ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 2, 2024) - Canada’s U17 Men’s National Team fell 61-72 in a tightly contested game against Australia to finish group play 2-1 at the FIBA U17 Men’s Basketball World Cup.
Australia started with the lead early, but Canada cut it to eight points by halftime. Kole Grandison and Miles Sadler led the way, finishing with 11 points apiece to keep Canada in it for much of the second half.
Going into the fourth quarter, Canada was within one point, with help from Paul Osaruyi, who missed the first two games of the tournament.
Jordan Charles and Maxime Meyer helped provide a boost in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough, as Australia was able to pull away and take the win.
Charles finished with ten points and four rebounds, while Meyer scored five points and six boards. Stefan Ilic provided a strong presence on the glass, securing ten boards.
“If we can put together long spurts of our style play, we always give ourselves a chance,” said head coach Chris Cheng.
Canada has the chance to get back in the win column as they move on to the Round of 16 on Wednesday, July 3rd (Opponent & time TBD).
Fans can catch the action live on FIBA's YouTube channel.