Canada cruised to a convincing 110-84 victory over Puerto Rico on Friday in Hamilton, powered by another outstanding performance from NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard finished with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while also contributing four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in front of his hometown fans.
“It’s amazing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s special. I don’t take those opportunities for granted to be able to play in front of the people that watched me grow up and are from the same city I’m from… It was super fun out there for sure.”
Andrew Nembhard also starred for Canada, scoring 23 points while knocking down five of his seven three-point attempts.
He added four rebounds and four assists as Canada built a double-digit lead early and stayed comfortably in control throughout the game.
Dillon Brooks chipped in 15 points, with 11 coming before halftime, helping Canada take an 18-point lead into the break.
Canada’s offense was historically efficient, making 46 field goals to tie the Americas Qualifiers record previously shared with the United States.
Only New Zealand has made more baskets in a World Cup Qualifiers game, recording 51 against Hong Kong in 2017.
NBA stars power 🇨🇦 Canada to historic offensive performance 💪#FIBAWC x #StepItUp https://t.co/eXeQDWxD36
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 🏆 (@FIBAWC) July 4, 2026
