Team USA is leaving the FIBA World Cup without a medal.
In a thrilling bronze medal game that went into overtime, Canada out dueled Team USA 127-118 to win their first FIBA World Cup medal in history, and their first major international basketball medal since the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Stars on both sides of the court displayed their prowess, making it feel more like an NBA game than a FIBA contest in the Philippines. Canada’s Dillon Brooks put on a shooting clinic, scoring 39 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander netted 31. Anthony Edwards led scoring for the US with 24 points, followed closely by Austin Reaves with 23.
Canada may have won and had the game’s leading scorers, but the play of the game didn’t come from any of them. It came from Mikal Bridges of Team USA, whose 19 points included the game-tying three-pointer, which he made off an intentionally missed free-throw he wrestled back from Canada with just 0.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
That mind-boggling shot sent Team USA to overtime with Canada, but they couldn’t rediscover the rhythm that had helped them outscore their foes in the fourth quarter. Canada nearly doubled up Team USA in OT, scoring 16 points to USA’s 7.
The last time the U.S. finished in the fourth place spot was 1967. But the last time they went without a medal at the FIBA World Cup was just four years ago in 2019 when Team USA finished 7th. It’s just the second time since 1970 that Team USA has failed to medal in two straight World Cups.