Canada stamped itself on the international stage with its first-ever medal at the FIBA Men鈥檚 Basketball World Cup on Sunday. And emotions were high.
Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 39 points and Canada survived a fourth-quarter comeback by the U.S. to win 127-118 in overtime and claim bronze in Manila, Philippines.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 phenomenal,鈥� Canadian team general manager Rowan Barrett told The Canadian Press. 鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of emotions as you can imagine. It鈥檚 much more difficult when you鈥檙e not playing, I鈥檒l tell you that much.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 a great moment for our country. It is tremendously difficult to come to these events and win.鈥�
The medal was also Canada鈥檚 first on either the World Cup or Olympic stage since 1936 when Canada earned silver at the Berlin Games.
The second-ranked Americans went on a 12-0 run to take the lead with 6:23 remaining. They sent it to overtime with 0.6 seconds left.
But the 15th-ranked Canadians outscored the U.S. 16-7 鈥� allowing just one field goal 鈥� in the extra session to pull away.
鈥淎s a former player and now as an executive, I鈥檓 really, really proud because I saw Canadian grit with this team,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淏ody blows was our mantra and I think you could see that today, especially coming out of that fourth quarter with the way the U.S. came back.
鈥淔or our guys to regroup, come back and take that game in the moment, it鈥檚 everything that we鈥檝e been preaching and it鈥檚 everything that we鈥檝e been doing, pretty much all tournament long. It鈥檚 a great moment, this is a 鈥榃here were you when it happened?鈥� type moment.鈥�
Brooks set a Canadian single-game scoring record for most points in a World Cup, topping Carl Ridd鈥檚 mark of 37 in 1954.
He went 7-of-8 from three-point range and 12-of-18 overall from the field. Brooks, who plays for the NBA鈥檚 Houston Rockets, was also named defensive player of the tournament.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points, six rebounds and a game-high 12 assists for Canada, with RJ Barrett 鈥� Rowan鈥檚 son 鈥� adding another 23 points and seven rebounds.
Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the tournament all-star team.
Canada booked its ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics by advancing to the quarterfinals last Sunday, ending an Olympic drought dating back to 2000 when Rowan Barrett played in Sydney, Australia.
He said the World Cup result adds some 鈥渂uoyancy,鈥� 鈥渆xcitement鈥� and 鈥渆xpectation鈥� in looking ahead to the Olympics in 2024.
Steve Nash 鈥� a Basketball Hall of Famer and member of Canada鈥檚 Olympic team in 2000 鈥� shared a post of Canada winning the medal with three joyful teary-eyed emojis on his Instagram account.
Brooks鈥檚 high school coach Paul Melnik from Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School in Toronto expressed his pride for the player and the Canadian team via X, formerly known as Twitter.
鈥淭o say I am proud of @dillonbrooks24 and his teammates is a massive understatement 鈥� what a great group 鈥� historical 鈥︹�� Melnick wrote.
Dwayne Washington, who coached Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett in their time with the UPLAY Canada AAU team as youngsters, wasn鈥檛 surprised by their performance Sunday, but said the accomplishment was great for the country and youth basketball.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited for them,鈥� Washington said. 鈥淏ut you understand that this was put in place when both of those guys got called up (to the senior team) in 2016.
鈥淓verybody was complaining 鈥� saying politics, this and that 鈥� But obviously there was a plan in place by, I guess Rowan Barrett, who had the mindset of looking towards the future. And so we got a lot of heat because they were in our club and they were the best players.
鈥淵ou fast forward and everyone has selective amnesia. The Canada Basketball guys, they saw the talent and regardless of politics, they set the ball in motion.鈥�
Lu Dort, another Oklahoma City guard, scored 11 points Sunday and was a defensive stalwart throughout the tournament.
Nelson Osse coached Dort with the Brookwood Elite and Parc Ex Knights programs in Montreal, and was thrilled for the player.
鈥淟u never seems to stop amazing me and always doing the impossible,鈥� he said. 鈥淭alk about a kid, first day he walked in my gym (at 12 years old), barely knew how to make a layup.
鈥淔ast forward a few years, he goes undrafted, fought back, tried to earn a spot, became a major piece on his (NBA) team, signs a new contract. So everything was not given, everything was not easy.
鈥淛ust seeing him on the big stage at the World Cup, being a big piece on this Canadian team that just made history. It鈥檚 just another dream come true for him and his family. Just so happy and proud of him.鈥�
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