THE last four quarterfinalists in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup will look to advance on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Focus will be on the second match as Canada, boasting of seven NBA players led by Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, takes on Luka Doncic-led Slovenia at 8:45 p.m.
See Steve Kerr says Team USA now picking up pace in Fiba World Cup
Canada and Slovenia will play the Philippines for the first time this tournament.
Making their first quarterfinal appearance in World Cup history, Canada will look to go deeper into the competition after earning their way to Manila via an 88-85 win over Spain in Jakarta.
Slovenia, on the other hand, breezed through to the quarterfinals with only their 100-71 loss to Germany last Sunday in Okinawa.
“Whether it’s Canada or any other team, everybody comes here to win,” said Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic. “You win, you have a chance to get a medal. That’s why regardless of who the opponent is, everybody is going to give everything they have in this game.”
Germany faces Latvia at 4:45 p.m. in another clash for a semifinal berth.
Dennis Schroder and Germany are still unblemished after five games, and will go up against Latvia, which will look to continue its Cinderella run in the competition.
Latvia, led by head coach Luca Banchi and top scorer Dairis Bertans, defeated France and Spain in their dream run to earn a trip to the quarterfinals in their World Cup debut.
“I felt Latvia played very well in the qualifications,” said Latvia coach Gordie Herbert. “They play really great European basketball. They shoot the ball well and they play very well together.”
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