World Cup Notes: Canada vs. Spain, Australia, Finland, Egypt

Spain Juancho Hernangomez and Willy Hernangomez are the players that Canada Dillon Brooks what worries him most as the teams prepare for Sunday’s matchup, he writes Antonis Stroggylakis from Eurohoops. It’s a high-stakes meeting that will determine who advances to the quarterfinals and who gets eliminated, and while both nations have rosters loaded with NBA players, Brooks believes the Hernangomez brothers have plenty of ways to control the game.

“They create a lot of mismatches between their team and the other teams.” Brooks said. “We have to match their physique and play harder than them.”

Neither team expected to be on the verge of elimination so soon, but things changed on Friday when Spain lost to Latvia and Canada lost to Brazil, setting up Sunday’s do-or-die contest. brooks Teammate, RJ Barrettis concerned about the advantage that Spain has through greater exposure to international competition.

“The most important thing is your experience” Barrett said. “Many of them are EuroLeague champions. They have guys who have played FIBA ​​basketball basically their entire lives. That’s what we’re up against.”

There is more about the World Cup:

• Australia need to assess their national team after being knocked out early, says Olgún Uluc from ESPN. The Australians’ efforts to mix older and younger talent have been unsuccessful, adds Uluc, and his solution is to build the team around Josh Giddywith Patty Mills, jose verde and jock landale keeping the only other guaranteed spots for the 2024 Olympics. “I think we’re in the process of changing and playing style, both offensively and defensively, and we’re all disappointed, but I’m excited about where this can go.” said coach Brian Goorjian after his team was knocked out by Slovenia. “We definitely have a clearer picture after playing this tournament.” Goorjian’s contract expires after the World Cup, but he is expected to coach the Boomers at the Olympics, according to Uluc.
• Finland looks headed for a pre-Olympic qualifier after defeating Venezuela on Saturday, according to eurohoops. Lauri Markkanen he scored 32 points as Finland got their second win of the tournament.
• A two-point loss to New Zealand on Saturday prevented Egypt from earning an automatic Olympic bid, according to NetsDaily. The team, which has an invitation to training camp in Brooklyn. Patrick Gardnerhe will have to earn a spot in next summer’s qualifying tournament.