Shai Gilgeous-Alexander caught fire in the endgame as Canada dethroned Spain, 88-85, to clinch a quarterfinals seat in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Sunday night at the Jakarta Arena in Indonesia.
With the score tied at 80-all after a triple by teammate Dillon Brooks, Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a go-ahead basket and two free throws to give Canada an 84-80 lead with under a minute left.
Spain managed to cut it to 82-84 with a layup from Juan Nunez, but two free throws by Gilgeous-Alexander widened Canada’s lead to 86-82, but Spain made its last push with a triple from Santi Aldama to cut it to 85-86 with five seconds left.
Gilgeous-Alexander calmly drained two free throws to make it an 88-85 advantage for Canada before Spain’s Alex Abrines missed on a three-pointer from long range at the buzzer.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard finished with 30 points and seven assists, while Brooks added 22 markers, including three outside shots, as Canada heads to the quarterfinals against Germany.
Willy Hernangomez top-scored with 25 points for the reigning champions, Spain, while Aldama and Abrines contributed 20 and 11 markers, respectively.
The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shines as Canada dethrones Spain in FIBA World Cup first appeared on FASTBREAK.com.ph.
0 comments: