In the second game of the women's basketball world final qualifying round for the Olympic Games, Japan lost to Hungary 75-81, and the chance to qualify for the Olympics was postponed to the final game against Canada.

The women's basketball Olympic world final qualifiers are being held in Hungary, with four teams playing against each other in a round-robin format, and the top three teams will earn a spot at the Paris Games.



After comfortably winning their first match against Spain, Japan, ranked 9th in the world, faced their hometown Hungary, ranked 19th in the world, in the second match on the 9th, which would certify their third consecutive Olympic appearance if they won.



In the first quarter of the game, against a taller opponent, they used solid defense to control the flow and took a 9-point lead, 22-13, thanks to Maki Takada's two three-point shots.



At the beginning of the second quarter, captain Saki Hayashi made consecutive three-pointers and at one point extended the lead to 13 points, but after that, there were many rebounds taken away by the opponent's height, 32-32. The first half ended with the score tied.



In the third quarter, Japan struggled with their opponent's defense, unable to hit their three-point shots, and continued to make mistakes in attack, allowing Hungary to take the lead.



In the 4th quarter, trailing by 5 points, we were able to tie the score multiple times thanks to Hayashi's 3-pointers and Yamamoto Mai's consecutive points, but we were unable to stop the opponent's shots and lost 75-81. Ta.



As a result, there were four teams in the final qualifying group, including Japan, with a record of 1 win and 1 loss, and Japan's chances of qualifying for the Olympics have been postponed to the final match against world No. 5 Canada, which will be held on the 11th.



If Japan wins against Canada, they will qualify for their third consecutive Olympics, but if they lose, it will depend on the results of the matches between Spain and Hungary.

Saki Hayashi "I feel like I can't do what I want to do"

Captain Saki Hayashi analyzed the cause of the loss, saying, ``We couldn't get shots from outside, and we didn't get to do what we wanted to do.We weren't able to play fast basketball, which was bad.'' She expressed her determination for the next match against Canada, saying, ``I want to communicate as a team, play a good game, win, and take home a ticket to the Olympics.''

Mai Yamamoto, who scored 15 points, ``I definitely want to go to the Olympics''

Mai Yamamoto, who tied for the team lead with 15 points and scored 8 points in the fourth quarter alone, said, ``I didn't want to lose, so I decided to go for it, and there was an opening, so I took a shot. He looked back on his performance in the fourth quarter. She was looking ahead to the game against Canada, which will determine the qualification for the Olympics, and said, ``I definitely want to play Japanese basketball and go to the Olympics.''

Head Coach Onzuka “Don’t look down and start things over again”

Toru Onzuka, the head coach of the Japan Women's Basketball Basketball Team, said, ``The players did their best, but I was not able to lead them to victory, so I am reflecting on that.The reason for the loss was that even though we had been studying a lot, we were not able to give everything we had prepared from beginning to end.'' I think so,” he recalled.



Looking ahead to the next match against Canada, she said, ``I want to get back on track without giving up and fight as a team.''