They had to give it their all. Squeezed until there was almost no juice left. The same thing had happened to Germany two days earlier in the semi-finals. The United States is the United States, it’s not just a truism, and they have pushed another contender at this World Cup, the Canadian team, to the limits of their strength. But the Battle of America, which had been expected by many to be a final game, ended in the consolation box, a fight for bronze that ended in favor of the Northerners. With an extension achieved through the discovery of the Jar of Madness, yes, but in which Canada demonstrated its current and future capabilities to win. He overcame a heavy emotional blow from Mikal Bridges to win 118-127 at the Mall of Asia in Manila. In doing so, they are elevating a country that no longer cared as much about men’s national team basketball as it will feel from now on.
The Reds maintained the success they started with in the first half, scoring 9/18 in three-pointers with five misses from Dillon Brooks to keep the pressure on the United States’ wound. And not so that the blood stops flowing, on the contrary. Edwards shined once again and saw himself as the offensive leader of this Kerr team, but failed in the most difficult moments. With his triple, Bridges was the one who brought Team USA back to life when it seemed to be dying. So it came to overtime, with four points from Mikal in the last game, but there was no more left in the tank. Shai provided a decisive end to the game and took the baton, and Brooks continued without mistakes until he scored 39 points in the best performance of his life. Without any accessories, just in the game, you can see the player he believes he is and who he only partially showed in the NBA.
This is the second consecutive time that USA Basketball has gone without a medal at a World Cup. In 2019, Gregg Popovich’s team didn’t even reach the semi-finals; they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against France. Now, in 2023, doubts about the unit, whose visible leader is now Grant Hill, are returning with Steve Kerr. For Canada, on the other hand, this is all new: first medal at a World Championships and success for Spanish head coach Jordi Fernández, both in terms of his options in the NBA and in view of an even more devastating blow at the Paris Games (the two teams are the American qualifiers for this event).
Germany and Serbia will play for gold from 2:40 p.m. After its victory, Canada already received bronze on the track in Manila.
