Canada blows out Latvia to win group at basketball World Cup for first time

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Canada got a needed wakeup call from head coach Jordi Fernandez and shook off a terrible start against Latvia to win its group at the FIBA World Cup with a 101-75 drubbing of Latvia on Tuesday in Jakarta.

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Canada couldn’t hit a shot to start the game and Fernandez was frustrated and let his squad know. The response, in front of a hostile crowd, was impressive.

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Latvia led the entire first half until the final seconds, but a 15-4 Canada run gave them a 43-42 lead heading into the break and they rolled from there, with superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outscoring Latvia by himself 16-15 in the third as Canada took full control of the game.

This is the first time Canada has won its group at a men’s World Cup. “I did not know that. Good news,” Gilgeous-Alexander said afterwards. It’s also the first time Canada has even advanced at this competition since 1998.

Latvia also advanced, on the strength of its upset win over France earlier, and the teams will meet World No. 1 Spain (who Canada already beat in Spain in exhibition play this month) and likely Brazil (barring an Ivory Coast upset over Brazil on Wednesday). The first of the next two games for Canada goes Friday.

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Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists. RJ Barrett added 22, captain Kelly Olynyk 15 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker 14 as Canada outscored Latvia 58-33 in the second half.

Canada got 19 points from turnovers and outscored Latvia 11-4 on the break, which wasn’t a surprise to its star.

“That’s where our identity is. Play defence, get out and run. Get out in transition. We have a lot of athletes, that’s our identity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Canada started 2-for-13 from three so Latvia tended to back off the shooters and let them try their luck, keeping the lane closed.

Latvia led by as many as 12 points, but the game flipped when two offensive rebounds gave Canada a third try at a three-pointer, which Gilgeous-Alexander calmly sank. The guard turned Latvia over at the other end and got Canada motoring the other way, resulting in a dish for a Barrett jam. When Canada reeled off 10 points in 1:30 to star the second half Latvia was on the ropes. In front of a loud, raucous crowd heavy with supporters, the Latvians tried to rally but could not. With Dillon Brooks in foul trouble and the team’s other top defender Lu Dort out due to an injury, Fernandez had to rely on his reserves and they came through. Veteran Phil Scrubb, the Carleton legend, played great minutes for the team. By the time he splashed his second three-pointer of the game, Olynyk was roaring, seemingly letting out years of pent up frustration. Olynyk made his debut at the World Cup way back in 2010 when he was 19.

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He’s never been on a Canadian team like this one. Canada was coming off blowout wins over highly ranked France and the group’s weakest side, Lebanon. Canada takes a +110 point differential into the next round, with all the results carrying over, and is the third team to ever win its opening three matches by at least 25 points.

Still, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t sound satisfied. “We’re going to need two days to get better for the next one,” he said. Not surprising, since Fernandez said his players took charge after his initial message and were deep in discussions amongst themselves at halftime about how to play better.

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Even though Canada was the “hosted team” chosen to play in this part of the world from a list, there was far heavier Latvian support. Latvia is making its World Cup debut and its fans are travelling in droves. Chants could be heard throughout the game and it seemed to surprise the Canadians early.

If they keep rolling like this though, with Gilgeous-Alexander and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic arguably the best players at this tournament so far, the crowd could be on their side moving forward.

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