Mawuli key to Japan hopes for Semis

TOKYO (2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - Japan have set their goal at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women of improving on their performance from the initial U17 Worlds in 2010 when they finished fifth. That would mean the Asian champions would have to reach the Semi-Finals.

In order to do that, Japan will need a strong performance from among others Evelyn Mawuli.

The Japanese power forward was one of the leading forces in Japan's run to the 2011 FIBA Asia U16 Championship with three double-doubles including 19 points and 12 rebounds in the Final against Korea.

"She is very good at getting rebounds and she runs the floor really well. She will be one of the key players for the team's success, so we expect her to get the rebound and run. That would be the best for our team," said Japanese coach Shinichiro Hayashi.

Despite being just 17, Mawuli already has gained a wealth of international experience. She played at the 2009 FIBA Asia U16 Championship as a 14-year-old and then at the 2010 FIBA Asia U18s as a 15-year-old before last December's FIBA Asia U16s.

"I think she has learned how to play at international tournaments. It has been great experience for her," added Hayashi.

The coach said he wants his team to finish as high as possible in the rankings, preferably better than where they finished in 2010, when they lost to Belgium in the Quarter-Finals before beating Australia and Russia to take fifth place.

"To reach our expectation, we must play with our style of basketball no matter who we are playing against," said Hayashi.

The coach believes his team will have added confidence after taking the U16 Asia crown. Still he added: "But I am not sure how the confidence will affect our performance at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship. Playing against top teams from the World is completely different story, and we will play the tournament as just a challenger."

Japan have been drawn into Group B along with Australia, Brazil, hosts Netherlands, Spain and Turkey.

"All of the teams in our group are very competitive. I think their style is very different from the teams in Asia. I think they will have more size and be more physical compared to the teams in Asia. So I must have the players ready to play against different style of basketball," said Hayashi.

FIBA