Watch Canada Vs. New Zealand Basketball Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video For FIBA Olympic Qualifying Semifinal


Fans can watch the Canada vs. New Zealand basketball game live online and see which team keeps its dreams of the Rio Olympics alive.

The teams meet in the semifinal of the FIBA Olympics Qualifying Tournament, with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Manila (6:30 a.m. ET). The winner will go on to face the winner of the France vs. Turkey semifinal for a chance to advance to the Rio Olympics.

Fans who watch the Canada vs. New Zealand basketball game live online will see what is the last chance for a Canadian team brimming with NBA talent to play their way into the Rio Olympics. The 26th ranked Canadian team had a chance to earn an automatic berth to the Olympics in the FIBA Americas tournament last summer but fell short, leaving the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament as their last hope.

If the Canadians are able to make it past No. 21 ranked New Zealand, they will have to face off against one of two international powerhouses — as France is ranked No. 5 in the world and Turkey No. 8.

The Canadian team has plenty of NBA players — Joel Anthony, Tyler Ennis, Anthony Bennett, and Tristan Thompson — and looked strong in the group play, with wins over Turkey and Senegal to win Group A.

But as Raptors Republic noted, there are still some notable absences from the Team Canada roster.

“It’s unfortunate, then, that they were unable to secure commitments from some of their brightest young names. Notable by their absence are Andrew Wiggins, Nik Stauskas, and Trey Lyles (choice), Dwight Powell and Andrew Nicholson (free agents), Kelly Olynyk and Dillon Brooks (injured), Jamal Murray and Kyle Wiltjer (just drafted and signed, respectively), and Robert Sacre (hocking cheap suits that fell off the back of a truck).”

Canada has been an uneven team in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, looking strong in a win over Turkey, but struggling on offense against Senegal.

But Canada cranked up the defensive pressure against Senegal, forcing 16 turnovers and holding their opponent to just 28 percent from the field, CBC noted.

“It was a great game if you love defense,” Canadian head coach Jay Triano said. “I thought both teams were very good defensively. It was a very well-fought game… and we’re fortunate to get the victory.”

But Syracuse University standout, Tyler Ennis, said the team can benefit from having played a variety of different games — and different wins — to reach the semifinal.

“We’ve had a mixture of games. We’ve had some blowouts or close to blowouts,” Ennis said. “Tonight was a close game. I think it is great for us heading into the next couple of games, just having one that was close under our belt and we had to really seal it the game at the end.”

Fans who watch the Canada vs. New Zealand basketball game live online will see two teams that appear evenly matched. They are separated by just five spots on the FIBA world rankings — Canada at No. 26 and New Zealand at No. 21 — and have played remarkably similar in the tournament.

Like Canada, New Zealand turned in uneven performances, but ultimately did enough to advance. After blowing a double-digit lead in losing a narrow contest to No. 5 ranked France, the New Zealand team rebounded to score a big win over host Philippines.

As the CBC noted, New Zealand has a strong roster and a dangerous brotherly connection.

“The Kiwis have two main threats in the form of the Webster brothers: Corey and Tai. Corey, the older one, ranks second in tournament scoring, averaging 22 points in over 30 minutes per game. Tai is third in tournament scoring with 17 points per game as well as third in rebounds at 9.5 per contest.”

Fans who want to watch the Canada vs. New Zealand basketball game live online can click here for streaming video from ESPN.

[Image via Instagram/FIBA]

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