OKINAWA (Japan) - Germany needed little time to pick up steam as they rolled past Japan, 81-63, for a triumphant FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 opener, Friday night at the Okinawa Arena.

Turning Point: Die Mannschaft faced resistance from the hosts early, until Dennis Schroder's jumper sparked an 11-0 run that led to a 21-8 advantage with 2:23 remaining in the opening quarter.

They would be in control the rest of the way, preventing their counterparts from building any sort of rhythm by providing immediate answers whenever the latter attempted a rally.

TCL Player of the Game: Moritz Wagner powered Germany with a game-high 25 points on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting from the field, together with 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block each to finish with a full line in only 23 minutes and 37 seconds of action.

Stats don't lie: Aside from Wagner, three more players scored in double figures in the victory, namely Dennis Schroder (14 points), Daniel Theis (13 points), and Franz Wagner (10 points). That balanced attack was big thanks to their 21 assists as a unit. They shot 48-percent from the floor.

Bottomline: Germany are now sharing Group E leadership with Australia, who earlier beat Finland by way of a 98-72 result. That makes their clash with the Boomers on Sunday an all-important one as the winner will secure the top seed heading into the Group Phase's Second Round.

They said: "Last year, we missed both Moe and Isaac [Bongo] due to injuries. Both players give us real good qualities coming off the bench. Moe had a big game offensively. He really came in with a purpose. He got a couple of layups and got some confidence." - Gordie Herbert, Head Coach, Germany.

"We had a lot of high energy and we weren't doing a lot of the things we practiced on the defensive end. We just weren't playing smart - we were playing with great energy, we weren't executing what our game plan was. And I think when Josh picked up his second foul, combined that with Yuta - he's missed 10 days because of a sprained ankle, so he was just trying to get back to condition, and he got tired. So I had to pull both of those and we just kind of got a little bit out of rhythm." - Tom Hovasse, Head Coach, Japan

Press conference:

FIBA