AHMEDABAD (India) - Kaito Nakamura saved his best for last, powering Japan to an 88-83 victory over Iran to finish at 5th place in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 on Sunday at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium.
Averaging just 9.0 points entering the last Classification Round matchup, the 1.79 M (5'10") winger erupted for 30 as he led the EABA contenders in seizing control of the game - and in denying their foes' multiple rallies.
He scored 14 in the fourth quarter alone, contributing to a 9-0 assault - which actually began just before the previous chapter came to a close - that gave themselves a 69-58 advantage with 8:33 on the clock.
That spread would soon grow to its biggest at 13 points, 82-69, approaching the last four minutes of the match behind an 11-0 run, which the Higashiyama High School standout himself spearheaded as he had 8 in it.
And when Team Melli threatened once more by knocking to within just six with under a minute to spare, Nakamura was there to halt their plans, converting a layup to make it an 88-80 lead with only 46.5 seconds left.
Nakamura shot an efficient 12-of-20 from the floor, including a 4-of-8 clip from beyond the arc, and also collected 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals as his explosion enabled Japan to graciously exit the tourney.
The three-time medalists finished the tilt with a 4-2 record.
Aru Takahashi also made his presence felt, going 5-of-6 from deep for 15 points, including the one shortly after Alex McMillian's go-ahead bucket for the 60-56 lead to end the third to start the aforementioned 9-0 run.
Cayman Tsuneoka finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, with Roi Honda (9 points) and Kenichiro Benedict (7 points, 6 rebounds) coming through with important contributions for Japan.
Leading the Iranians in the loss was Mohammad Kamal Khaledi with 26 points.
Mohammad Shamsi Anbouhi, who starred in yesterday's Classification Round after tallying a triple-double in their 105-84 drubbing of Chinese Taipei, was the only other player in double digits with 15 alongside 7 assists.
Iran settled for 6th for the third time in the last four U18 Asia Cup editions.
The Classification Round is crucial for the participating teams not only for their final rankings in this tournament, but also to determine the Sub-Zone berths in the next FIBA U18 Asia Cup two years from now.
FIBA