SHENYANG (China) - Japan exorcised the ghost of the past by beating China convincingly, 92-73, for its second win in a row in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at the Liaoning Gymnasium, Friday.
It could be recalled that Coach Dai Oketani's charges led by as many as 15 points in their first encounter back in Window 2 last February, only to cough it up and ultimately bow to a crushing 80-87 decision in Tokyo.
Payback time
But the crew showed how much they have learned from that painful lesson, turning things around late in the opening period before breaking the game for good in the third en route to building another winning streak.
"From Window 2, with the way we lost, we thought we adjusted really well," offered the seasoned bench tactician. "We knew exactly how to attack, and also who to defend. Everybody did a great job playing their role."
As a result, the Japanese have remained atop Group B with a 4-1 win-loss record, thus creating a three-way logjam beneath them as Team Dragon now find themselves caught in a tie at 2-3 with Korea and Chinese Taipei.
Chinese Taipei earlier stunned the Koreans in Goyang in overtime, 82-80 - the second match of the day which needed extra time after New Zealand outlasted the Philippines in an epic 2OT encounter in Auckland.
Josh Hawkinson led Japan with 27 points, which he laced with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks for a full line, ending up with an efficiency of 38 which actually led all players in this particular gameday.
Lessons applied
The versatile big man himself triggered the crucial run that flipped the game around in their favor, scoring 5 in a row before Keisei Tominaga came in with his own trey for an 8-0 blitz toward a 22-21 lead to end the first.
They'd be in control since, with Yuta Watanabe triggering another scoring spree to widen the lead to 46-32 with about two minutes remaining in the second chapter before entering the break ahead by a decade.
Watanabe himself would also be responsible for pushing the spread to 18 points, 74-56, following a conversion from the outside just before the third quarter came to a close, as the home team struggled to keep up.
The lead would grow to its biggest at 21, 92-71, with only 70 seconds to spare, as Team Japan went on to chalk up their second win in three meetings against the Chinese in major FIBA competitions.
Watanabe continued his fine play against their East Asian foes by delivering 16 points alongside a quartet of rebounds, while Ryusei Sasaki turned in a notable debut with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
"It was a really good win in a very hostile away game. It was a really good team win," Oketani said as Japan will soon turn their attention to Korea, whom they will face on Monday, July 6, in Goyang, to close out Window 3.
Rare struggle
Hu Jinqiu finished with 15 points to lead China in the loss that deflated the home crowd. Liao Sanning and He Xining provided 14 and 12 points, respectively, as the troika served as the team's only bright spots.
Highly touted youngster Yang Hansen did have 9 points and 8 rebounds although some of his later points came at a time where the game was all but settled. Ben Li also had 9 while Wang Junjie added 8.
China will try to keep their Second Round hopes alive when they face Chinese Taipei on Monday as well in Goyang, as the long-time rivals are set to play against each other on neutral grounds for the second time in a row.
FIBA