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[Saba Sports News] The 2024 Olympics saw one of its basketball medal favorites, Canada, crash out in the quarter-finals, losing 73-82 to host nation France. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who admirably led Canada throughout the tournament, was critical of himself and his teammates after the shocking exit.
“Nobody thinks they’ll go home at this stage. But if you don’t earn it, sometimes it happens. You lose. We didn’t earn it, not with the way we started… It was just the start, the urgency, the investment, and not paying attention to the details. When you start like that, it’s hard to play against any team. They played with more energy, more force, and were more aggressive on both ends of the floor.”
The loss deeply affected Shai, as the usually reserved guard showed his emotions on the bench towards the end of the game. SGA scored 27 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists against France, but it wasn’t enough.
Non-NBA players like Mathias Lessort and Guerschon Yabusele made a significant impact for France, with Rudy Gobert playing minimally and Evan Fournier delivering clutch performance in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Despite the early exit, Shai can be proud of his efforts, averaging 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists over four games. He’ll have a week or so to process the disappointment before returning to lead the OKC Thunder in their championship quest after their impressive last season and strong offseason moves.