Canada Basketball's bet on chemistry set to be tested in Olympic quarterfinals

The Paris Olympics have, to date, proceeded as planned for the Canadian men's basketball team.

But that plan — one that prioritized chemistry and continuity in the wake of missing a fifth straight Games three years ago — is about to face its biggest stress test yet.

After rolling through the group stage with a perfect record, Canada will face France — along with its rowdy home crowd and its twin towers of Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert — in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The Canadians will be forced to rely on their togetherness.

"When you're playing in a foreign country or somewhere else, it's all you have, right?" said Duane Notice, a Canadian Elite Basketball League player who was a training camp alternate and has hit the court during multiple qualifying cycles.

"Being close makes you want to be selfless for the next person on your side, your teammate, your brother, your comrade. It makes you want to go out for them on every single possession," he continued. "It's kind of hard … to play hard for people that you don't really care about. So just seeing that everybody cares about each other, it obviously translates onto the court."

WATCH | Canada beats Spain to conclude group play:

In 2021, the Canadian men missed out on the Tokyo Olympics when they lost a semifinal game against the Czech Republic at a qualifier in Victoria. The tournament appeared stacked in Canada's favour, but player absences and a lack of experience combined to quash those hopes.

The reaction from Canada Basketball was swift. General manager Rowan Barrett laid out a three-year plan in which 14 players and then-head coach Nick Nurse committed to play any time they were available. If they followed through, then their spots in Paris would be