On first look, the quarterfinal between France and Canada seemed to be ludicrous. The hosts averaged more than a free throw per minute, finishing the game with 42 total attempts. It was angering for fans, who made allegations of France ‘rigging’ the tournament. But was it really as unjust as the numbers suggest or did Canada get outplayed?

To analyze all the games, Keith Smith, an NBA expert, sat down with Trevor Lane to discuss the tantalizing quarterfinal action that took place. And when speaking of France, he did feel they had some “home cooking” to make it into the knockout stages.

“I’m just gonna call it what it is in my opinion. They’ve done some home cooking the last couple of games here. You know, to kind of help them through, so we’ll see,” Smith said. Even Victor Wembanaymama claimed to have ‘6 men’ against Canada. However, he was talking about the home crowd’s electric support. And even Smith didn’t mention any officials hampering the game. When referencing the France vs Canada battle, he mentioned it was “really good”. In particular, he felt that Victor Wembanyama-led France won the battle fair and square.

“France was killing them most of the game and Canada made a run but Canada couldn’t get over the top”, Smith claimed. 

France’s overtime thriller against Japan was crucial for the hosts to qualify for the knockouts. During the game, a last-second four-point play eventually pushed the game to overtime. But many fans and experts felt Japan committed no foul on the three-point attempt. Then there was also Rui Hachimura’s uncharacteristic ejection, with an entire quarter to go and his dismantling of the French’s towering defense.

However, against Canada, while the free throws tell a story of their own, the Maples played far below their potential. If it wasn’t for Shai Gilgeous Alexander’s fluent isolation offense, the contest might not have even been that close. It’s one of the reasons they themselves felt defeated and not cheated.

Canada blames their woeful display for France loss

Canada’s head coach Jordi Fernandez had warned his players about questionable officiating before the game even began. However, after the game, instead of pointing at the glaring free throw disparity, the Nets head coach assumed the weight of the loss. “Personally, I put this one on me because I should have helped them better” he told the media.

Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander resonated with the same sentiments. From the get-go, France plummeted the Maple with early threes and landed a commanding lead in the first half. While Fernandez did call the officiating “questionable”, he also felt his players made some costly errors which enabled France to build a formidable lead.

“What we can control. We didn’t control it. We didn’t rebound very well. We fouled a lot. But again, I thought that it was not judged the same way. At this point, that’s better. We just got to be better. I appreciate my players’ effort,” he said of the game.

Notably, Canada only shot 38% from the field during the game which was primarily due to their uncoordinated offense. Then once they got a firm grip in the second half, many unforced and reckless turnovers allowed the hosts to keep their rivals at Bay. Wembanyama’s late-game rebounding and France’s grit too outclassed that of the Maple, ultimately leading to their untimely elimination from the tournament.

Do you think the referees were unfair or did Canada lose? Let us know what you feel in the comments below.