Japan's men's basketball team, which will be participating in the Paris Olympics, defeated China 76-73 in the Asian Cup qualifying round, starting a winning streak in this year's official games and building momentum toward the Olympics.
On the 25th, Japan, ranked 26th in the world and participating in the Olympics on their own for the first time in 48 years, played against China, ranked 29th in the world, in the second match of the first round of the Asian Cup qualifying held at the Ariake Coliseum.
The match started in the first quarter, where Japan suffered from the height of China's 2-meter-10-centimeter center, allowing Japan to take the lead, but they caught up in the second quarter and tied the game at 38-38. .
In the third quarter, Japan took a four-point lead, 55-51, with Yudai Baba's three-point shot and other efforts.
Even in the fourth quarter, which was a close match, Baba led the attack by cutting in with a drive and scoring a shot despite being fouled, and the game entered the final stages with Japan holding a slight lead.
With just over a minute remaining with Japan leading by 3 points, Josh Hawkinson made a big play by stealing the ball from a double team marking the opponent and taking it in for a dunk. They won a close match 76-73 and gained momentum heading into the Paris Olympics.
Baba made 4 of 6 3-pointers, leading the team with 24 points, and Hawkinson, who countered the opponent's height under the goal, also recorded a "double-double" with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Contributed to the team's victory.
However, the success rate of three-point shots, which is the key to Japan's attack, was just over 34%, an improvement from the match against Guam on February 22nd, but the result still leaves problems for the team aiming for a 40% success rate. have become.