UTSONOMIYA (Japan) - Japan moved a win away from booking their spot in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 following a 93-75 conquest of Mongolia to open their Window 2 campaign in the Qualifiers, Thursday night at the Nikkan Arena Tochigi.
Inspired by the sold-out crowd that gamely cheered from start to finish, the home team raced to a hot start before breaking away for good in the third quarter en route to solidifying their hold of the Group C top seed with a pristine 3-0 record.
Another win against Guam on Sunday, November 24, at the latter's home turf at the Calvo Fieldhouse in Mangilao would formalize their trip to the continental meet.
Four players finished in double figures for the Japanese, with Yudai Nishidi starring with 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from deep and 12 rebounds for an efficiency of 27 as he caused much of the damage to the opposition in the second half.
Makoto Hiejima delivered 18 points, 14 of which he made during the first half as he helped his side regain control of the game in the second quarter after the Blue Wolves managed to tie the game up at 22-all entering the period from down 12-1.
In fact, they even trailed briefly early in the said period. But big thanks to the veteran shooter, Japan would go on to overpower their youth-laden foes, 25-14, to head into the halftime intermission owning a 47-36 lead, setting up the strong rout.
Alex Kirk impressed in his national team debut as the towering center imposed his might inside and finished 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. Thanks to him, the squad dominated the battle on the boards, 41-30.
Hirotaka Yoshii chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds with 4 assists in the victory that saw Japan shoot 53.3-percent from the floor, highlight by 15 triples.
Mongolia, on the other hand, were led by Enkhbayasgalan Amarbayasgalan, who finished with a game-high 26 points in the loss that kept them winless at 0-3.
Erdenetsogt Ochirbat was his lone support with 16 points in the loss that made all their remaining assignments in the Qualifiers must-win situations if they are to keep their flickering aspirations of making it to the Asia Cup alive.
Later in the night saw China dominated Guam, 101-53, to improve to 2-1 at the Hefei Sports Center as they clearly maximized their homecourt advantage.
A total of six men finished in double figures in the victory that gave returning head coach Guo Shiqiang a fitting welcome, with young star Yang Hansen showing the way with 16 points on 7-of-8 field goal shooting and 6 rebounds plus 3 blocks.
Zeng Fanbo finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Hu Jinqiu came through with 12 points, while Cheng Shuaipeng fired a trio of triples to contribute 11 points.
Hu Mingxuan and Zhu Junlong added 10 points apiece for Team Dragon, who used a big 17-3 attack for a 45-27 lead at the half to break the game wide open.
China collected a 31 assists, which is now the third-most in the Asia Cup Qualifiers. That kind of crisp passing enabled the squad to shoot an efficient 51.8-percent from the floor, including 13 makes from beyond the arc (42.0-percent).
Meanwhile, none outside Takumi Simon (14 points) scored in double figures for Guam, who absorbed their worst loss in the Qualifiers and fell to 1-2.
FIBA