Less than a week after toppling the United States in the bronze medal game at the Basketball World Cup, Canada’s men’s team has moved up nine spots and is now sixth in the world according to the most recent rankings of FIBA, published Friday.
In a duel that required an overtime period, Canada beat the United States 127-118 last Sunday in Manila. This feat earned the men’s team the very first medal in its history at the World Cup.
Furthermore, despite this failure which put it at the foot of the podium, the American team regained the lead in the world ranking, exchanging places with Spain. In doing so, the United States reclaimed the top spot it lost late last year.
Spain had overtaken the United States in November 2022, ending a 12-year period in which the Americans held first place.
World champions following their triumph over Serbia in the grand final, Germany moved up eight places to third on the world list — the highest ranking in the program’s history.
Latvia — which reached the quarterfinals of its first World Cup — climbed 22 places and is now in eighth place.
“The world is good at basketball,” said American guard Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks as the World Cup drew to a close. “You have to respect everyone. »
The FIBA rankings include 159 men’s teams and have not been updated since February.
With Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press
