Canada will not have a men’s basketball team in the Tokyo Olympics. This stunning revelation comes on the heels of Team Canada’s 103-101 overtime loss to the Czech Republic on Saturday. While the loss certainly stings, the fact the game even went to overtime in the first place is a feat in and of itself.
With questionable officiating throughout, Canada found itself in a hole down the stretch against a much bigger, stronger Czech opponent. With Dwight Powell fouled out of the game, the Czechs looked to play bully ball against the undersized Canadian squad. However a frantic rally with under a minute left saw the Canadians miraculously draw even to send the game to overtime.
There it looked like Canada might ride the momentum straight through to the finals, scoring the first 5pts of the extra frame. Unfortunately, costly turnovers saw the lead evaporate as the Czechs went on a 7-0 run of their own. With the game tied with 15 seconds remaining, the Czechs played iso-ball for Tomas Satoransky who hit a fade away prayer off the glass with Lu Dort draped all over him to give the visitors a 2pt lead with 1.8seconds remaining.
After a Canadian timeout advanced the ball, Nick Nurse and company drew up a picture perfect inbounds pass which saw a series of screens leave Trey Lyles wide open for jumper. The shot looked good initially but ultimately rattled in and out dashing any hopes of a 2nd overtime.
6’6” Czech forward Blake Schilb had a night to remember, pouring in a game high 31pts including 7 of 12 from beyond the arc in the victory. RJ Barrett paced the Canadians with 23pts /5reb/6ast on the night.
The loss means that the men will not be joining their female counterparts in Tokyo later this summer. As the host nation, and with the addition of multiple NBA level players, expectations were high for the Canadian side this year. Unfortunately, the condensed NBA season led to burnout and injuries for several of Canada’s brightest stars, with players like Jamal Murray, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander opting to sit out the Olympic qualifiers.
The last time the Canadian Men’s Olympic Basketball Team medaled at an Olympic games was in 1936 when they took home silver in Berlin. The Czechs will face the winner of Turkey/Greece for a spot in the Tokyo games.