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Canadians beat Americans in overtime to win FIBA World Cup bronze

Team Canada has done it, they have won their first-ever medal at the FIBA World Cup by defeating the United States this morning in overtime.

Led by a number of players who stepped up to the plate, Dillon Brooks was unstoppable and helped the Canadians beat their rivals from the south.

<who> Photo Credit: Canada Basketball Facebook

The Canadians started the game with a bang as they took an early 8-0 lead and held on to that momentum in the first quarter, finishing with a 34-25 lead.

But the American fought back in the second quarter and going into halftime the Canadians were only up by two.

Dillon Brooks was a machine on the court for Canada and nailing shots left and right. A couple minutes into the third quarter he hit a three to give Canada a seven-point lead.

Going into the final frame, Canada was up 92-81, but their lead slowly faded away and near the end of the quarter it was anybody's game.

As the clock wound down Brooks nailed a three pointer to put Canada up by a one point.

With four seconds left in the game and the US down by three points, Mikal Bridges purposefully missed a free throw, got the rebound in the corner and tied the game with a three.

Everyone watching the game was awestruck as Bridges had tied the game with 0.2 seconds left.

Brooks then inbounded the ball to Kelly Olynyk, who threw up the shot as fast as possible from the middle of the court and it bounced off the back of the rim.

The game was now headed to overtime as both teams were tied 111-111.

With a two-point lead in overtime, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander then tripped up a pair of defenders at the top of the key and buried the three to give Canada a 116-111 lead.

In the final minute of OT, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the net, pulling all the defenders to himself and leaving RJ Barrett to hit the dagger three and give Canada a nine-point lead.

Team Canada held on to win their first-ever medal at the FIBA World Cup with the help of Dillon Brooks' 39-point performance, breaking a 70-year record for most points in a game by a Canadian.

Not far behind him was tournament all-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 31 point and 12 assists.

This talented roster is officially the best Canadian basketball team ever assembled and Brooks was named the tournament’s best defensive player and Gilgeous-Alexander earned a spot as a tournament all-star.

Next up for this young squad will be the 2024 Paris Olympics.



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