Dillon Brooks scored 39 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points and 12 assists on Sunday, helping Canada capture the bronze medal of the FIFA World Cup with a 127-118 overtime victory over the United States in Manila, Philippines.
RJ Barrett contributed 23 points for Canada (6-2), which posted its first medal at a global men’s tournament since 1936. The Canadians dropped a 19-8 decision to the U.S. in a gold-medal game that was played outside in a rainstorm at the Berlin Olympics.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and Austin Reaves added 23 for the Americans (5-3), who failed to medal for the second straight World Cup after losing three of their final four games in the tournament.
“The United States hasn’t won the World Cup since 2014,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s hard. These teams in FIBA are really good, well-coached, they’ve got continuity and they’ve played together for a long time. This is difficult and it’s been difficult already.”
Mikal Bridges had 19 points, highlighted by a four-point surge in the final 4.2 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. He made a free throw and intentionally missed the second before running down the loose ball. He lofted up a 3-pointer that forged a tie at 111-111.
“Just tried to miss it right. That’s kind of where you want the ball to be at in situations like that,” Bridges said. “Just read and react … went and shot it.”
The United States wasn’t at full strength, playing without Brandon Ingram, Paolo Banchero and Jaren Jackson Jr. due to illness.
Both teams qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, representing the Americas region.
In the gold-medal game, Dennis Schroder scored 28 points and Franz Wagner added 19 as Germany won its first-ever World Cup, defeating Serbia 83-77.
–Field Level Media
