Unbeaten Canadian men’s basketball team beats Argentina 97-92 in World Cup qualifier

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Lost in the game was the superb performance of Argentina’s Nicolas Laprovittola who scored 31 points. The only other Argentina player in double digits scoring was Nicolas Brussino with 11 points.

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However, the evening belonged to Dort. The Montreal native scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer that got the crowd going. In fact, Canada held a 13-6 lead early in the first quarter but Argentina fought back, then outscored the Canadians 13-1 in a span of two minutes and 17 seconds in the first quarter. The eighth-ranked Argentina led 29-23 after the first quarter.

The South American team even took a 17-point lead 95 seconds into the second quarter, when they stormed ahead 40-23. They took advantage of having Dort sitting on the bench after being in foul trouble. All that changed shortly before the half, as Canada cut the lead to 53-48 after the first half.

“We put ourselves behind the eight ball,” said Canada’s head coach Gordie Herbert. “The important thing was to cut the lead to single digits before halftime, and credit to our players, that’s what they did.”

It was a more aggressive and physical Canadian team that came out for the third quarter, outscoring Argentina 25-16, led by veteran Kelly Olynyk, whose play under the basket was a key for the home side the third quarter.

In the final 10 minutes, it was Alexander-Walker who took charge, leading Canada toward victory.

Playing in his first game since the NBA playoffs, Dort felt rusty after a few minutes.

“However, I regained my legs later in the game. I haven’t played a competitive game since the (NBA) playoffs, but I took care of my health this summer, and felt ready to go,” Dort told reporters after the game.

RIM SHOTS: A native of Montreal but in Quebec City as a Canada Basketball ambassador, Ben Mathurin was loudly cheered by the Videotron Centre crowd before he addressed the crowd along with Dort. … Canada led in rebounds (35-33), shooting percentage (48-47), offensive rebounds (10-8) and assists (23-19).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2026.

Luc Lang, The Canadian Press