FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: Dillon Brooks in action for Canada, Torrey Craig hits game-winner for US

With most of the attention around the sports world surrounding the World Cup on the pitch, the basketball world has turned much of its attention to the World Cup on the hardwood, as nations vie for their spot in next summer’s tournament.

Among the qualifying highlights was a go-ahead 3 by former Phoenix Suns forward Torrey Craig with 16.5 seconds left that was the decider in the United States’ 82-81 win over the Dominican Republic on Friday.

🔥 @TCraig_23 WITH THE GAME-WINNER IN THE FINAL SECONDS

🇺🇸 #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/BszQzISWjS

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 4, 2026

The game-winner was the cherry on top of a 12-point, nine-rebound performance with three blocks in 30 minutes.

Craig, who had two stints in Phoenix (2021, 2022-23), did not see any NBA action last season and only played 26 games split between two teams the year prior. He has spent 2026 with the Sydney Kings in the Australian NBL and the Mets de Guaynabo of Puerto Rico’s BSN.

While the U.S. is fielding a squad not close to its best — Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff is the only American player currently on an NBA roster — other teams are running out many of their best players, as is the case with Canada.

Suns forward and Canadian mainstay Dillon Brooks had 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting in a 110-84 win over Puerto Rico, supporting 20-plus-point efforts by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26) and Andrew Nembhard (23).

The U.S. and Canada are two of the 16 teams in the Americas Qualifiers fighting for seven spots in the final tournament field. Both are already among the 12 teams that will move onto the second round of qualifiers, beginning in August.

The Americans play their final game of this window on Monday against Mexico at 7 p.m. MST. Canada’s final game is against Jamaica at 4:10 p.m. Monday. Both games will be streamed on Courtside 1891, a platform on DAZN that FIBA utilizes.

The FIBA World Cup will begin in Qatar on Aug. 27, 2027.

Other local ties around FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

— Craig’s fellow former Sun, point guard Mike James (2017), led the Americans with 15 points in their win. He has spent his time since leaving the NBA (2021) with France’s AS Monaco.

— In the African Qualifiers, former ASU guard Shannon Evans, who followed former head coach Bobby Hurley from Buffalo and starred on the initial “Guard U” teams (2016-18), is playing a key role for Guinea. He had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists in an 89-63 win over Rwanda.

— One-time Suns forward Chimezie Metu (2023-24) logged 17 points and eight rebounds to help Nigeria score an 84-81 win over Tunisia.

— Former Arizona Wildcats big Oumar Ballo (2021-24) tallied two points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 26 minutes during a 78-70 Mali win over Egypt.

— Ballo’s former running mate in the Arizona frontcourt, Azuolas Tubelis (2020-23), edged NBA players Jonas Valanciunas (20), Kasparas Jakucionis (16) and Matas Buzelis (12) to lead Lithuania with 21 points in a 20-point win over Great Britain in the European Qualifiers.

— Another former Wildcats big man, Dusan Ristic (2014-18), saw two minutes of action behind Nikola Jokic for Serbia in a 24-point win over Switzerland.

— Arizona (2019-20) and Pinnacle High School alumnus Nico Mannion continues to be a regular threat for Italy, scoring 12 points and dishing six assists in a 19-point win against Iceland.

— One-time Wildcats star Lauri Markkanen (2016-17) showed up again for Finland with 23 points in an eight-point win over Hungary, while former ASU wing Elias Valtonen (2018-20) added 11.

— Dario Saric, a former Suns forward (2019-23), stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes as Croatia crushed Cyprus, 123-50.

— Sweden’s Pelle Larsson, another former Wildcat (2021-24), led the way with 19 points in an 11-point win over Czechia.

— Former Suns second-round draft choice Elie Okobo, who was selected two picks ahead of Jalen Brunson in the 2018 NBA Draft, logged eight minutes in an eight-point win for France over Belgium.

— At the lower FIBA levels, ASU newcomer guard Jokubas Rudaitis is working with his Lithuanian junior squad ahead of U20 EuroBasket. The final roster has not yet been decided, but the now-20-year-old averaged five points per game when playing up a year in the same event last summer.

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