OKINAWA (Japan) - Japan go to 3-1 in the World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, with an exciting 78-72 win over Korea.
Both teams came into this game nursing emotionally scarring opening Window 2 losses.
Their respective missteps - of Japan to China and of Korea to Chinese Taipei - meant that no side from Group B can advance early to the Second Round of the World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Before this head-to-head, the last time Japan beat Korea in major FIBA competitions at the senior men's level, was in 1987.
Following the China loss, Japan rostered Joshua Hawkinson, who starred in Window 1, into the starting line-up. His injection to the lineup undoubtedly added extra fluidity to Japan's offense.
The ball moved quickly and early, and a Hawkinson three led to a positive 5-0 start for the home side.
But Korea would soon find their own answers, including sharpshooter Junghyun Lee's two triples.
Korea led by 1, 16-15, after the first quarter, and appeared to have found their flow, guard Yuhyeon Moon's three fouls notwithstanding. Meanwhile, Korea superstar Lee Hyunjung was happy to play second fiddle early, focusing his energy on the glass, ending the first quarter with 5 rebounds, in addition to 4 points.
Through the middle quarters, Japan was able to build up a slender 6-point lead, only to watch Korea battle back and nose ahead 55-54 at the end of the third frame. Korea were also superbly served by Edi Daniel being a spark off the bench, with 4 quick points, 2 steals and an assist.
In the fourth quarter, it was Korea that would edge ahead by 6 points, and it would be the hosts forced to play catch-up.
Led by captain Yuta Watabane's three, Japan would trail 62-61 with a little over six minutes remaining in the game.
Watanabe would follow it up with a two-hand slam, taking Japan ahead 70-68.
TURNING POINT
With around two minutes left for the final buzzer, Japan was able go on a 14-2 run to close out the big win.
Overall the game had 18 lead changes and 8 tied occasions, showing just how nip and tuck this entire affair was from tip-off to final buzzer.
KEY PLAYER
Hyunjung Lee (KOR). After the shock Chinese Taipei loss, the versatile 2.00M (6'6") forward took full personal responsibility to #StepItUp. Interestingly, in these Qualifiers, whenever Lee has scored 20 points or more, Korea have never lost. That trend finally came to an end. Lee's 28 points and 11 rebounds unfortunately could not prevent the loss.
For AKATSUKI JAPAN, it was a much more balanced effort, led by center Joshua Hawkinson.
STATS DON'T LIE
Japan had 41 rebounds compared to Korea's 28. Japan also had more second chance points (18 compared to Korea's 6) and a whopping 38-18 points dominance in the paint.
Japan haven’t lost back-to-back games at home in the competition since November 2021 when they lost two on the bounce against China. They avoid losing back-to-back today.
BOTTOM LINE
Japan delayed their plans on qualifying for the Second Round after losing to Chinese Taipei earlier in the Window, but are now back on track with this important win.
After a hot 2-0 start Korea is now under the pump, having lost both its Window 2 games. Their progression pathway into the Second Round of the World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers has just got a lot more complicated.
THEY SAID
“From our side, I think it was a difficult process to prepare for this game. Two away games, lot of travelling, instead of practice [and] recovery. With the small lineup we played today, in the fourth quarter we just missed some shots. Of course we couldn’t control the rebounds with [our] size. Overall, we were in the game. Small moments decided it. Last two minutes we made a couple of turnovers and it was hurting us a lot.”- Korea Head Coach Nikolajs Mazurs, still searching for his first win after taking over at the start of this window.
“First, I’m so proud of my teammates and coaching staff that we fought till the end. The end result was obviously disappointing, but Japan’s a pretty good team. I think we didn’t secure rebounds, we didn’t make shots and that leads to Japan’s fast break points, and they moved the ball pretty well.” – Hyunjung Lee (KOR), following his valiant effort in the losing cause.
“After the Chinese game, it was mentally quite tough, but the players changed their mindset. Compared to the Chinese game, today the tough situation came really quick at the beginning. Even though there were tough situations, the players stayed composed. Takumi [Saito] and Joshua [Hawkinson] in the critical time, they showed us fine play. As a team, the defense side was also good. It was crucial to stop them and control the boards. So, we got this victory as a team.” – Japan’s Dai Oketani, who was able to win his first game as head coach, since taking charge prior to this window.
“Just coming from the China game to the Korea game, two completely different teams. China’s more of an inside team and Korea is much more of an outside, three-point shooting team. So first of all, it was a tough adjustment to go from playing China to playing Korea, just how different their styles are. I think we did a good job of really locking in, even in the short amount of time between the two games to change our mindset and change some things in order to stop them to our best ability. More than anything we wanted to protect our homecourt. Losing the game to China really hurt. So we knew we really needed to bounce back and win this game and I think there’s a lot of guys who had that fighting spirit to not give up till the very end. I think we showed that with big shots, big plays [at] the end of the game. So I’m really proud of my teammates and coaches for making those adjustments.” – Joshua Hawkinson (JPN)
Watch the post-game press conference:
FIBA