Andrew Nicholson was playing crunch time minutes for Canada. It was now all on the line. The chance to go to the Olympics and cement the rebirth of Canada basketball.
Nicholson had been there from the beginning of this golden generation. He was competing for Canada at the FIBA Americas Championship two years ago in Venezuela, tearing up the competition and providing a ton of hope for the depth this team possessed.
This was the future.
After Friday’s stunning 79-78 loss, the future will have to wait at least another summer. Canada will not get that automatic berth into next summer’s Olympics.