JAPAN took a massive leap in the race for one Asian berth to the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 98-88 comeback win over Finland at home in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup in Okinawa on Sunday.
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Explosive scoring performances from Joshua Hawkinson (28 points) and Yuki Kawamura (25 points) turned the Akatsuki Five's fate around from as much as 18 down, setting up their first win over a European team ever.
Such remarkable display of fortitude was ended with a 10-point lead in the endgame to complete a sensational fightback against Lauri Markkanen and Finland.
Ahead of the final matchdays in the first group phase, Japan currently sits atop the six-team field as the only Asian side to have won a game in this year's global showpiece thus far.
Led by Makoto Hiejima’s nine quick points off the bench, the hosts started strong with a seven-point edge in the opening frame. But as Markkanen (27 points) slowly found his groove, the Finns wrested control up until the end of the third frame.
From there, Hawkinson and Kawamura willed Japan back in contention behind the thunderous cheers of a 7,000-strong crowd for an emotional home win.
The scores:
Japan (98) - Hawkinson 28, Kawamura 25, Hiejima 17, Tominaga 17, Baba 5, Watanabe 4, Yoshii 2, Togashi 0, Nishida 0, Hara 0, Kawamata 0, Inoue DNP.
Finland (88) - Markkanen 27, Jantunen 13, Maxhuni 12, Salin 8, Nkamhoua 7, Valtonen 7, Madsen 5, Little 5, Kantonen 2, Grandison 2, Murphy 0, Seppala DNP.
Quarterscores: 22-15; 36-46; 63-73; 98-88.
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