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JPN / KOR – Japanese sun sets on Korea
TEHRAN (FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men): Japan played a fantastic second half and posted an 81-75 win over last edition’s runners-up Korea on Tuesday to take the second semifinal berth from Group II.
The last time Japan made the semifinals was at the 2000 Championship at Kuala Lumpur.
Japan coach Yuji Yoshida made a tactical switch-over in defense towards the end of the second quarter, which saw Japan tighten the screws and open up more space for their fast breaks.
Japan outscored Korea 37-27 in the third quarter which marked their resurgence as well shut down the Korean chances.
Makoto Hiejima scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter and Kaito Ishikawa 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Japanese charge.
Hiejima and Ishikawa had six assists each for the game. The latter collected seven boards.
“We came here looking for a top four finish,” Yoshida said.
“But until today we were not in full strength for any of the games. That’s the reason this result might look a surprising to a lot of people.”
“I knew we had a chance once we were at full strength,” Yoshida added.
Japan will play against Kazakhstan in the semifinals.
“From now, it’s a matter of one game to take us to the world championship. The boys are aware of that. So anything can happen,” he said.
Scores
Japan 81 (Makoto Hiejima 26, Kaito Ishikawa 19, Yusoke Karino 17, Daichi Taniguchi 11) bt Korea 75 (Kyungsang Park 22, Dong Seop Lim 15). Quarterwise Scores: 17-25, 31-37, 58-54.
S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia
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