Team Canada star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is feeling confident to say the least about his team after going 3-0 in the group play phase, entering in the knockout stage. In his initial reactions after Canada beat Spain Friday, 88-85, the Oklahoma City Thunder fan would have an undefeated stance on his squad according to Lindsay Dunn.
“We are here to win gold. Go 6-0,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after Friday's win that made Canada perfect in the group stage.
This is obviously a comment fans of the country can be excited about and others in the world that are waiting to see them try to beat a stacked group in Team USA possibly in the future of the event. One could say that USA is looking for revenge against Canada as they would be the ones to beat them in the bronze medal game back in the FIBA World Cup in 2023.
That loss some point to as the turning point that led to LeBron James to recruit others in making a fearsome team to win their country more gold in Paris. However, Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada firmly believe they have a shot at the gold as well.
In the win over Spain, Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 20 points as he made five of his 10 shots from the field, but made the most of his free throw opportunties making nine of his 13 attempts from the charity stripe. He would also add three rebounds, two assists, and one steal to finish off a solid game for the Thunder star.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander talks Canada's win to go 3-0 in group stage
While there is no doubt that Gilgeous-Alexander is the main star on the team, they do have a deep roster consisting of other players as Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Andrew Nembhard, Lu Dort, and others. Nembhard and Barrett were the other leading scorers on Canada besides Gilgeous-Alexander as they had 18 and 16 points respectively on much more efficient shooting games.
“They obviously didn't want to go away. They're playing for their lives. We knew that going into the game. So it's a really good team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said about Spain according to CBC.ca. “They gave us everything they had. It was a good game.”
It wasn't a perfect game however for Canada as they had a double-digit lead at one point that got shrunken towards the end of the game. Still, the team would close it out as Gilgeous-Alexander said they will take the win.
“You always want to win, so we'll take it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We played a lot of really good teams. We beat them all. Some things we can clean up for sure, but we'll take it.”
While Team USA on paper is more talented, Canada believes they could put up a fight if they match up with one another. It could be soon as they will draw the teams that will face each other in the quarterfinals Saturday.
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