a handful of NBA stars, including RJ Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kelly Olynyk, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and Dwight Powell, as well as Purdue’s Zach Edey and former Gonzaga point guard Kevin Pangos.
Canada Basketball announces a 14-player core for this summer:
Nickeil Alexander-Walker RJ Barrett Khem Birch Oshae Brissett Dillon Brooks Luguentz Dort Zach Edey Melvin Ejim Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Cory Joseph Jamal Murray Kelly Olynyk Kevin Pangos Dwight Powell
