KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia) - Japan are off to a great start with the new women's competition system. In all of their three games at the FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Malaysia, Japan never trailed by as more than three points against any team , even Australia.

Japan head coach Tom Hovasse welcomes the opportunity from this new competition system to help grow women's basketball, especially having seen first-handed how passionate the fans can get like in Japan.

"Overall, I think the new competition system will be good for women's basketball by showcasing meaningful games to the loyal Japanese fan base," Hovasse said.

The American tactician does mention some challenges in the changes of the new system, but is confident the team will figure it out. Nonetheless, he'll gladly take this as an opportunity to prepare themselves to the fullest for the Olympics 2020 which will be hosted in Tokyo.

These Pre-Qualifying tournaments not only give the teams a chance to get adjusted and improve leading up to the big stage, they also raise the hype from the fans for the main event.

"I definitely think the new competition system will raise anticipation for the premier events but I also think it will increase the fan base as well, since the games will be played throughout the year and not just during the leagues off season," he added.

Over hundreds of thousand fans across various social media outlets tuned in to watch the prime time clash between Japan and Australia on Sunday. They will certainly be anticipating for another clash between the two titans of the women's basketball world.

After all, it would be a match-up between two teams ranked in the Top 10 of the new system of the FIBA World Ranking Women's which has Australia and Japan at 2^nd and 10^th, respectively. The 52-year-old coach from Colorado expressed his excitement for the revamped ranking system and the direction of women's basketball heading into the future.

"OK, first and foremost, I am ecstatic that there is a new ranking system," Hovasse said. "Ranking systems can be a great tool to create excitement for teams, countries, and the media as teams rise and fall in the ranks.

"The old system was antiquated and needed to be revamped," he added. "The new system should give us a more 'real-time' view of our rank and should give us a better chance to make more immediate moves up the ladder. I think a six-year cycle would reflect the current players hard work even more, but I'm all-in for steps in the right direction, and I think these new changes will be exciting for Japan basketball and for women's basketball in general!"

Hovasse might already seem “ecstatic” right now, but imagine how much pumped up he'll be when he sees Japan shoot up even further up the rankings down the road. At the rate that they are collecting big wins left and right, it will be exciting for the Japanese fans to see how far their team can go up towards the top!

FIBA