Jordi Fernandez thinks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win World Cup MVP / News - Basketnews.com

Canada coach Jordi Fernandez praised Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the NBA star's excellent performance against France.

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In their 15th World Cup appearance, Team Canada have reason to believe that their string of failures, culminating in the 2021 Pre-Olympic tournament, is now over.

Canada / Schedule

Canada France95-65 Lebanon CanadaSun09:45 Canada LatviaTue13:30

Dismantling the 2022 EuroBasket finalists France is definitely a good starting point. Especially considering that the French had won all three games disputed between the two sides in World Cup history, while Canada hadn't beaten a European side since 1986.

New head coach Jordi Fernandez announced an amazing squad, spearheaded by All-NBA First Team guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, recently crowned NBA champion Jamal Murray and New York Knicks star RJ Barrett. Murray didn't make it to Jakarta, Indonesia, where FIBA's flagship event is being held.

However, Gilgeous-Alexander, who had a spectacular season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 31.4 points and 5.5 assists per game, filled in for his fellow countryman. So much so that Fernandez is certain that his player will snatch MVP honors once the tournament is over.

"You guys can see here a guy that's going to be the MVP of the World Cup," the Spanish tactician said. "But he's going to do it in the next game and the game after that," he added.

Gilgeous-Alexander was the author of 27 points, on 9/19 FGs and 8/9 FTs, adding 13 rebounds and 6 assists to the mix. France were simply unable to contain him and Fernandez said he was lucky to be able to watch the spectacle.

"I had a good seat, so I can watch very well," the coach joked.

"I enjoyed that, but I also thought that he took good shots to begin the game. They didn't go in, but he stayed with it."

Fernandez pointed out that the most impressive thing wasn't the 27 points Alexander scored.

"It's that he led the game in rebounding and had a six assist/one turnover ratio. Not just scoring, but dominating the game with defense, finishing possessions with playing, and not turning the ball over," he stressed.

Next to him, the 25-year-old guard was sitting comfortably in his chair, as his coach answered several questions at the postgame presser. When his turn came, the OKC star was quite laconic.

"Nothing really changed in the second half," he commented on a game where France retained their chances until half-time and Gilgeous-Alexander went scoreless in the first 10 minutes.

"Just the ball went to the net. It's about sticking with your game. I just stuck with it, that's what my coach and teammates encouraged me to do. I'm just happy we won. If I had 0 points and rebounds, I'd still be happy," he quipped.

Gilgeous-Alexander said he wasn't surprised by the 30-point margin (95-65), as his team played very good basketball.

"We did the right things on both ends of the court. We know that if we do that, we can beat anyone in the world. We got to continue to get better and sky's the limit."

The prolific scorer was asked whether he felt like Canada could win the gold medal after that emphatic win.

"Absolutely," he replied. "But I felt that before the game as well. We've got a lot of guys on this team who are hungry, talented and want to win."

Both Fernandez and his player are positive that the huge margin won't disorientate Team Canada ahead of their next challenges against Lebanon and Latvia.

"We'll watch film," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Obviously, no one's perfect. We're going to get better in certain ways. New teams propose new challenges."

Fernandez pointed out that preparing his team for the next game is an integral part of his job.

"I've been to World Cups, Olympics, EuroBaskets, NBA playoffs...We haven't done anything. Shi and I haven't won a gold medal. I think the most important game of your life is the next game.

If we think differently, we're wrong. We know what we're here for. That next game is going to be our lives," he emphasized.

The Spaniard, former assistant to Sergio Scariolo on La Roja's bench, said he'd rather play one of the best teams in the world than a lesser team, "because it tells us where we're at and how much we can learn."

"I expect great performances from Team France," he argued.

"It's just one game for us and one game for them. I'm just happy until tonight. Whatever France does, I know they will be very competitive."

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