World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers: Japan suffers 80-87 comeback loss to China, must beat Korea on March 1

Japanese basketball can't do it. The Japan men's national basketball team suffered a come-from-behind 80-87 loss to China on Feb. 26 at the Suntory Arena in Okinawa in window 2 of the Asia qualifiers for the 2026 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Japan will face Korea at the same venue on March 1. With the loss to China, Japan is on the brink and now must win the game against Korea. It was a very important matchup for Korea to analyze Japan's strength ahead of the March 1 Japan-Korea game. Japan also saw Tom Hovasse step down and Dai Oketani take charge as head coach for the first time. Japan's previously well-tuned system and organization completely collapsed, showing an unsettling performance. Japan controlled the early momentum. Japan held China to 5 points for the first five minutes after the game started. China was held to just 11 points in the first quarter. Japan pulled ahead 21-11. But China's inside attack led by Jinqiu Hu (211-C-1997) gradually began to work. Japan's organization also deteriorated after new naturalized player Alex Kirk (211-C-1991, college: N.Mexico, agency: Pensack Sports) joined. Kirk's mobility fell off sharply. Eventually China launched a fierce chase. The teams were tied 68-68 with 5:30 remaining. Jinqiu Hu drew a basket-count play to take the lead. With 1:21 left, Liao Saining hit the clinching free throw to decide the outcome. Jinqiu Hu dominated the paint with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Liao Saining added 16 points. Guard Rui Zhao (195-SG-1996), who missed the Korea game, recorded 10 points and 3 assists. Japan was scoring-poor, with Keisei Tominaga (188-G-2001, college: Nebraska)'s 14 points the team's high. Yuki Togashi (170-PG-1993) had 5 points, and Yuta Watanabe (206-F-1994, college: GWU) managed 13. Big man Alex Kirk had 12 points and 10 rebounds and did not fulfill the role expected of the naturalized player.
Courtesy of: biz.chosun.com