Canada faces test in Spain before going off to Olympic men's basketball quarterfinals

It's just another game for Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez.

The Spaniard will lead Canada against his home country on Friday in the final group stage game in Olympic men's basketball action at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Canada sits atop Group A at 2-0, and with some help, qualified for the quarterfinals hours after its 93-83 win over Australia on Tuesday.

"It's just another game for me," Fernandez said on Tuesday. "Obviously I bleed Canadian and all for Canada. Those are the interests of my people right now.

"Obviously I have a lot of respect for Spain. But at the end of the day, they're a rival. We're playing here at the Olympics to make all the Canadians proud of the way we play and right now, the only thing we see is a rival."

The seventh-ranked Canadians went on to win their first-ever World Cup medal, a bronze, within just a few months of Fernandez taking over the helm.

Forward RJ Barrett isn't lost on how Spain may approach the contest for that reason.

"We beat them in qualifying last year so we know that they're gonna give us their best shot and we gotta be ready for that," he said.

After a tight win over Greece (0-2) on Saturday, the Canadians followed it up with a stronger showing against No. 5 Australia (1-1).

Against Greece, Canada had better starts to quarters but a hard time stopping the 14th-ranked Greeks from chipping away at its lead time and time again. Against Australia, Canada started out slower, having a tough first half defending the paint before pulling ahead in the second half.

While Canada has made it into the quarterfinals, Spain (1-1) is still looking to qualify to play in Paris. The contest, however, serves as a chance for Canada to improve before the stakes get higher.

"Defence aside, starting the