The Japanese men’s national basketball team lost to New Zealand, 111-81 on Saturday morning in Dongguan, China in a FIBA World Cup consolation game.
Rui Hachimura was shut down for the rest of the tournament due to precautionary rest in a joint statement he released with the Japanese basketball federation. This allowed Nick Fazekas, a 2007 NBA second round draft pick free reign to score. He led the Japanese with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. And he even shot 5-of-7 from the three point line.
Besides Fazekas, there isn’t much to say about Japan other than the fact that they were just outmatched from start to finish.