HEADLINE‍

- Canada fell in their final game of Group A action at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023 on Tuesday, suffering a 80-66 loss to France in Debrecen, Hungary.‍

HOW IT HAPPENED‍

- A back and forth first quarter saw Canada trail by three after the game’s opening ten minutes. But they took control in the second, outscoring France 12-2 in the opening 3:48 of the quarter on the backs of a 12-0 run.

- France closed the gap as the quarter closed, setting up a tie game at halftime, before taking over in the third quarter. They outscored Canada 22-6 in the frame, taking a 65-49 lead into the final quarter.

- Canada was plagued by foul trouble in the third quarter, with both Michael Nwoko and Elijah Fisher sitting at three fouls at the midway point of the quarter. Nwoko was limited to just 22:46 of action in the game as a result, and was held from the floor from the 5:59 mark of the third until the end of the quarter, as Canada’s deficit grew from 3 to 16.

- Despite outscoring France 19-15 in the fourth, they were unable to claw their way back into the contest and fell to 1-2 in group stage action at the tournament. 

- After struggling from three in the opening two games of the tournament, Canada began the contest hot. They connected on three of their first seven attempts (42.9 per cent) from beyond-the-arc. But that clip faded as the contest wore on, ending the game 5-20 from three-point range.‍

CANADA HIGHLIGHTS

- After a 17-point performance on Sunday vs. China, Lee led Canada once again on Tuesday with 15 points on 5-10 shooting. The Princeton Tigers guard added three assists and two rebounds.

- Despite being limited to just over 20 minutes of action, Nwoko recorded his first double-double of the World Cup, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Miami Hurricanes commit was a force on the boards for Canada, recording 10 of the team’s 40 rebounds in the game. 

- Bubu Benjamin joined Lee and Nwoko in double figures with a 10-point performance, while Jaion Pitt and David Simon registered four and three blocks, respectively.

QUOTABLE

“We played a great first half of basketball vs. France. France is a very solid team and we handled their pressure in spurts and rebounded the ball in spurts. We need to take care of the ball and fight on the defensive glass for 40 consistent minutes. That was the tale of the game today.” - Tatham on his takeaway from Tuesday’s game against France.

“We’ve been through the fire in a very tough Group A after playing against Spain, France and China. The group stage has prepared us for the Round of 16. As we move forward now, we have to key in on the details — two wins at the right time in the Round of 16 will place us in a good position to earn a medal. That’s what we came here to do.” - Tatham on the message to the team entering the knockout phase.

NEXT UP

- With a 1-2 record, Canada finished third in Group A, setting them up for a Round of 16 meeting with the second-place team in Group B. Slovenia locked up second in Group B with a 74-71 win over Madagascar on Tuesday. 

- Slovenia and Canada are set for their first-ever meeting at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup. Slovenia is taking part in only their second edition of the tournament in the country’s history, having last competed in 2003 when they finished seventh.

- Tip-off between Slovenia and Canada is scheduled for 6:30 am ET / 3:30 am PT and fans can stream the game live on the FIBA YouTube Channel.