Brazil bring down Canada to set up group deciders

JAKARTA (Indonesia) - Brazil pulled off a stunning result at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 as they defeated Canada 69-65, in a thrilling contest at the Indonesia Arena.

Yago Santos delivered the telling blows in the fourth quarter to help Brazil prevail in their Second Round matchup and set up an exciting finale for Group L on Sunday.

This win ensured Brazil's mastery over Canada in the FIBA Basketball World Cup having extended their winning streak over them to six, though the last came in 1978.

The turning point​: Canada were comfortably ahead, 55-45, in the dying second of the third quarter before a buzzer-beating triple by Lucas Dias trimmed the deficit to just seven points. That lit a second wind in Brazil, who eventually took the lead with 2 minutes left thanks to a Caboclo split from the free throw line, 60-59. That was the moment Yago Santos took over as he hit two drives one after the other to give the underdogs a 64-60 lead they would not relinquish.

TCL Player of the Game​: Santos hit the biggest shots, but those would not have mattered had Bruno Caboclo not kept Brazil in the game. Caboclo put up a monster double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. He also added 3 blocks and 2 steals while shooting 7-of-13 from the floor.

Canada, meanwhile, were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's game-high 23 points with Lu Dort adding 17 points upon his return to the lineup.

Stats don't lie​: Canada looked well in control of this game, but Brazil had other plans. Gustavo Conti's squad outscored the Canadians, 27-13, in the final 10 minutes or so of the contest, counting Dias' buzzer-beater in the third period. Brazil also ruled the battle of the boards, 43-37, and did a much better job of sharing the ball with 17 assists to Canada's 10.

Bottom Line​: Brazil's win resulted in all four Group L teams sporting identical 3-1 records. This means that each game on Sunday will be a veritable pair of knockout affairs. Brazil can advance to the Quarter-Finals with a win over giant-slaying Latvia.

Meanwhile, Canada will have their hands full trying to survive defending champions Spain as their unbeaten start came to an end in dramatic fashion. 

They said:  "It was a tough one. They came out ready to play. We let that one slip. We had it, but we have to give credit to them. Now we need a short memory and look ahead to the next game." - Luguentz Dort, Canada

"Give a lot of credit to Brazil for the win. They played really hard. Defensively, I thought we were fine. We had a chance, but offensively we were not willing to do anything for each other like space the floor, move the ball, move bodies. When you play like that, it's really hard to win. Today was an example -- 10 assists to 9 turnovers, shot 33 from the field and 27 from three. We did not deserve to win. This is adversity for us. We haven't faced anything like this, but I believe in our guys. We will prepare for Spain, and we will be ready for the next one." - Jordi Fernandez, Canada head coach

"I think we had a very good game. We followed the instructions of our coach. We saw their vision and obeyed the instructions. The game wouldn't be a high volume game, and we had to do that to come out and win this game." - Bruno Caboclo, Brazil forward

"It was a good game as far as our strategy. Once we did the scouting report, we decided to slow down the pace of the game. It's a little unorthodox for us to do that, but it was a great job by the players executing it. It's all on them for this win." - Gustavo Conti, Brazil coach

FIBA