TOKYO (Japan) - Asian nations have come out of the gates with impressive starts after the first games in the Tokyo Olympics. While the results were not all victories for the Asian teams, their efforts did not go unnoticed.

Never backing down

Three-time Asia Cup champions Iran were the first to take the floor against the Czech Republic to start the action on the men’s side. They were playing in the Olympics once again after making their way to the stage back in 2008 and made it known that weren’t just going to roll over and take in defeat.

The Czech Republic started breaking away in the first half and built their lead to as much as 22 points late in the third quarter. It looked as if it was going to be a blowout loss for Iran, but their two-man tandem on the wings were not about to let that happen.

Behnam Yakchali (23 points) and Mohammad Jamshidi (16 points) both turned on their jets and chipped away at the lead until it was only a 4-point game with just over a minute to go. Unfortunately, there not enough time for Iran to mount their comeback and they ended up with a hard-fought defeat 84-76.

The hosts of the Olympics, Japan, also suffered a loss in their first game for the men’s team, but their valiant effort against World Cup 2019 champions Spain was quite impressive as well.

Spain were heavy favorites heading into this game, not only to win in this specific match, but to actually win the gold medal this year. Despite those odds stacked against them, Japan fought and battled to keep Spain on the tip of their toes throughout the entire game.

When it seemed as if Spain were about to burst the gap open in the first quarter, Japan hung on tight and even tied the game up. After falling on the wrong end of a 19-0 run, no one would have been surprise if the lead continued to balloon to the final buzzer.

Japan fought back - highlighted by a big time slam on Pau Gasol by Rui Hachimura - to hang around and threaten Spain with small runs. Spain was ultimately too poised and too good to be rattled, but the end result of 88-77 was most likely closer than what was initially expected.

Double Ws

The women of Asia, on the other hand, played their hearts out and started their Olympics campaigns with two wins to close out the first round of action.

Japan had always dominated the Women’s Asia Cup, but the 4-time defending champions were hungry for success at the global stage. They faced a tough test immediately in the Olympics with a game against France, the 5^th ranked team according to the FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike.

It was a tightly contested game from start to finish before a triple by Moeko Nagaoka in the final minute firmly set Japan to victory. There were concerns about Japan due to the lack of injured superstar Ramu Tokashiki, but the team was well prepared to fill in that void. Eleven players scored in the game for Japan who were led by Maki Takada (10 points, 6 rebounds) and Rui Machida (7 points, 11 assists).

China, however, didn’t have to fight tooth and nail to claim their win against Puerto Rico.

Team China led from start to finish and breeze to the biggest win in the competition so far, regardless of being the men’s or women’s side, 97-55.

Playing time was well distributed across the roster where 8 players scored at least 7 points and 4 players scored in double-digits. China dominated the boards 55-30, led by Li Yueru (12 rebounds) and Han Xu (14 rebounds). There was little that could stop China from scoring in this game as they shot 56 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line.

Korea were the only women’s team from Asia to not claim a victory in their first game, but their clash against Spain were able to generate quite some buzz.

Spain are the second ranked team in the FIBA World Ranking present by Nike, while Korea were all the way down at 30 heading into this game. That didn’t seem to rattle the underdogs as they overcame a 8-0 run by Spain to start the game and spent the first three quarters trading baskets back an forth. A late draught at the end of the third quarter all the way to the middle of the fourth quarter put them behind by 13 points with few minutes remaining in the game. Nonetheless, Korea didn’t give up and clawed their way back to make it only a 4-point loss at the sound of the horn.

Kang Leeseul (26 points, 7 rebounds) and Park Ji Su (17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks) were the stars for Korea in this game and they’ll be drawing much more attention in the upcoming games.

…Upcoming Games

Iran will have to buckle up and bring all they’ve got once again as their next game will be up against USA on July 28 at 1:40 PM (GMT +9). Though the back-to-back-to-back champions took a loss against France in their first game, they are still Team USA and Iran know that.

Japan’s men’s team will be facing a tough game as well on July 29 at 1:40 PM (GMT +9) when they go up against Slovenia. Luka Doncic made quite a debut by piling on 48 points by himself on Argentina and Japan will have to find a way to stop that from happening again.

On the women’s side, Korea are going to be back in action once again against Canada on July 29 at 10:00 AM (GMT +9). Canada won’t be an easy team to go up against either, but Korea have already shown that they can’t be counted out of any games they play in.

Japan have already pulled off the upset of beating France, but their match against USA on July 30 at 1:40 PM (GMT +9) will be an even bigger test. It will be tough, but having the advantage of playing at home might just be the nudge they that they need.

China will be riding the high of such a big win in their first game, but they can’t let that get to their heads. They’ll be playing Australia on July 30 at 21:00 AM (GMT +9) and it should be a good one. China had previously beaten the Opals at the Women’s Asia Cup 2019 Semi-Finals, but they know well that their opponents will be hungry for a win especially after losing in their first game.

FIBA