JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) – Japan caught fire from deep and never looked back, routing Guam 102-63 on Sunday at the King Abdullah Sports City to seal second place in Group B en route to the Final Phase.
The Akatsuki Japan squad improved to 2-1, while Guam slipped to 1-2 for third place. Both teams will advance to the next stage, with matchups to be confirmed following the conclusion of group play.
Keisei Tominaga once again lit the spark. The sharpshooter poured in 20 points, including four three-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds in another efficient, high-energy performance. Yudai Nishida also impressed, adding 16 points and three triples of his own.
It began with a blur. Japan opened the game on an 8-0 run courtesy of triples from Tominaga and Yudai Baba plus two early free throws from Tominaga. By the midway point of the first, the lead had stretched to 15-7, and Nishida’s three-point play in the final minutes gave Japan their first double-digit cushion at 24-11. With six triples in the opening frame alone, Japan led 27-15 after ten minutes.
Nishida heated up in the second, drilling back-to-back threes to make it 40-24. Earnest Ross Jr. briefly kept Guam in touch with consecutive triples of his own, but Japan answered with a 9-0 run, capped by Yuki Togashi from long range. Joshua Hawkinson then beat the halftime buzzer with Japan’s 11th triple, pushing the advantage to 52-33 at the break.
The third quarter followed the same script. Coach Tom Hovasse's wards displayed fluid ball movement, perimeter precision and relentless pace. Baba’s free-throws extended the lead to 20, before Hirotaka Yoshii made it 66-42, their largest margin at that point. Togashi drilled two more threes late in the period to give Japan a commanding 78-52 edge heading into the fourth.
From there, it was cruise control. Akira Jacobs and Ren Kanechika pushed the lead beyond 30, and Japan’s reserves kept the tempo high to the finish. When the final horn sounded, Japan had set the tournament’s single-game mark for made threes with 20.
Despite their three-point shooting form, Japan coach Tom Hovasse still sees significant room for improvement.
"I still think we need to get better at certain things," he said. "We shot a lot of threes. The balance of our offense was a little bit... not what we would like to do. But thankfully we made 40% of our threes, which is a great thing. Every game we play, we seem to get a little bit better, so we're looking forward to the next game."
Ross Jr. paced Guam with 17 points, six rebounds, and three steals, though they missed the scoring punch of guard Jericho Cruz, who was dressed but did not see action.
By the final buzzer, Japan’s efficiency had told the story—strong shooting from the perimeter, dominance on the boards and a steady hand in controlling the game’s tempo. For Tominaga, it was another showcase of the shooting touch and confidence that have made him a key weapon in Japan’s offensive arsenal.
With their outside shooting in peak form and Tominaga in rhythm, Akatsuki Japan look every bit the dangerous knockout-round contenders. Guam, meanwhile, will aim to regroup quickly as they look to show better form in the Final Phase.
In the Qualification to Quarter-Finals, Guam will face the second-place team of Group A, while Japan will take on the third-place team of the same group.
FIBA