Canada's last chance to qualify for Rio Olympic basketball slips away
France wins tournament in Manila to secure final spot
Canada's men's basketball team saw its dreams of playing in the Rio Olympics dashed.
The Canadians lost 83-74 to France in Sunday's heartbreaking final of FIBA's last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament.
"Being the youngest team here is a good growing experience for us," head coach Jay Triano said. "We're going to keep getting better, we've got some great talent in our country and I appreciate the sacrifices that our players made. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get a win and have these guys rewarded with becoming Olympians."
Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph had 20 points and six assists to lead the Canadians, who were hoping to make their first Olympic appearance since the 2000 Sydney Games.
Final score in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash">#FIBAOQT</a> final<br>🇫🇷 83 🇨🇦 74<br>Cory Joseph led Canada with 20 points and 6 assists<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTeamCanada?src=hash">#WeAreTeamCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/KDwsXphVnU">pic.twitter.com/KDwsXphVnU</a>
—@CanBball"I keep Canada close to my heart, so whenever I get a chance I'm honoured to play for them, and I try to go out there and leave it all on the court," said Joseph. "Playing for Canada, we have a great coaching staff, so I'm still working on my game, still getting better, and there's no better competition you'll get in the world in the summertime than playing."
Melvin Ejim added 19 points, while Tristan Thompson, fresh off an NBA championship victory with the Cleveland Cavaliers, had a team-high seven rebounds.
Tony Parker topped France with 26 points.
Canada trailed by five points going into the fourth quarter of a fierce back-and-forth battle.
Parker drilled a three-pointer with five-and-a-half minutes to play to put France up by eight points, but an Anthony Bennett three and a bucket from Tyler Ennis pulled the Canadians to within three points.
Parker hit a dagger three-pointer with just over two minutes to play, however, that stretched the gap to six points. The deficit proved too big for Canada overcome, spelling more Olympic heartbreak for the Canadian men.
Canada led by five points to end the first quarter. A Boris Diaw three-pointer at the buzzer sent France into the dressing room at halftime with a 39-36 lead.
France opened up an 11-point gap in the third quarter, but the Canadians had pulled to within 56-51 with one quarter to play.
Canada had knocked off New Zealand 78-72 in Saturday's semifinals.
Canadian Press