Canada will make its first-ever appearance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup semifinals after eliminating Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the quarterfinals, 100-89, on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Both squads lost crucial figures in the fourth quarter as Dillon Brooks and Doncic were disqualified on separate occasions.
Brooks, who had already received an unsportsmanlike foul in the first quarter, was the first to go after being assessed with a technical foul at the 7:06 mark of the fourth quarter, with Canada leading 92-76, while Doncic picked up his second technical just moments later.
Despite losing their main man, Slovenia still managed to reduce a 13-point deficit to just nine points, 94-85, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made timely buckets, scoring four consecutive points to help Canada restore its lead with 2:17 left in the game.
“Well, first of all, congratulations to these guys. We just made history. It was the best position that Canada has qualified for, so congratulations to our guys, congratulations to the country, and congratulations to Canada basketball,” said Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez.
Canada will face Serbia in the semis on Friday,
Gilgeous-Alexander went 8-of-12 from the field and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line to finish with a game-high 31 points, along with 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 36 minutes and 16 seconds of action for the Road Warriors.
RJ Barrett delivered 24 points and nine boards, while Dillon Brooks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each contributed 14 points in the victory.
On the other hand, Doncic, who was cheered by the crowd every time he got the ball, ended up with 26 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals in the loss that relegated Slovenia to the classification phase.
Klemen Prepelic added 22 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Zoran Dragic had 10 points and four rebounds.
It was a tight game for the entirety of the first half, but the Canadians slowly pulled away in the third quarter as Gilgeous-Alexander, Barrett, and Brooks joined forces in an 11-2 run that put them ahead 61-52 at the 6:11 mark.
The Slovenians still have a chance to surpass their seventh-place finish in the 2014 FIBA World Cup when they head into the classification round.
Slovenia will take on Lithuania in the classification round on Thursday.
The Scores:
Canada 100 – Gilgeous-Alexander 31, Barrett 24, Alexander-Walker 14, Brooks 14, Dort 8, Olynyk 5, Alexander 2, Powell 0.
Slovenia 88 – Doncic 26, Prepelic K. 22, Dragic 10, Tobey 8, Nikolic 8, Hrovat 7, Blazik 3, Cebasek 3, Dimec 2, Prepelic B. 0.
Quarterscores: 26-24; 50-50; 80-71, 100-89
