Canada opened the Basketball World Cup with a statement 95-65 win over France on Friday, August 25. Canada came into the tournament with a squad packed with NBA talents but they faced a stiff test against France, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.
Canada outscored the French 25-8 in the third quarter and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished as the game's top scorer with 27 points, despite failing to get on the scoresheet in the first quarter. "It's always good to be rewarded when you've been working so hard, so I give these guys all the credit in the world," said head coach Jordi Fernandez. "The most important game of your life is your next game, and if we think differently, we're wrong."
Canada lost key guard Jamal Murray on the eve of the tournament, when he withdrew saying his body needed more time to recover after winning the NBA title with the Denver Nuggets last season. "We have a lot of guys on this team that are hungry, talented, and ultimately just want to win," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "When you have those three things, you can do anything."
Evan Fournier scored 21 points for France, who now take on Latvia on Sunday with their tournament hanging in the balance. Fournier said his team "got our ass kicked". "As a team, they forced us to do things that we don't want to do," said the New York Knicks small forward. "At first we were able to score every now and then, our defense was solid, but as the game went on they kept applying pressure and it just got the best of us."