Japan won’t be winning any medals in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but they are making national history nonetheless.
Japan beat Venezuela this morning, 86-77, to ensure their placement in the top half of the ‘17-32 Classification Round’, with one more game to play tomorrow against Cape Verde.
New Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe posted 21 points (including 3 of 8 threes), 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in the win. That’s 45 points, including 6 of his last 13 threes, while playing 75 of the 80 possible minutes in the last two games.