HEADLINE‍

Canada’s podium hopes were dashed on Friday at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023, after falling 97-73 in quarter-final action to Turkey in Debrecen, Hungary.‍

HOW IT HAPPENED‍

- Canada dug themselves into a hole from the get go. Turkey scored the game’s opening 12 points to take a commanding lead. It wasn’t until Michael Nwoko’s driving lay-in that got Canada on the board after failing to get anything going in the early stretch of the quarter.

- Unfortunately Canada was unable to close the deficit as the first quarter wore along. Turkey doubled up Canada 32-16 in the first, before building upon the lead in the second. A Karahan Efeoglu three-pointer at the halftime buzzer extended the Turkey lead to 28, presenting Canada with serious work to be done in the second half.

- Canada managed to outscore Turkey in the third quarter 24-19, before battling throughout the fourth — but it was ultimately too little too late as Turkey punched their ticket to Saturday’s semifinal.

- Michael Nwoko didn’t play in the second half for Canada, after falling awkwardly following a dunk attempt on what would’ve been a poster to remember. The Miami commit was held to just 7:41 of action.

‍CANADA HIGHLIGHTS

- TJ Hurley made the most of his 15 minutes of action, scoring a team-high 13 points. Hurley, who struggled to find his rhythm in the team’s opening four games at the World Cup, found his groove against Turkey. He was 5-10 from the field and 3-7 from deep, while chipping in a team-high three steals.

- Xaivian Lee recorded double-digit points for the fourth time in five games at the World Cup. Lee had 11 points and four assists.

- Elijah Fisher, Bubu Benjamin, Jahari Williamson and Jordan Dumont all tallied eight points in the defeat. Dumont led Canada in first half scoring after scoring all of his points in the game’s opening two quarters.

- Olivier Rioux had his most impactful game of the World Cup, registering three points, five rebounds and a block.

‍NEXT UP

- Canada will now shift into classification games at the World Cup. They are set to take on Argentina on Saturday, with tip off scheduled for 6:30 am ET / 3:30 am PT. Fans can watch all of the action on the FIBA YouTube Channel.

- The two countries are set to meet at the FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup fro the first time since 2013. Canada has won their last three meetings against Argentina in the tournament with the country’s last defeat coming back in 1991.

- Canada will close the tournament on Sunday with their final classification game. A pair of wins to wrap up the tournament would place Canada fifth, which would match the country’s third-best finish ever at a FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup.