France’s Loss to Germany Complicates Canada’s Podium Hopes

It all comes down to luck.

The Canadian senior men’s basketball team came into Friday needing a win against Spain and some help to clinch a top-two seed in the playoff. With a point differential of plus-20 through three games, Canada needed France to beat Germany by three or fewer points to avoid a potential date with the United States in a semifinal matchup.

It didn’t happen.

An 85-71 victory by Germany on Friday afternoon means Canada is virtually locked in as the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Barring a shocking loss by Puerto Rico against the United States, Canada will slot advance out of Group A as the top seed in the second tier of the quarterfinal.

France’s loss will likely slot the home country in as the No. 5 seed in the playoff, assuming Serbia defeats South Sudan on Saturday. If those results play out as expected, Serbia will finish as the No. 4 seed and Australia will slot in at No. 6.

Barring an unexpected upset, Canada will then face off against France in the quarterfinal at some point on Tuesday in Paris. It’s an unfortunate break for Canada who will be forced to play a higher-seeded French team because teams within the same group cannot play in the opening round of the playoff and therefore Canada cannot play Australia in the quarterfinal.

The question, though, is what will Canada’s path to the podium look like and when could Canada face off against the Americans?

That remains up in the air for now with two group stage rounds still to go. Once those games are finalized on Saturday, a random draw will determine which side of the bracket Canada is on with a 50-50 chance of avoiding the United States until the final.

For now, though, it’s all about France.

Canada will head to Paris for the playoff where Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, and a supersized French team are expected to await next week.