The United States of America has already booked their place in the FIBA World Cup 2023 Semi-Finals. Days after their sensational win against Italy, next-door neighbors Canada have achieved a similar result. Led by All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the young Canadian team faced a major test in the form of Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the Quarter Finals.

It was a cagey affair, and the game went down to the wire. However, something controversial happened during the final moments of the game, taking away most of the headlines from a brilliant Canada performance.

Valiant Canada ends Luka Doncic and Slovenia’s dreams

The Quarter Finals matchup between Canada and Slovenia was hyped up to be one of the best matches of the knockout stages. Safe to say, the game lived up to it.

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a great game with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. His Slovenian counterpart, Doncic, registered 26 points. But, a late game controversy overshadowed his performance. Houston Rockets star Dillon Brooks was tasked with guarding the Dallas Mavericks superstar and he did it well. Interestingly, the game got so heated there were visible scratch marks on Doncic’s left shoulder.

To make matters worse, the 2019 Rookie of the Year was ejected from the game during the fourth quarter with 6 minutes left of regulation time. Slovenia trailed Canada 92-77 when they lost their best player. Just a minute prior to Luka’s second disqualifying technical foul, Dillon Brooks faced the same fate. However, his ejection didn’t hurt his team as much as Doncic’s ejection.

READ MORE: All the Records Smashed by Team USA From Their Dominant Win Against Italy at the 2023 FIBA World Cup

Ultimately, Luka and Slovenia’s FIBA World Cup dreams came crashing down as they suffered a heartbreaking loss. The final scoreline read 100-89.

An unlikely hero for Canada

While Gilgeous-Alexander will be taking home most of the limelight after this brilliant win, it is another NBA star who had the most underrated performance on court.

It is none other than 23-years-old New York Knicks star RJ Barrett. He had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assists while shooting 41% from the field. Thanks to efforts from SGA and Barrett, Canada has booked a Semi-Final spot and will face Serbia for a spot in the final.

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What are your predictions for the FIBA World Cup 2023? Let us know in the comments below.