Tony Parker’s clutch play in the final minutes of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila ended the chances of Canada and Tyler Ennis to play in the Rio Olympics.
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Canada should never have been in this position after steamrolling the field at the FIBA Americas in Mexico City last September.
France and Canada face off for the crown and a ticket to the Rio Games at 9 p.m. Sunday.
Canadian centre Tristan Thompson registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as Canada out-steadied the Tall Blacks, who lost starting centre Isaac Fotu to a calf injury early in the game. He had two assists and three turnovers in a little more than 28 minutes.
Tony Parker (26 points, four assists, four rebounds) and Nando de Colo (22 points, five rebounds, three assists) were superb for France, while the team’s stable of National Basketball Association players-Boris Diaw (nine points, four assists), Nicolas Batum (seven points, four rebounds) and Joffrey Lauvergne (four points, three rebounds)-proved too much for Canada to handle.
The U.S., which won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics, is in Group A with Australia, China, Venezuela and two of the three Olympic qualifying tournament winners.
Canada trailed by five points going into the fourth quarter of a fierce back-and-forth battle.
Triano coached Canada’s 2000 Olympic team, on which Steve Nash – now the Canadian team general manager – was the star. “I thought we acquitted ourselves well even if we didn’t reach our goal of the Olympics this cycle”.
The two-time NBA MVP said the depth and talent of Canada’s pool of young players is a huge plus for the future. The next time this group gets together, they’ll be a much different, older group. Cory Joseph, the team’s unquestioned leader, looked unstoppable with 12 first half points.
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Canada clashes against New Zealand in a must-win Semifinals of FIBA Olympic qualifier at the MOA Arena in Manila Saturday night. The Serbians raced to a 24-3 lead and were ahead 37-11 after one quarter, extended it to 60-27 at halftime, and shot 58.7 percent for the game.
