Canada eliminated from Olympic women's basketball tourney after loss to Nigeria
Winless in group play; Nigerians 1st African hoops team to qualify for Olympic quarterfinals
This is not the way Natalie Achonwa wanted to end her run with the Canadian basketball team.
The four-time Olympian had dreams of finally finding the podium in Paris. Instead, Canada was eliminated from the tournament Sunday following a 79-70 loss to Nigeria.
The Canadians went winless across three preliminary round games.
"You're competing with the best in the world, in do-or-die situations, every possession, every game," Achonwa said of the Olympic competition.
"If you want to compete with the best in the world, you've got to show up every possession, every play. And the teams we played just did it better than us."
After finishing ninth in Tokyo, Canada came into this summer's tournament ranked fifth in the world. The squad was expected to challenge for a medal, but struggled with turnovers and defensive lapses in losses to Nigeria, Australia and France.
The team's Olympic run fell apart in just two quarters, said head coach Victor Lapena.
"I think we have two terrible moments during this tournament — the second period against France, third period against Nigeria," he said. "I think the rest of the minutes the team played on the court, this team played good basketball. I'm very proud of them."
WATCH | Canada's women ousted from Olympic basketball by Nigeria:
Games between Germany and the United States, and Australia and host France later Sunday will determine which other teams make Wednesday's quarterfinals.
The Nigerians, who wait to learn their opponent, are the first African basketball team to qualify for the Olympic quarterfinals.
They jumped all over the Canadians early, forcing turnovers and taking a 10-2 lead midway through the first quarter, then went on a 15-0 run that broke their opponents early in the third.
The Canadians rallied and went up in the second, thanks in part to a trio of three-pointers from guard Shay Colley.
Canada took a 41-37 lead into halftime, but Nigeria burst into the third with a 15-0 run that broke their opponents.
"We just couldn't match their physicality coming into the second half," said Colley, who led Canada with 17 points. "They turned us over a lot and capitalized on that. We didn't take care of that business and it showed by losing by nine."
Nigeria (2-1) got 21 points from Ezinne Kalu, while Elizabeth Balogun poured in another 14, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Nigerian captain shakes off injury
Captain Amy Okonkwo hurt her right shoulder early in the second quarter, colliding with Canada forward Aaliyah Edwards diving for a loose ball.
Okonkwo returned for the third and the Nigerians outscored Canada 23-5 over a 10-minute stretch to take a 60-46 lead into the fourth.
Canada came into the tournament ranked fifth in the world and was expected to challenge for a spot on the podium.
Nigeria already has doubled the number of wins in pool play for a country that came to France looking for its first Olympic victory since the 2004 Athens Games.
The draw setting the quarterfinals follows the final game between Australia and host nation France.
It has been a difficult few years for Nigeria since the team reached the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup. The country was winless at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and then internal strife between the basketball federation and the government caused the team to miss playing in the World Cup in 2022.
The Olympics got off to a difficult start for the Nigerian team. The team was denied access to Nigeria's boat for the opening ceremony on July 26.
Now it will play Wednesday in Bercy Arena on the banks of the Seine as part of the final eight.
"I'm starting to see the light. I mean, the tunnel has been pretty dark, but I'm happy we get to see the light," Kalu said. "I mean, there's so much more, there's so much more to come."
Belgium into quarters, Japan out
Emma Meesseman scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Belgium routed Japan 85-58 to clinch the first of three remaining quarterfinal berths. The Cats came together, hugging and dancing at midcourt, with some wiping tears from their eyes in celebration after the final buzzer.
Japan (0-3) was eliminated after winning silver three years ago at the Tokyo Games. The Japanese wiped away tears as they left the court.
This is the second straight Olympics the silver medalist failed to medal in the next Olympics. Spain won silver in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, then lost to France in the quarterfinals in Tokyo.
Belgium (1-2) needed to beat Japan by 27 points to finish with a better point differential than China to keep playing. The Cats had a packed house trying to help, with Belgium a mere 32 kilometres away and China (1-2) watching the scoreboard through the final three games to learn its fate.
Belgium outscored Japan 22-16 in the third for a 61-39 lead. Fans roared for each bucket, knowing the need to not only win but by the point margin. Elise Ramette's 3 with 4:52 pushed the lead to the 27 points needed at 71-44, and Becky Massey hugged her to start a Japan timeout.
With files from Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
