The Boomers got their FIBA World Cup campaign off to a perfect start with a big win over Finland and now Australia’s next opponents Germany have received some unfortunate news.
Orlando Magic rising star Franz Wagner came from the court with just under five minutes left in Germany’s 83-61 victory over Japan to open their World Cup.
The German Basketball Federation released an update on Wagner on Saturday, throwing his availability for the game against Australia (Sunday 6.30pm AEST) into doubt.
“Franz Wagner is being looked after intensively by the medical staff. An exact diagnosis is not yet possible due to pending imaging. His status is day-to-day”, they said.
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Elsewhere, Canada opened the Basketball World Cup with a statement win over France on Friday, while co-hosts the Philippines fell short of a memorable victory in front of their raucous fans.
There were also wins for Italy, Australia, Montenegro, Latvia, the Dominican Republic, Lithuania and Germany as the tournament tipped off in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Canada came into the tournament with a squad packed with NBA talent, but they faced a stiff test against France, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.
In the event the Canadians blew their opponents away, stepping on the gas in the second half to run away with a 95-65 victory.
Canada outscored the French 25-8 in the third quarter and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished as the game’s top scorer with 27 points, despite failing to get on the scoresheet in the first quarter.
“It’s always good to be rewarded when you’ve been working so hard, so I give these guys all the credit in the world,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said.
“The most important game of your life is your next game, and if we think differently, we’re wrong.”
Canada lost key guard Jamal Murray on the eve of the tournament, when he withdrew saying his body needed more time to recover after winning the NBA title with the Denver Nuggets last season.
“We have a lot of guys on this team that are hungry, talented, and ultimately just want to win,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
“When you have those three things, you can do anything.”
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Evan Fournier scored 21 points for France, who now take on Latvia on Sunday with their tournament hanging in the balance.
Fournier said his team “got our ass kicked”.
“As a team, they forced us to do things that we don’t want to do,” said the New York Knicks small forward.
“At first we were able to score every now and then, our defence was solid, but as the game went on they kept applying pressure and it just got the best of us.”
Canada’s RJ Barrett confessed he had been “talking trash” his New York Knicks teammate Fournier “every day” ahead of the contest.
In the game, Barrett managed just five points on 1-of-10 shooting, but contributed six rebounds and five assists
Elsewhere in Group H, tournament debutants Latvia beat Lebanon 109-70.