HEADLINE‍

- Canada is moving on to the quarter-finals at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023 after a 90-69 victory over Slovenia in Round of 16 action on Wednesday in Debrecen, Hungary.‍

HOW IT HAPPENED‍

- With the two teams knotted up at 23 apiece after the opening quarter, Canada held Slovenia to just two points through the opening 3:46 of the second quarter to take an eight-point lead.

- After Slovenia trimmed the deficit to just one with a Nal Belko lay-in with 3:09 to go in the half, Canada went to work. A Michael Nwoko offensive board and putback kick started a 7-0 run to close the quarter.

- Canada carried the momentum into the second half, ballooning their lead to 19 not long after the midway point of the third quarter following an Elijah Fisher three-pointer.

- Slovenia was never able to work their way back into the game, as Canada cruised to a 21-point win — their biggest of the World Cup thus far.

CANADA HIGHLIGHTS

- Five different Canadians were in double digits, with Fisher leading the way with 18 points, 11 rebounds and for assists. He also connected on both of his attempts from beyond-the-arc, and shot 8-13 from the field. 

- Xaivian Lee had another big game for Canada, registering 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Jordann Dumont 11 points after connecting on three attempts from long-range. Bubu Benjamin chipped in 10 points, while Nwoko also was in double digitis to go along with seven rebounds.

- Canada shot 46.8 per cent from the field and 36 per cent from three — both clips are tournament highs.

- Fisher, just as he did earlier in the tournament against China, stole the show with a pair of dunks in the team’s win.

QUOTABLE

“This was a very good team win. We had good energy on the defensive side and played with great pace on the offensive side. Low turnovers and high assists are always a wonderful plus. The guys did an amazing job executing the game plan and scout. This is such a great uptick heading into the quarter-finals.” - Team Canada head coach Patrick Tatham on the significance of the Round of 16 win for Team Canada.

“We’re all super excited and super grateful to be in this position. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we locked in on the scout and we executed really well. Winning in that sort of gauntlet fashion gives us some positive reinforcement — we know what we’ve been doing has been working. We’re super exited to see where we can go with this as we enter Friday’s quarter-final.”  -Lee on the vibe around the team following the victory.

“Elijah has been a steady force for the team on and off the court. He’s a man on a mission, as he brings great experience to this team, being the lone player to play in the last FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup. Him having a great afternoon defensively, on the glass and in transition is a massive jolt of intensity that we will count on down the stretch of this tournament.”  -Tatham on Fisher’s strong play vs. Slovenia.

“Tomorrow, we’ll lock in on the scout and go through shoot around and see where we have to tighten up defensively. Offensively, we’re going to focus on what we control — limiting turnovers, crashing the glass, getting out in transition, and sticking to our identity as a team. We’ll focus on that to get us another win and to get us to semis.” -Lee on what lies ahead for Team Canada.

HISTORY FILE

- The win advances Canada to the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup for the sixth-straight tournament.

- The meeting was the first between Canada and Slovenia in FIBA U19 Men's Basketball World Cup history.

NEXT UP

- As mentioned, next up for Canada is a quarter-final clash, where they will face Turkey on Friday night.

- Turkey finished with a 3-0 record atop of Group D, after defeating Argentina, Hungary and South Korea, before recording a convincing win over Egypt in the Round of 16 to set up the meeting with Canada.

- Tip-off time is TBD. Fans can stream the game live on the FIBA YouTube Channel.

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