The 3×3 men’s Japan national team, who finished third in the qualifying round and advanced to the Play-in Tournament
Ace Ozawa Ryo’s miracle shot will be excited to see the venue
“FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025”The World Cup (hereafter referred to as the World Cup) is in a heated battle in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with the 3×3 men and women, and the Japanese national team struggling. First, the 3×3 men’s Japanese national team finished four matches in the qualifying pool, and finished third with 2 wins and 2 losses, advancing to the Play-in Tournament, hoping to enter the quarter-eight finals, following the 2023 tournament.
The opening match will be against the United States. The game started with a two-point shot from Ozawa Ryo (SHINAGAWA CITY 3×3 BASKETBALL CLUB). Ace Ozawa continued to score two two-pointers in a row, but the unfortunate offensive foul led to no count. However, he shot very well, and he made his third two-point shot three minutes into the starting line, tied the game at 9-9. Along with a high-paced score, both teams received fouls, and at this point they both scored seven. Japan got a free throw but missed three times in a row, widening the gap to the US by four points. The final match was decided in 5 minutes and 31 seconds, the shortest time for the tournament, and the team lost 14-21 by KO.
In the second match, he will face Montenegro, the only one in the qualifying pool, who is the best in Japan in the FIBA rankings. This match also saw the opponent’s fouls get a chance with free throws. Although only 50% of the match was scored in the US, Ozawa managed to win five of six, earning his first victory of the tournament 21-15.
Igo Takeya (SAGAMIHARA PROCESS / HIU ZEROCKETS)“We are adversity all the time in Asia and in the world.”As I said, there are no games that will make you feel uneasy, especially at the World Cup. The first match of the second day of the qualifying pool will be Latvia, the gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Latvia, which has collected two 2m players, was steadily building up one point, and suffered their second loss 14-21.
The venue, Mongolia, will be opposed at the end of the qualifying round. They lost 18-20 in last year’s Olympic final world qualifying round, and are the strong Asian teams who are higher in the FIBA rankings than Japan. The game was led by Mongolia, cheering from home, until the team tied the game 8-8 in the 4.5 minutes into the opening. The flow changes when Dewa Ryoichi (ZETHREE ISHIKAWA) scores. With 2 minutes and 20 seconds left, Igo scored a shot, leading to a 3-point lead of 16-13. However, with 1 minute and 10 seconds remaining, Mongolia scored a two-point shot, tied the game 19-19. Two more points left until the KO victory. Both scored one point for sure, making it 20-20. In the end, Ozawa received a foul and scored a solid free throw to get away, and they managed to win 21-20.
Japan will be third in the qualifying round and will compete against the second-place team in Qualifying Pool C to advance to the top eight for the first time. Qualifying Pool C is in a close state, with Canada, Puerto Rico and Austria chasing two consecutive wins, one win and one loss. France, which started out as a two-game losing streak, is the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medal team. It is unpredictable which one will win. Japanese ace Ozawa scored 46 points (average 11.5 points) in four games, and is currently at the top of the scoring competition.
The Japan 3×3 women’s national team won Venus by defeating the world’s number one Netherlands 21-16 in their first match. Chile has also won two consecutive wins, winning by KO, and is currently in the tentative first place in the qualifying pool B. Today, we will be playing against the United States, which has also won two consecutive games from 12:50pm, and at 14:40pm. If they can pass the qualifying round by first place, they will be Japan’s first final eight.
■FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025
Date: June 23rd (Mon) to 29th (Sun)
Venue: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
▼Men’s: Qualifying Pool B Results
1st place: America (4 wins)
2nd place: Latvia (3 wins, 1 loss)
3 digits:Japan(2 wins and 2 losses)
4th place: Montenegro (1 win, 3 losses)
5th place: Mongolia (4 losses)
▼Women: Qualifying pool
[Thursday, June 26th]
12:50 vs America
14:40 vs Czech Republic
▼Final Tournament
[Friday, June 27th]
Play-in tournaments with 2nd vs. 3rd place in each pool
【June 28 (earth)】
Quarterfinals (1st place in each pool vs. Play-in tournament winner)
[Sunday, June 29th]
Semi-finals, 3rd place match, final
