JABAR EKSPRES – The Canadian Basketball national team swept all matches in Group H with a victory after defeating Latvia with a score of 101-75 in the 2023 FIBA World Cup event held at the Indonesia Arena Gelora Bung Karno Jakarta, Tuesday (8/29).
At first, Canada did lag behind the world cup debutant team. But Jordi Fernandez Torres’ team was able to turn things around with perfect points.
Playing with the support of more than two thousand of its citizens, Latvia put pressure on Canada from the start. Latvia, which has been dazzling with its three-point shooting since the first game, showed the same action against a strong Canadian team.
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In the first quarter, Latvia had netted five balls from tripoin shots. A total of 15 of Latvia’s 23 points in the first quarter were three-point shots. Latvia led by 10 points in the opening quarter with 13-23.
Latvia may have the advantage of its supporters who almost filled half of the Indonesia Arena. But Canadian players have experience both in world basketball competitions and the NBA that basketball world cup debutants like Latvia do not have.
Kelly Olynyk and his friends with calmness were able to narrow the gap with Latvia, point by point. Until the peak just before the first half buzzer ended, Canadian players who were also NBA players of the New York Knicks club RJ Barret made a layup that changed the advantage to belong to Canada, with a score of 43-42.
Entering the second half, Canada continued its momentum to lead the way. The focus, composure and experience of the NBA players from the Canadian team were unstoppable to score point after point. In contrast, the Latvian players seemed to lose accuracy in shooting and lost the ball more often in the second half.
