They have been here before.

Not long after Saturday’s 103-101 loss to the Czech Republic in the semifinals, Canada’s Olympic dream came to an end. RJ Barrett promised on Twitter that better things will happen in the future.

“Don’t worry about Canada, we will come back and we will succeed,” he wrote.

Less than 24 hours later, Canadian Basketball CEO Glenn Glenwald met with the media in Victoria and tried to provide calmness and foresight.

“It was a difficult defeat. We had high hopes, but we did not achieve our goals,” he began. “We are not discouraged. We are disappointed, but we are not discouraged.”

Watch | Despite Wiggins’s magic, the Czechs shattered Canada’s Olympic hopes:

Andrew Wiggins’ amazing 6 points in 6 seconds to force overtime was not enough, as the Czech Republic won 103-101. 3:59

For the fans of this team and this project, after the disappointing performance of the Canadian men’s basketball team that did not qualify for the Olympics in 21 years, they are even more frustrated and desperate.

This time it should be different. Throughout the week, Victoria announced that this is the golden age of basketball, more talented than ever before, entering the playoffs.

There are eight current NBA players on the team. The player’s commitments, including Andrew Wiggins (Andrew Wiggins), many people doubt whether he will wear a red and white jersey again, it seems that the plan is perfectly positioned. Everything went so smoothly.

But when it came to Saturday’s single elimination matchup with the strong, tall, and experienced Czech, the Canadian was eliminated.

This year is two steps forward and one step back for us. Our project has some long-term learning and some growth. “-Glen Grunwald, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Basketball Association

Of course, there was an extraordinary rebound in the last 45 seconds that forced overtime. However, at the most important time, with a little more than two minutes left in the game, the Canadian team rose by 5 points, but was unable to make a crucial blow at the critical moment.

The Czech team defeated Canada 9-2 in the last two minutes of overtime.

“I hope what they get from it is motivation. The people who are here and the people who can’t be here,” Grunwald said.

“They need to persevere. This year is two steps forward and one step back for us. Our plan has some long-term learning and some growth.”

But how do you bring the core group of players together? Grunwald admits that this is the key to success.

“North America is different from Europe. FIBA ??is centered on Europe. We are centered on the NBA in North America. This is only part of the facts,” he said.

“We will communicate with the players and their circle of influence and make sure they understand the importance of all these games.”

Optimism still exists

The men’s event must now plan to travel to Paris in 2024, rather than planning for Tokyo-starting with the World Cup qualifiers this fall. This is a relatively new Olympic qualification system. The easiest way to participate in the Olympics involves qualifying for the World Cup and then entering the playoffs to gain a place in the Olympics.

But getting star players to participate in World Cup and even World Cup qualifying matches has been haunting the plan.

“This is a process we are going through,” Grunwald said.

“We have provided a great experience. We know it is important to them. We need to train more players so that we can have a large number of players. We need a large group of players to qualify for the FIBA ??system.”

We have talked to Nurse Nick and I very much hope Nick will insist on us-Glen Glennwald

Despite the disappointment now, Grunwald said he is optimistic about the future.

“Rome was not built overnight, and the Canadian basketball project was not built overnight,” he said.

“We know that the future of Canadian basketball and Canadian basketball is bright.”

The nurse’s difficult decision

There is no doubt that there will be a lot of reports on what happened before and during the Olympic qualifiers in Victoria. Part of these discussions included Nurse Nick and his future in the plan.

“We have talked to Nick and I very much hope that Nick will stick to it. I think this is one of the strengths of our plan. We have a coach like Nurse Nick. He really cares and works hard.” Elder said.

In his post-mortem report to the media on Sunday, Grunwald also stated how challenging it has been for players to participate and play in the pandemic over the past year.

“The progress we have made during the pandemic has shown me the strength of our organization and the commitment of our players and staff. This has given me a lot of encouragement,” he said.

“We will go back to evaluate and see which ones are effective and which ones are ineffective. Similarly, the complications caused by COVID-19 have brought a lot of pressure and pressure, and created a lot of uncertainty.”

Learning Courses. there’s a few. Maybe too much. But this time Grunwald hopes it will be rewarded in Paris.

“You have to persevere. Maturity and experience are important. Playing together is important,” he said.

“Our long-term goal is to always be on the podium in men’s and women’s football.”