SGA leads Canada to pre-Olympic victory over Wembanyama, France

ORLEANS, France — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points as Canada defeated host France 85-73 Friday in an Olympic men's basketball exhibition game at Co'Met Arena.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored his points on just 13 shots and added five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

RJ Barrett added 21 points and four rebounds for Canada, while Dillon Brooks played physical defence on Victor Wembanyama, holding the young star to 10 hard-fought points.

Guerschon Yabusele led France with 19 points.

Canada led 48-44 at the half behind 13 points from Gilgeous-Alexander.

"We are for sure better than we were last summer, we can all feel it, Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We're excited to see where we can take it in the next couple of weeks."

After expanding its lead to six points after three quarters, Canada outscored France 21-15 in the final frame.

"They're good, they're big," Gilgeous-Alexander said of France. "They have size. They make you work defensively and offensively. They're not a team anybody want to (have to) play.

"It's why we came over here, to get a couple of good games in before the Olympics against high-level teams."

Both teams shot 45 per cent from the floor and had near identical performances from deep with Canada shooting 9-for-26 from beyond the arc and France finishing 8-for-25 from three.

Canada’s offensive attack had France in early foul trouble and the Canadians made their free throws, shooting 86 per cent (26-of-30) at the line. In comparison, France made 15-of-20 free throw attempts (75 per cent).

Canadian guard Jamal Murray was held out of the game for rest. Canada Basketball said on social media that the move was precautionary.

Canada is now 1-1 in pre-Olympic play after losing 86-72 to the United States last week in Las Vegas.

The Canadians play their final pre-tournament game Sunday against Puerto Rico in Orleans.

The Olympic men's basketball tournament starts July 27. Canada is in Group A with Australia, Greece and Spain.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2024.