Gilgeous-Alexander closer to becoming first Canadian star to lead NBA champion
Before Nash, Canadians had occasionally been starters on team's to make the NBA's last four (like Toronto-born Rick Fox at times for the Los Angeles Lakers dynastic teams, or Winnipeg's Todd MacCulloch for Philadelphia, or Montreal's Bill Wennington being the backup centre for the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls) and Brampton's Tristan Thompson would do it regularly later for Cleveland setting the stage for recent events. Toronto-born, Kamloops, B.C-raised Kelly Olynyk made two deep runs himself, one for Boston and one for Miami when the Heat lost to Los Angeles in the bubble in Orlando.
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada wins Canadian Shield Tournament despite penalty shootout loss to Ivory Coast
TORONTO – Canada won the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament on Tuesday night despite losing to African champion Ivory Coast 5-4 in a penalty shootout. The game went to a shootout after it finished knotted at 0-0 after 90 minutes. The 30th-ranked Canadian men finished with four points, one ahead of No. 86 New Zealand and No. 25 Ukraine and two ahead of No. 41 Ivory Coast. Victory was assured for Canada just by getting to the shootout, given it would finish the night with at least four points — with two points for a shootout win and one for a shootout loss — while no one else had more than three. A regulation win was worth three points at the tournament. Jonathan David, Mathieu Choiniere, Derek Cornelius and Ismael Kone scored for Canada in the shootout. Badra Ali Sangaré stopped Tani Oluwaseyi and Luc de Fougerolles. Clement Akpa, Jereme Boga, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Franck Kessie and Mohamed Diomande scored for Ivory Coast in the shootout, beating Dayne St. Clair. Mory Gbane missed the target. Ukraine defeated New Zealand 2-1 in the early game Tuesday, leaving both teams at 1-1-0 with three points. That result meant Ivory Coast had to win by two goals to take the trophy. The Canadians defeated Ukraine 4-2 in the tournament opener Saturday while Ivory Coast lost 1-0 to New Zealand. Ivory Coast is currently ranked fifth in Africa by FIFA — behind No. 12 Morocco, No. 19 Senegal, No. 32 Egypt and No. 36 Algeria. But the Elephants are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions and have been ranked as high as No. 12 in the world. Ivory Coast looked dangerous, comfortably moving the ball around as drums resonated in its supporters' section at BMO Field. The Ivorian 'keeper had little to do in the first half other than watch his team from afar. Both teams managed just one shot on target before the break with Canada never really finding its rhythm. The second half was choppy and chippy with plenty of stops and starts before an announced crowd of 18,489 at BMO Field. As promised, Canada coach Jesse Marsch fielded almost an entirely different lineup with only centre back Cornelius retaining his spot from the Ukraine starting 11. Veteran forward Cyle Larin served as captain for the first time. Daniel Jebbison, a 21-year-old forward with England's Bournemouth, won his third cap in his first start. Vancouver Whitecaps winger Jayden Nelson also made his first start, earning his seventh cap. It was a more experienced group of starters, with a combined cap count of 369 going into the game compared to 241 for the starting 11 against Ukraine. Larin, Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea accounted for 226 of Tuesday's total. Osorio's 85th cap moved him into third place on the Canadian men's all-time list behind Julian de Guzman (89) and Atiba Hutchinson (105). Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio was honoured before the game for earning his 50th cap against Ukraine. St. Clair started in goal. The Minnesota United 'keeper is tied for the MLS lead in shutouts with eight and ranks second in goals-against average at 0.88. Joel Waterman put the ball in the Ivory Coast goal in the sixth minute only to see the offside flag go up. At the other end, St. Clair stopped a 21st-minute free kick whipped in by Nicolas Pepe, formerly of England's Arsenal and now with Spain's Villarreal. Canadas best chances of the first half came off a free kick and two corners as the clock wound down, but each time the final ball was off target. Three of Canada's back four — Cornelius, Waterman and Sam Adekugbe — were on yellow cards by the 48th minute. An unmarked Pepe wasted a glorious chance in the 52nd minute when his header was off target. Soon after, Waterman made a saving tackle to stop Pepe. Ivory Coast argued unsuccessfully for a penalty kick in the 61st minute after Ibrahim Sangare went down in the Canada box trying to get to a quick free kick as the game grew more physical. David and Tajon Buchanan, who accounted for three goals against Ukraine, came off the bench in the 76th minute as Canada looked for a goal. Adekugbe had to be helped off the field in the 83rd minute, favouring his leg after going down. Canada had never faced Ivory Coast before. The last time it faced an African side was at the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022 when it lost 2-1 to Morocco in its final group-stage game. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The Ivory Coast squad draws on players from clubs in Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Canada heads to the CONCACAF Gold Cup next, opening against No. 95 Honduras on June 17 in Vancouver before completing Group B play in Houston against No. 90 Curaçao and No. 81 El Salvador on June 21 and 24, respectively. Canada went into Tuesday's match with a 7-4-5 record under Marsch, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay and another into a shootout win over Venezuela. His previous three games in Canada — against Ukraine, Suriname and Panama — were all victories. Ivory Coast returns to World Cup qualifying play in September. It currently leads Group F in African qualifying with a 5-0-1 record, one point ahead of No. 79 Gabon in the six-country group that also includes No. 140 Burundi, No. 111 Kenya, No. 126 Gambia and the 203rd-ranked Seychelles. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pistons, Mavericks to play regular-season game in Mexico City on Nov. 1
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The NBA is going back to Mexico City next season, with the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons set to play a regular-season game there on Nov. 1. The Mavericks currently have the No. 1 pick in this month's draft and are expected to select Duke's Cooper Flagg. The Pistons made a huge improvement this season and reached the Eastern Conference playoffs. It will be the NBA's 34th game in Mexico since 1992. 'We take significant pride in the fact that the Mavericks organization and our supporters reflect the increased globalization of basketball and the NBA,' Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said. 'The vibrancy of Mexico City and the passion of its fans make it the perfect place to host these Global Games.' The full NBA schedule for next season isn't likely to be released until late summer. The league typically announces some international games ahead of that. 'Playing a regular-season game in Mexico City will be a great experience for our players and coaches,' Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said. 'And we look forward to showcasing Detroit basketball to an international audience and a passionate, growing NBA fanbase.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP NBA:
National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
Surging Blue Jays beat host Cardinals to move season-high 7 games above .500
The Blue Jays have ventured into rarefied air, occupying a space not many expected when the team's offence was virtually non-existent earlier in the season. Article content How times have changed … and how the team's fortunes have dramatically taken a sudden turn. Article content Article content Following Tuesday's 10-9 victory over the host St. Louis Cardinals that assured the Jays their fifth successive series win, the club climbed seven games above .500 (37-30) for the first time this season. Article content Seventh heaven has a nice ring to it. Article content Mind you, it got pretty hellish in the late innings when Toronto's bullpen nearly blew it. Article content Here are three takeaways on a night the hot-hitting Alejandro Kirk kept up his prowess at the plate by going deep for the second time in as many games, and when relievers Chad Green and Jeff Hoffman each gave up homers on their respective first pitches. Article content 1. Big 3-peat Article content One of these days, the Jays' top of the rotation will need some kind of infusion of big-league talent. Article content Until that day arrives, and it won't happen anytime soon, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman need to be on point. Article content Berrios got the ball rolling in the series opener. Article content Bassitt picked up where Berrios left off in Tuesday's outing, at least through the opening three innings. Article content Given a 4-0 advantage when he faced the Cards in the home half of the fourth inning, Bassitt faced his first real stressful situation as St. Louis had runners on the corner with one out. Article content Article content A long single scored the Cards' first run. A home run into the seats in right field scored three as the game was suddenly tied. Article content Article content Bassitt was labouring in an inning that featured four hits yielded and a hit batter. After the Jays regained the lead in a two-run fifth inning, Bassitt retired the Cards in order in the bottom half. Another clean inning followed. Article content For the first time this season, Bassitt produced back-to-back starts of throwing seven complete innings. Toronto's Big 3 is clearly living up to the billing. Article content Whether the situation involves two strikes in the count or two outs, Kirk has been among the very best in the bigs. When a late-game hit with so much at stake is required, Kirk often comes through in dramatic fashion. And to think there were those who were taken aback when the club locked in Kirk through the 2030 season. Article content His five-year deal worth US $58 million, which kicks in next season, now seems like a steal. You could argue Kirk will be underpaid if he's able to keep up this current pace of excellence, especially when compared to a certain $500-million teammate who hasn't had nearly as many moments this season than Kirk.
