Canada, France Into Final Of Philippine Olympic Qualifier

With only one game to go of the Olympic Qualifier, it is down to Canada or France as to who gets one of the final three Olympic spots.

Canada beat New Zealand to qualify for the final of the Olympic Qualifier in Manila. The match was surprisingly close, with Canada prevailing 78-72.

Cory Joseph played out of his skin to help Canada beat New Zealand. In 31 minutes he scored 23 points on 9-of-20. He also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals. It has been Joseph who has been the driving force for Canada this entire tournament

Tristain Thompson had his best game for the tournament, collecting a double double in 29 minutes of play. He had 13 points from 4-of-5 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line and an equal game high 10 rebounds.

Anthony Bennett also had his best game of the tournament. In only 20 minutes he scored nine points on 4-of-8 shooting as well as collecting five rebounds. I wonder if an NBA team might not give him another chance and give him roster spot 14 or 15.

More hoops habit: The 30 Best Small Forwards of All-Time

Tyler Ennis had probably his worst game for the tournament. In his 25 minutes, he only scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting as well as collecting two rebounds. Fortunately for Ennis, this poor game did not matter.

Canada utilized their quality players at the right time to win the semi final, the game was closer than expected but their talent shone through in the end.

For New Zealand, Corey Webster shone. There is no other way to describe it. The guard who spent one whole month with an NBA contract with the New Orleans Pelicans in October 2015 played out of his mind.

In 32 minutes, he had 21 points on 8 of 18 shooting, keeping New Zealand in the game.

More from NBA

• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
• Grading every NBA team’s highest draft pick in the last five years

Thomas Abercrombie played 34 minutes and scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.He also collected six rebounds.

Tai Jack Webster continued his strong tournament with a double double in 30 minutes.

He scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting and matched Tristan Thompson with 10 rebounds while also collecting off four assists, one steal and one block in one of the most complete games of the tournament.

In the final, Canada will meet Franc, which they beat Turkey in the other semifinal 75-63.

The French finally played Nicolas Batum and unfortunately Batum did not have a good game. In 21 minutes he went 0-for-3 from the field, but hitting 3-of-3 from the free throw line to score three points.

He did have two assists and two steals, but all in all it was a disappointing game for France’s best player in the tournament.

It was Thomas Heurtel who took France through to the final. In his 21 minutes he scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting as well as having four assists.

Nando De Colo continued his strong tournament with 13 points in 25 minutes on 4-of-8 shooting. He also had three rebounds and three assists.

Joffrey Lauvergne had a strong game, in 16 minutes he had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds.

With the exception of Boris Diaw‘s seven rebounds, neither he or Tony Parker had massive influences on the game meaning that they are looking strong for their final tonight.

Turkey will go down as the disappointment of the tournament for me. They came in with a ranking of eight in the world and did not even progress to the final of the Olympic Qualifier.

More hoops habit: 25 Worst Individual Seasons In NBA History

Omer Asik had his best game of the tournament with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting in his 27 minutes. He also collected five rebounds.

Furkan Korkmaz did not play well, he was only given 12 minutes but went 0-for-1 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line for his three points

Neither of these teams have been beaten in this Olympic Qualifier so the team that wins the final deserves their spot in the Olympics.