Japan host Australia, Korea in buildup to Olympics
TOKYO (Japan) - Japan will square off against Australia and Korea as part of their preparations for the Olympics in France. The Japanese will face Australia in the Nippon Life Cup on June 22 and June 23.
TOKYO (Japan) - Japan will square off against Australia and Korea as part of their preparations for the Olympics in France.
In the latest installment of the growing rivalry between the national teams. the Japanese will host Australia in the Nippon Life Cup 2024 in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
日本生命カップ2024 北海道大会 バスケットボール男子日本代表国際強化試合 6月22日・23日開催決定のお知らせhttps://t.co/akmTj0WJZl#AkatsukiJapan #日本生命カップ2024 pic.twitter.com/48eY0liv8K
— バスケットボール日本代表 (@JAPAN_JBA) April 22, 2024
Japan, No. 26 in the FIBA World Ranking, Presented by Nike, and No. 5 Australia will play on June 22, with the game tipping off at 1:30pm local time, and again on June 23 (3:00pm). The meetings will take place in the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center.
The countries faced off at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Okinawa, with the Boomers winning, 109-89. Australia are also playing at the Olympics. Both teams' preparation games calendar for France can be seen on this tracker.
Josh Giddey and Australia defeated Kesei Tominaga and Japan at the World Cup
Sapporo has been on the international basketball map for a while. The city hosted USA, a Yao Ming-led China and several other national teams in the Group Phase of the 2006 World Cup.
No. 50 in the World Ranking Korea, meanwhile, will visit Japan and play in the SoftBank Cup 2024 (Tokyo Tournament) at the Ariake Arena on the outskirts of Tokyo on July 5, with a 7:00 PM tipoff, and July 7 with a 7:30 PM tipoff.
Japan and Korea have engaged in many battles over the years, most recently at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Lebanon when the Koreans prevailed, 81-68, before going on to finish third.
FIBA