Canada’s men’s basketball team remains perfect at the Paris Olympics after narrowly defeating Spain 88-85 to close out group play on Friday at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, France.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Canadians with 20 points, while Andrew Nembhard added 18 points and two assists.
Dario Brizuela put up 17 points and hit all five of his three-point shots for Spain, which fell to 1-2 and was eliminated from the tournament.
Spain narrowed the gap to a single point with 2.7 seconds to go before Gilgeous-Alexander hit two free throws to seal the score.
The result leaves Canada atop Group A heading into the knockout round, which begins with the quarterfinals in Paris on Tuesday. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday and medal games are set for Aug. 10.
Canada had already qualified for the quarterfinals hours after its 93-83 win over Australia on Tuesday due to other results.
The Canadian men’s basketball team have their eyes set on gold, after ending a 24-year Olympic drought.