In case you missed it, Louis Zatzman detailed the aftermath of Canada’s loss to Serbia right here.

As Zatzman mentioned, there were a lot of positive things to take away from that game and the team is in Tokyo to ball. The ladies are not satisfied with just being there and that’s what you love to see – a team whose play enforces the idea of their fixation on winning.

The day before Canada took an L, Korea was dealt their own after Spain handed them a 73-69 loss.

Canada is a team that’s genuinely enjoyable to watch and it might be because they’re an underdog, but I think has more to do with the fact that they play fast on offense, while playing hard-nosed defense (forcing 28 turnovers on Monday). Those two things are the sword by which NBA teams live and die on in todays game. It’s also a great indication of how much basketball is growing in Canada and while there’s still a lot of work to be done, I was one of those nuts that was up on Monday morning at 4 to watch the women’s first game. There’s a competitive fire that sticks with the team and although there are only three active WNBA players on the roster, there was no question about the skill level – it’s there and it’s polished. Make no mistake.

Korea, on the other hand, is a team that seems to be heavily reliant on a trio of players. In their game against Spain, three of their starters accounted for 45 of their 61 field goal attempts. It’s astonishing but it’s not the craziest part. Of the 27 made shots, 22 of them came from those same players. That translates to 57 of the teams total 69 points. So, the game plan is fairly easy: shut down their shot creators and you’re more than likely to win the game. No one else on the roster has the confidence to take those shots and taking away a teams confidence is one of the most disruptive strategies a coach can conjure up.