Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 26 points and six steals to lead Canada past New Zealand 107-76 on Saturday (Aug. 12) and advance into the DBB SuperCup Final.
The Hamilton native and all-NBA first team guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder added three assists and a block in just 20 minutes of action.
B次元官网网址淗e sets the tone for us,B次元官网网址 Canada head coach Jordi Fern谩ndez said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not just on offence, on both ends.
B次元官网网址淗is length, his ability to make plays look very easy. He showed how important he is for us and how good he is.B次元官网网址
Kelly Olynyk and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 13 points apiece in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first exhibition win leading up to the FIBA MenB次元官网网址檚 Basketball World Cup in late August. Alexander-Walker also logged a game-high eight rebounds.
RJ Barrett and Lu Dort each added 11 points.
B次元官网网址淥bviously a good win top to bottom,B次元官网网址 Olynyk said. B次元官网网址淎 lot of guys got involved.
B次元官网网址淭hey pressured us, played a bit different than our last game, but we keep building, keep getting better every single day and try to keep pushing toward the (World Cup) tournament.B次元官网网址
Finn Delaney led New Zealand with 13 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 in the opening frame, but a late three from New Zealand cut CanadaB次元官网网址檚 edge to four when the buzzer sounded.
But it was in the second quarter that Canada did most of its damage. Canada outscored New Zealand 39-14 in the frame to take a commanding 67-38 lead into the half before cruising to victory.
Canada will play Germany in SundayB次元官网网址檚 final following the GermansB次元官网网址 107-58 win over China in the other semifinal Saturday.
The Canadians dropped the first of their five exhibition games 86-81 to Germany on Wednesday.
Following the SuperCup, the Canadians head to Spain for a two-game exhibition series. Canada will face defending World Cup champions Spain on Aug. 17 followed by a matchup against the Dominican Republic on Aug. 18.
Earlier Saturday, Canada Basketball announced that guard Kenny Chery had been added to the senior menB次元官网网址檚 exhibition roster.
Chery appeared in five games for Canada during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers, averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.
The Canadian Press
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