There is a sense of unfinished business that looms large over Thursday night’s Americas region second-round 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifying game between sa国际传媒 and Argentina at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The wrenching overtime loss to the Czech Republic last summer in the last-chance Tokyo Olympics qualifier, also on Blanshard Street, still haunts the Canadian national team. Now comes a new cycle and a shot at redemption as the top seven teams from the 2023 World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines will advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“What happened here last year adds fuel to the fire to stick together to reach our goal of getting to the Olympics,” said Canadian forward Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.
It’s the quiet flame that fuels this team to one day see the Olympic flame.
“We were right there and definitely should have been there [Tokyo Olympics],” said Kamloops NBA product Kelly Olynyk of the Detroit Pistons.
“Stuff happens and that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. But now we’re here and ready and excited and we know what we have to do to make it happen this time.”
sa国际传媒 wants to go directly through the front door and not wait for the vagaries of a last-chance qualifier like last time as sa国际传媒 remains without an Olympic appearance in men’s basketball since captained by two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Victoria at Sydney in 2000. While sa国际传媒’s Golden Generation of NBA players has underachieved, in that span, Argentina beat the U.S. to win the gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, captured the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, made the bronze-medal game at the London 2012 Olympics and the quarter-finals at Rio 2016 and Tokyo last summer.
“[Thursday night’s] qualifying game is big. These are the kinds of teams we are going to have to play moving forward to the World Cup and Olympics,” said Olynyk.
“This is a huge test for us with one of the top teams in the world coming into our house.”
sa国际传媒 is the only undefeated team in the Americas, going 6-0 in the first round of World Cup qualifying. sa国际传媒 is in Group E for the second round with Argentina (5-1), Venezuela (5-1), Dominican Republic (4-2), Panama (2-4) and Bahamas (2-4).
Group F is also made up of six Americas teams. The top three in each group, and the top fourth-place finisher, will advance to the FIBA World Cup from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, 2023, in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
“Our goal first and foremost is to get into the World Cup. You’ve got to get there,” said sa国际传媒 head coach Nick Nurse, also NBA head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
“But it’s two fold. We want to get as many wins as we can in qualifying and finish as high as we can so that our seeding is good, too. Seeding in the World Cup is certainly a factor. We saw that last time [2019 FIBA World Cup in China] when we had a very tough pool. We want to go up a few levels on our seed. First we’ve got to make it, but we’ve got to clip off as many as these qualifying games as we can.”
Argentina, the 2019 World Cup silver medallist in China, presents a marquee challenge.
“They have been there before,” said Powell.
Added Canadian forward Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Utah Jazz: “Argentina is a well-organized group and has been together for a while. It’s going to be a 40-minute game and we have to respond to runs. We learned from the Czech Republic game last year to not take anything for granted and to finish it up. We fought so hard to make it to overtime and were up in overtime but it’s about finishing it up. It’s about doing the small things right and the rest takes care of itself.”
Argentina’s backcourt play is slippery and potent.
“We have to keep their guards out of the paint, and with our length, force them to take contested shots and rebound the ball,” said Powell.
“They are seasoned guys, especially in the international game, and they know all the tricks.”
Tickets for sa国际传媒’s World Cup qualifying game against Argentina are through Select Your Tickets.
sa国际传媒 will then depart for Panama for the second game of this qualifying window on Monday.
