HAMBURG, Germany (August 12, 2023) – Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team defeated New Zealand 107-76 in the DBB Super Cup semifinal on Saturday, picking up the team’s first exhibition game win ahead of the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 26 points in just 20 minutes. He made 9-of-12 field goals, including 3-of-4 three-point field goals and added three assists, six steals and a blocked shot.

“He sets the tone for us,” Team Canada Head Coach Jordi Fernández said. “It’s not just on offence, on both ends. His length, his ability to make plays look very easy. He showed how important he is for us and how good he is.”

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Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 13 points, a game-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 21 minutes off the bench, while Kelly Olynyk added 13 points and RJ Barrett and Lu Dort scored 11 points apiece.

 “Obviously a good win top to bottom,” Olynyk said. “A lot of guys got involved. They pressured us, played a bit different than our last game, but we keep building, keep getting better every single day and try to keep pushing toward the [World Cup] tournament.”

New Zealand was led by a 13-point performance from Finn Delany and 12 points from Yanni Wetzell.

Canada shot 57 per cent in the win, while holding New Zealand to 43 per cent shooting. 

After an 11-point first quarter from Gilgeous-Alexander, a late three for New Zealand trimmed Canada’s advantage to just four points, 28-24, after the opening 10 minutes. Canada erupted for a 39-point second quarter to break the game open as the team's defence held New Zealand to just 14 points in the quarter, as Canada took a 67-38 advantage into the half.

“It starts with guys like Dillon [Brooks] and Lu Dort,” Fernández said. “They embrace defence. That sets the tone for everybody else and we can take it to a whole different level. Obviously we have more defenders behind them, but those two guys are amazing. They embrace doing that, they like [playing defence] and playing physical. They set the tone for us.”

Canada shot 70 per cent in the first half, making 24-of-34 attempts, including 4-of-9 attempts from deep and 15-of-17 free throw attempts.

“We played at our pace on both ends of the floor,” Olynyk said. “Got into the ball, got into transition, attacked the rim, got fouled, made some free throws and that opened up the rest of the floor.”

Dwight Powell opened the second-half by finishing the alley-oop off the assist from Olynyk. Next it was Olynyk’s turn to score as he completed a three-point play to extend the lead to 31 points. 

“Everybody’s role here is different than it was on the NBA or last teams, whatever,” Olynyk said. “We’re just trying to build that cohesiveness, that togetherness. We’re trying to get a little bit better each day, knowing how each other plays, how to play with each other and trying to be the best we can.”

Gilgeous-Alexander continued to excel on both ends of the floor, leaping into the air for a block on one end and then casually hitting a step-back three on the other end. Roughly 90 seconds later, Gilgeous-Alexander connected on another three to give Canada its largest lead of the game, 78-43, midway through the third. After a flurry of threes for New Zealand, Canada went into the final quarter with an 85-62 advantage.

“I think we played with the right intensity and the right mindset,” Fernández said. “Obviously a lot of things to clean up. We allowed a lot of threes to start, defensively, and then that third quarter was the only quarter that we lost, but I’m happy overall. I think we ran offensively, we got to our spots. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

Canada’s reserves continued to push New Zealand in the final quarter. A layup for Melvin Ejim and then a three for Alexander-Walker opened the fourth. A pair of buckets for Dort kept Canada in front by 28 with 7:04 remaining.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Kenny Chery and Phil Scrubb extended the lead back to 32 points and then Chery connected on his second three of the game with 45 seconds remaining as the Canadians didn’t let up until the final buzzer sounded.

“Really pleased, especially with that third group at the end,” Fernández said of the reserve lineup. Those guys just kept playing and playing the right way. That was probably the best ball movement, the best shots that we created. Really good.”

Canada will take on the winner of Saturday’s semifinal clash between Germany and China in tomorrow’s DBB Super Cup Final. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT.

Following the game, Canada will travel to Spain for a two-game exhibition series (August 17-18) at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada in Granada for their final World Cup tune-ups. Canada will face the hosts and defending FIBA Men’s World Cup champions, Spain, on August 17, before taking on Americas zone rivals, Dominican Republic, the following day, August 18.