It’s a real round of 16 that Canada and Spain will play on Sunday since the two teams, considered outsiders for the gold medal, had the bad idea to lose respectively to Latvia and Brazil. Two surprise setbacks that place their backs against the wall, and for Dillon Brooks, the danger will come first from the two Hernangomez brothers, Will and Juancho.
The first is the Spaniards’ best scorer and rebounder, while the second is the 2nd best scorer. “Juancho is a really good player, and Willy is a great player” note Canada winger. “Both create a lot of size advantage for their team, and we will have to match their physical qualities and play harder than them. »
Brooks knows he will have to take care of both, but he warns his teammates that Spain is first and foremost a collective. “They are selfless. They share the ball. They have been playing together for a long time. And it’s a big team. We will have to dominate them on the rebound. »
For RJ Barrett, the number one danger is…experience. Opposite the Canadians stand the reigning world and European champions. “The most important thing is their experience. Many of them have won the Euroleague. These guys are playing their lives in their FIBA basketball. We’re going to come face to face with that. »
Jordi Fernandez against his compatriots
The best person to talk about it is Jordi Fernandez. Spaniard, the coach of Canada knows better than his players the qualities of his compatriots. “They have been beaten and they are also injured… Spain is a wounded animal that will try to fight for its life. »
In the end, his Canada is in the same position, and it’s up to which team will want it the most. “It’s good because everyone is affected… And when we are affected, we do what is necessary to fix things. In general, in this context, when this happens, you are ready for the next challenge. I know our guys are not happy. We watched the video, they will work and tomorrow we will be better. »
