SHENZHEN (China) - Japan won their first-ever FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup title 16 years ago and the follow-up to that seems to be eluding the proud program.
No other batch has been able to replicate what that special team, bannered by the legendary Ramu Tokashiki, accomplished back in 2008, ruling the competition by way of a 7-game sweep.
Since that momentous feat, the AKATSUKI JAPAN have had to settled for five straight runner-up finishes to China and a bronze medal from the 2022 edition.
Will 2024 be the year that the championship goes back to Japan? For Riona Matsumoto, there's no doubt in her mind that her team is capable of doing so.
"Our goal is to become champions of Asia," offered the 1.75 M (5'9") forward confidently. "We just need to fix some things, and I believe we're gonna win."
Japan have once again made a strong case for this year's competition. On Friday, they showed Chinese Taipei - the same team it beat for the bronze two years ago - the door, 76-70, to forge a showdown with Australia in the Semi-Finals.
There, Matsumoto played a key role in withstanding the opposition's late-game uprising, finishing with 11 points, spiked by a pair of three-pointers, and 5 rebounds.
Heading into the Semi-Finals, she now has numbers 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest as she's delivering solidly for 22.4 minutes per game.
Definitely not bad for a national youth team first-timer. "This is my first time to be a part of the Japanese national team. I'm really thankful for all the coaches. I'm really thankful for everyone," the Kansai Gaidai University standout said.
That fine play has also been contributing to her confidence not just with herself but with her team, but it isn't lost on Matsumoto that there remains a ton of work ahead if they are to call themselves champions by the end of the tournament.
One big concern is their field-goal accuracy. After converting 42.9 percent in their opening day win against New Zealand, Japan's shooting has been going downward.
They made just 40.3 percent of their shots against Indonesia. Then 39.5 percent in a loss to China, their first defeat of the competition after back-to-back blowout wins. As if it won't get any worse, the team shot just 32.9 percent versus Chinese Taipei.
Shooting 31.2 percent from deep as well, Japan have their work cut out for them especially in the Semi-Fibals, where they will try to spoil not only the Gems' back-to-back aspirations but to stop their 9-game winning streak that dates back to 2018.
As daunting as it may seem, Matsumoto is optimistic that they can turn things around and regain their touch - and their identity as a whole - with the stakes now higher.
"We couldn't make our baskets like Japan basketball does. But we can fix it," she said. "From the beginning to the end, we will play our brand of basketball."
FIBA