88-year wait ends as Japan finally take down China, sweep Window 1

TOKYO (Japan) - Japan rewrote the history books as they finally beat China, 76-73, to sweep Window 1 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, Sunday at the Ariake Coliseum.

Fueled by their ever-supportive home fans, the crew bucked a slow start, took the lead in the middle quarters, and then warded off a late-game comeback attampt en route to beating the Chinese in a major international basketball competition for the first time in almost 90 years.

The last time the Japanese beat their fellow continental contender was in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany by way of a 35-19 decision.

Game heroes: Yudai Baba starred in the historic triumph with 24 points on 60-percent field goal shooting, including a 4-of-6 clip from beyond the arc, along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal as Japan finished the first window with a 2-0 record.

Josh Hawkinson delivered a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds as Coach Tom Hovasse utilized the seasoned big man in the rivalry affair after going with new guy Josh Harrellson in their first game against Guam, a 77-56 win, last Thursday.

Yuki Kawamura supplied 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Yuki Togashi added 8 points as the floor generals provided the stabilizing presence in their comeback trail.

Turning point: Down 14-3 to start the ball game, Japan patiently came back from that deficit and eventually took the lead late in the second period. But it wasn't until the next frame where they'd be ahead for good, with Togashi pushing their lead to 55-46 with 2:10 on the clock.

But it was by no means easy for them afterwards, Soichiro Inoue had the chance to ice the game with 1:25 left but went 0/3 from the line. However, China committed a turnover and Hawkinson made them pay through a dunk to make it a 75-70 count with 1:09 left to play.

Just as when the team thought that it dodged a bullet, the opposition kept on coming back, with Cheng Shuaipeng converting a desperation heave from deep to get themselves within two.

The door was even left open when Makoto Hiejima only split his foul shots with 6.6 seconds to go, but the Chinese missed what could've been a game-tying trey as time expired.

Stats don't lie: Baba tallied an efficiency of 27, which is now the highest he's had in FIBA competitions thus far.

They said: "That was.a great win for us. I told the tema 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. I was really glad we could pull it out. It was a tough one. Beginning of the game wasn't going well, they were beating us up on the boards and then everybody just tightened it up a little bit, started doing things a little bit better, and Baba hit some huge threes, he was on fire today and his defense was amazing. We all just did our roles and did our jobs and thankful we could get the win.  A long time coming. After getting beated by China two and a half years ago, it's a pretty sweet win for us." - Tom Hovasse, Head Coach, Japan

"It was our first win [against China] after 88 years and as 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." - Yudai Baba, Japan

"They took advantage of their homecourt. They imposed their aggressiveness in certain moments of the game. With the traps, we knew it was coming. They were super aggressive. They created a lot of problems in our execution. Nevertheless we had a chance to tie the game and we had a chance to decide the game with the last shot. They're a team who bases their game on shooting three-pointers out of the creations of their quick guards and I think tonight, Yudai Baba was exceptional. We couldn't find the cure to stop him. And their big man Hawkinson, who in tough moments made some good decisions and for us it was crucial ... in the end, we're a very young team. We're missing some veteran players due to their problems and we're on our path to continue working, continue giving experience to this young team and this was the best place to gain that experience." - Aleksandar Djordjevic, Head Coach, China

FIBA