BERLIN (Germany) - A win against Mali on Monday will see Germany advance to the Final Phase of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup after they got off the mark with a vibrant win against Japan. After the shock of a heavy opening night loss to Spain inside Berlin Arena, it was the perfect response in front of another capacity crowd - this time at the Max-Schmeling Halle.
It was party-time as the fans relished in seeing a rejuvenated Germany side sweep past Japan 74-58 to claim their first win in the competition for 28 years.
Despite losing playmaker Alexis Peterson to injury, the home side shrugged off the setback. They received a standing ovation on the buzzer after a vibrant display put their tournament fate back in their own hands. Frieda Buhner and Nyara Sabally led the way with 19 and 18 points respectively in a tale of contrasting three-point shooting fortunes.
Germany sunk their best ever tally of 7 from long-range but just 24 hours after breaking the World Cup record for threes, Japan went 3 of 27.
FIBA