Both teams finish 1-1 in Round 2 to finish second in their group and reach the elimination round at the Basketball World Championship.
After leading their respective groups in Round 1 of the FIBA World Cup currently underway in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan, both Canada and the United States are moving on to the quarterfinals of the world’s premier basketball tournament.
Both teams finished 1-1 in Round 2 of the tournament, as the United States opened with a win against Montenegro followed by their first loss of the tournament to Lithuania which came as a shocker to many fans. The loss placed the U.S. team in second in Group J behind the undefeated Lithuania.
Canada began Round 2 with a four-point loss to continental rival Brazil before eliminating the defending champions from Spain in a thrilling three-point victory on Sunday to finish first in Group L with a greater point differential than Latvia.
The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Brazil had all reached Round 2 but were unable to escape their new groups to advance to the quarterfinals. Puerto Rico defeated the Dominican Republic in the first game before falling to Italy to finish third in Group I.
The Dominican Republic was then blown out by the powerhouse team from Serbia despite being led by NBA All-Star Karl Anthony-Towns to finish fourth in Group I with a worse point differential than Puerto Rico. Brazil shocked Canada in their first game of Round 2 but was unable to reach the quarterfinals after suffering a 20-point defeat to Latvia to finish fourth in Group L.
Now Team USA moves on to face Italy in the quarterfinals with the game tipping off at 8:40am ET on Tuesday, September 5. Canada will play on Wednesday, September 6 at 8:30am ET against the powerhouse team from Slovenia led by NBA superstar Luka Doncic. Both teams are hoping to keep their medal hopes alive in tough matchups against some of the best teams in the tournament.
Joining Canada, the U.S., Slovenia and Italy in the quarterfinals are Lithuania, Serbia, Germany and Latvia. Germany and Lithuania are the only two undefeated teams remaining and will hope to keep their winning streak alive against Latvia and Serbia, respectively.
The eight remaining teams will ensure that this year’s championships will feature an entirely new podium than the 2019 World Cup where Spain won gold followed by Argentina and France.
The U.S. hopes to reclaim the spot of the top of the basketball world for the sixth time in history and the first time since 2014 when its team defeated Serbia in the World Cup final. On the other hand, Canada is striving to reach the podium at the FIBA World Cup for the first time in its history and has a strong chance to do so with several talented NBA players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, R.J. Barrett and Luguentz Dort.
