Japan hoops end China win drought

JAPAN defeated China 76-73 at home in the second round of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers in Group C yesterday, taking its first victory against China in major international competitions since 1936.

Yudai Baba scored a gamehigh 24 points merely on 10 attempts in Japan’s narrow win in Beijing. Joshua Hawkinson clinched a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, and backcourt duo Yuki Kawamura and Yuki Togashi combined for 20 points.

Hu Jinqiu led China with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Hu Mingxuan added 20 points, and Abudushalamu Abudurexiti came off the bench for 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Japanese fans had a reason to revel in joy, not only for their side’s sweep in Window 1, but also for breaking an 88-year winless record against China. Japan’s last victory over China was way back in 1936.

“That was a great win for us,” said Japan’s head coach Tom Hovasse. “I told the team after the game this type of win against a really quality team really raises everybody’s confidence a little bit. It’s a step along the process that we’re going through right now which is Paris and it’s a big step towards our goal.”

“It was our first win (against China) after 88 years and as the coach said, it was a great win today. One of the positives of this game was that we were able to play physically throughout the whole game, for 40 minutes,” Baba noted.

Coach Aleksandar Djordjevic’s team had a positive 14-3 opening but was soon chased down by the tall Japanese.

With a 34.4 percent 3-pointer percentage, it wasn’t Japan’s best show, but the team stuck firmly to long shots as over half of its shots were from beyond the arc. Japan’s offensive strategy along with its fierce defense worked well on China, which shot only 8-of-29 3’s and failed to find a good rhythm to attack the rim.

(Xinhua)