In the final game of group play for the men’s program, Team Canada faced a desperate Team Spain, who were in a win-or-go-home situation. Canada, the 9.5-point favourite, aimed to achieve an undefeated 3-0 record in the group round robin. Meanwhile, Team Spain was fighting for their Olympic lives.
Having beat Greece, but losing to Australia, Spain was still in a position to earn themselves a spot in the quarterfinals. If they won over Canada, they’d be 1st in the group, but if they lost, they’d be 4th and knocked out. Canada was certainly going to be in for their toughest match, their biggest test yet, as the number two ranked FIBA team in Spain, was not going to go down easily.