Canada faces test in Spain before going off to Olympic men's basketball quarterfinals

LILLE, France — It's just another game for Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez.

The Spaniard will lead Canada against his home country on Friday in the final group stage game in Olympic men's basketball action at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Canada sits atop Group A at 2-0, and with some help, qualified for the quarterfinals hours after its 93-83 win over Australia on Tuesday.

"It's just another game for me," Fernandez said on Tuesday. "Obviously I bleed Canadian and all for Canada. Those are the interests of my people right now.

"Obviously I have a lot of respect for Spain. … But at the end of the day, they're a rival. We're playing here at the Olympics to make all the Canadians proud of the way we play and right now, the only thing we see is a rival."

Fernandez led Canada to a win over No. 2-ranked Spain at last year's FIBA World Cup, which qualified Canada for the Paris Olympics and a spot in the quarterfinals of that tournament.

The seventh-ranked Canadians went on to win their first-ever World Cup medal, a bronze, within just a few months of Fernandez taking over the helm.

Forward RJ Barrett isn't lost on how Spain may approach the contest for that reason.

"We beat them in qualifying last year so we know that they're gonna give us their best shot and we gotta be ready for that," he said.

After a tight win over Greece (0-2) on Saturday, the Canadians followed it up with a stronger showing against No. 5 Australia (1-1).

Against Greece, Canada had better starts to quarters but a hard time stopping the 14th-ranked Greeks from chipping away at its lead time and time again. Against Australia, Canada started out slower, having a tough first half defending the paint before pulling ahead in the second half.

While Canada has made it into the quarterfinals, Spain (1-1) is still looking to qualify to play in Paris. The contest, however, serves as a chance for Canada to improve before the stakes get higher.

"Defence aside, starting the game is where we need to improve, and then rebounding," forward Dillon Brooks said. "We're a small group, as they say, and teams find a way to get rebounds. All five of us gotta get in there and get rebounds so we could push and be fast on the offensive end.

"But what we do together, and what we do strong is we share the basketball, we play together, we trust each other, make plays and we love playing with each other."

Spain presents challenges with its shooting, passing and size inside, especially thanks to Santi Aldama. The six-foot-11 centre is averaging 23.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

While Canada has been outdone with scoring in the paint, it boasts some of the strongest perimeter talent in the tournament. Superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has drawn a lot of eyes which has allowed guys like Barrett to shine.

Barrett currently sits third in the Olympics in scoring at 23.5 points per game.

"I'm out there with Shai, he's one of the best players in the world," Barrett said. "Just playing with him, the whole team is open because he draws so much attention. We're just really out there trying to help him.

"Obviously Jamal (Murray's) coming in as well, Jamal was huge, especially down the stretch just getting us open shots. There's so much focus on him. … We're a team, so it's fun to be a part of."

"That guy, sometimes I don't call plays for him and he just scores," Fernandez added of Barrett. "That's what he does. Probably I should do better in calling plays for him, but he finds a way."

However, what's separated Canada in its group — the strongest in the tournament — has been its on-ball pressure defensively. While Canada would like to put it together over the course of 40 minutes, it's a strength other teams have had a hard time with.

"The physicality defensively was a level we haven't played against so far on all these teams that we've played to date," Australia head coach Brian Goorjian said on Tuesday.

"Ninety-four feet pickup with multiple guys coming in to put heat and pressure on the ball. I thought that was the difference in the game tonight."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.