Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a historic night with arguably one of the best individual statistical performances in the history of the FIBA Basketball World Cup as he led Canada to a resounding 95-65 victory over France in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The All-NBA First Team guard scored 27 points and secured 13 rebounds, in addition to contributing six assists and two steals, propelling Canada to their first win in the group stage of the FIBA World Cup 2023.
However, SGA downplayed his performance and emphasized his focus on winning games rather than personal accolades.
“It’s cool and fun, obviously, to perform well, but I’m just happy we won.
“We came to win games, and whatever individual achievements come along, you accept them. But even if I had scored zero points and had no statistical record, as long as we won, I’d feel just as content,” he remarked when asked about his impressive statline.
(C) FIBA.basketball
Following a closely contested first half, Canada seized control in the third quarter, outscoring Les Bleus 25-8, with SGA contributing 13 points during the quarter.
The momentum carried throughout the rest of the game as Canada convincingly defeated the reigning FIBA World Cup bronze medalists.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard wasn’t surprised by their dominant performance, as he firmly believes in his team’s ability to defeat any opponent in the tournament.
“We played really good basketball today. We did the right things on both ends of the court for the most part of the game,” conveyed SGA to the members of the media.
“And we know that when we do that and play to our identity and the things that we’ve been preaching for the last month, that we can beat and play with anyone in the world. We just gotta continue to get better and then sky is the limit.”
Next on their schedule, they will face Lebanon on August 27, a team that suffered a 29-point defeat earlier in the day, before concluding their group stage matches against Latvia on August 29.
