HEADLINE‍

- After falling to Spain in their tournament opening game, Canada responded with a crucial 88-79 win over China at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023 on Sunday in Debrecen, Hungary.

HOW IT HAPPENED

- After leading by three points at the end of the game’s opening ten minutes, Canada took control of the game in the second quarter, holding China to just two points in the final 7:54 of the frame. During the stretch, Canada’s three-point lead grew to 13 on the backs of a 12-2 run to close the half.

- After China shrunk the deficit to as few as four in the late stages of the third-quarter, Xaivian Lee stepped up for Canada. Lee went on a personal 6-0 run, including a four-point play to re-establish the Canadians double-digit lead.

- Despite the two teams combining for 73 points in the fourth quarter, Canada did enough to fend off China and the sharp shooting Wei Lun Zhao — who was a remarkable 9-10 from the field, including 4-5 from beyond-the-arc for a team-leading 25 points.

- Lee put the game away in the late stages of the final quarter, connecting from long range for his third triple of the game to grow his team’s lead 13 with just 3:02 remaining. The bucket gave Canada all the insurance they needed to pick up their first win of the tournament.

CANADA HIGHLIGHTS

- Michael Nwoko was a force once again in the win for Canada, as he registered 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks

- Nwoko’s 17.0 points per game ranks tied for 15th through two games at the World Cup.

- After not attempting a field goal in Saturday’s game against Spain, Lee played a big role in the win over China. The Princeton Tigers guard scored a team-leading 17 points on 5-9 shooting, to go along with four rebounds.

- Nwoko and Lee were two of five Canadians to record double-digit points. They were joined by Jaion Pitt, who led Canada with 13 rebounds, Elijah Fisher and Bubu Benjamin.

- Benjamin had one of the highlights of the night for Canada, slamming home a thunderous one-hand jam in the first half.

QUOTABLE

“We knew we had to be resilient. We knew we had to throw [the loss to Spain] away and figure out how to get a win and split, then put everything on the line vs. France — today’s response was everything and the guys responded perfectly. The mission was to compete with purpose on a bounce back night and the guys did it to a T.” - Tatham on Team Canada’s response less than 24 hours after falling to Spain. 

“It felt good seeing my teammates win. It felt good seeing them contribute and doing what they do best — whether it be scoring points or just helping our team get a win.” - Nwoko on contributions from up and down the lineup.

“His presence alone on the court is everything. He brings energy, strength and the ability to finish at the rim — he’s doing an amazing job, and I think his teammates are doing an amazing job finding him.” - Tatham on Nwoko’s strong play through two games.

“China was rough, and tough, and the guys played until the very end. But the guys responded to every punch China threw and ultimately, it made us better tonight and we look forward to the next one on Tuesday.” - Tatham on takeaways from Sunday’s win.

“The team’s mindset is to keep our foot on the pedal. We need to keep getting wins and keep playing good team basketball. That’s the main goal in order for us to get second-place in our group.” - Nwoko on Tuesday’s game against France.

“We look forward to this rest day tomorrow, then it’s back to work again against a strong, tall, and physical France team.” - Tatham on the next 48 hours ahead of the final game of group stage.

HISTORY FILE

- After his 18-point performance, Nwoko joined Abu Kigali as the only Canadians to score 16+ points in each of the first two games of the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup since 2015. 

- The victory was the first of Tatham’s first career win at a FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup.

NEXT UP

- As Tatham and Nwoko both alluded to, next up for Canada is Tuesday’s meeting with France.

- With both teams entering the matchup with a 1-1 record, second-place in Group A is on the line. After a win on Saturday over China, France fell 88-69 on Sunday.

- Canada has won two of three meetings against France at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup since 2009. France’s only victory in that timeframe came in a 2019 quarter-final, when they defeated Canada 85-80, before eventually winning bronze. 

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

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