Canada’s hopes of a gold medal have ended as Serbia pulled off a 95-86 win on Friday in the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup in Manila, Philippines.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Serbs with 23 points while RJ Barrett led Canada’s effort with 23 points.
It marked Canada’s first semifinal appearance in World Cup history. Canada will face the loser of the Germany-United States semifinal in the bronze-medal game on Sunday at 4:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW.
All four of the semifinalists already have clinched Olympic berths for 2024 in Paris.
Canada picked up a tournament-high 25 fouls in the semifinal.
Canada struggled early in the game as it dealt with foul trouble, trailing 23-15 by the end of the first quarter.
Serbia’s momentum only intensified when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received his second foul and subsequently headed to the bench. Serbia promptly took advantage of the drop in Canada’s offence, going on a 9-0 run during his absence.
At halftime, Canada was down by 13 as their opponents continued to dominate on both ends of the court, taking a 52-39 lead into the break.
Fouls continued to be a problem in the third quarter for Canada. Dillon Brooks and Kelly Olynyk each picked up their fourth fouls before the halfway mark of the quarter.
Canada trailed 75-63 after three quarters.
More to come.
