THE 2025 FIBA World Cup concluded overnight, with the Australian Emus defeated by Canada in the class 5-6 match in Switzerland, finishing their campaign with a second consecutive loss after being knocked out of title contention over the weekend.

The Aussies were unable to continue their winning streak when they faced off against Germany over the weekend, being defeated by 13 points in the quarter finals, a stage they had not reached in 10 years.

Their clash against Canada gave them an opportunity to finish as high as possible in fifth, but they could not do so, falling by three points in a thrilling clash at Lausanne Arena overnight.

Canada (75) def. Australian Emus (72)

The Aussies and Canadians were trading blows in the opening minutes of the game, with neither side able to lead by more than four points in some excellent back and forth action. However, Canada started to heat up with a pair of three-pointers and looked to lead by nine points at the first change, although a late dunk to Ajak Nyuon cut the margin to seven.

The Emus were trying to make a run and draw level with the Canadians, but the opposition seemingly always had an answered. The Aussies were starting to find their mark from behind the arc but Canada had the answers for most of the second term. However, Australia found some momentum in the final few minutes, and took a three-point lead into the main change courtesy of a Dash Daniels pull-up triple.

Most of the third term belonged to the Canadians, as they broke out to an eight-point lead and retook control of the match. However, the Aussies had some timely trips to the charity stripe in the dying stages of the frame, and were able to cut the margin down to three points with 10 minutes to play, keeping themselves in the contest despite losing momentum.

Continuing the trend, Canada made a run early in the fourth frame, and an and-one from Matthew Dann pushed its lead out to seven points with just three minutes on the clock. The Aussies rallied late to cut the margin to one point, but the Canadians showed immense composure at the charity stripe, keeping their score ticking over and doing enough to hold on for a win.

Luke Fennell was one of the biggest reasons the Emus got close to stealing a win, posting a team-high 18 points on 6/14 shooting from the field and 5/10 shooting from behind the arc in another telling scoring performance. Also catching the eye were Roman Siulepa (16 points, six rebounds) and Che Brogan (15 points).

For the Canadians, Tristan Beckford was the star of the show with 17 points, which was the most of any player on his team, doing on reasonable efficiency from the field by nailing six of his 12 attempts from the field in an excellent showing.