Japan becomes a tough group in the men’s basketball World Cup Can Japan, who has been completely defeated in the world tournament in recent years, overturn the reputation like soccer and baseball | Basketball | Shueisha’s general sports magazine Sportiva official website web Sportiva

On April 29, the lottery for the qualifying round was held in Manila, the Philippines, the main host of this summer’s FIBA ​​World Cup, and Japan, who has participated in two consecutive tournaments, was placed in Group E along with Australia, Germany, and Finland. rice field.

How far can they go against Australia, who often play against each other in Asia?

I was in one of the toughest groups out of eight. Although they can play in their “home” environment, the local Okinawa arena, “Akatsuki Japan” must be prepared for a tough fight.

In response to the results of the lottery, Head Coach Tom Horvath (HC) also expressed regret that Japan, the co-host country (the other venue was Jakarta, Indonesia), was not given any preferential treatment. However, he said, “I’m just going to do it,” and said that he would change his mind and proceed with preparations for the big stage.

On August 25, Japan, ranked 36th in the world, will open the tournament against Germany, ranked 11th. The country is a powerhouse in Europe, winning the bronze medal in the 2002 tournament, and has advanced with a high winning percentage of 2 wins and 0 losses, including defeating Slovenia of Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) in the qualifying rounds for this tournament. He also won a bronze medal at the high-level European Championships last summer.

Germany and Japan were in the same group at the 2006 tournament (then called the World Championship) held in Japan, and they also hit in the first match. This time, he allowed 27 points to Dirk Nowitzki (former Mavericks) and lost 81-70.

Germany has a style that makes the most of its size and physicality, and scores a lot from inside the paint. In the preliminaries, he is ranked first overall in offensive rebounds (average 13.8), and he also scores points from second chances.

There are many NBA players such as Rui Hachimura and colleague PG Dennis Schroder in the Los Angeles Lakers, and brothers Moritz and Franz Bagner (both Orlando Magic), and Japan will be forced to endure the game.

Just before the last tournament, in the 2019 Saitama Super Arena warm-up game, they beat Germany 86-83. It wasn’t finished,” he said, and the original country was calm, saying, “Well, it’s strong.”