SHENZHEN (China) - A fiery start was all enough for Japan to beat Korea in a battle between perennial contenders, 69-54, and claim the bronze medal in the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024 on Sunday at the Longhua Sports and Cultural Center.
AKATSUKI JAPAN torched their East Asian rivals with a 25-4 first-quarter showing and that dictated how the game would go the rest of the way, which eventually witnessed the proud program finish third in the competition for the second time in a row.
Japan also bagged home the bronze in the 2022 edition in Bengaluru, India by way of a 77-45 beatdown of Chinese Taipei in the Third-Place Game.
Game heroes: Four players scored in double figures in the victory, with Kokoro Tanaka leading the way with 22 points on 52.9-percent shooting, including 3 triples.
Riona Matsumoto supplied 11 points and 5 rebounds, while the tandem of Sakura Horiuchi and Himeka Sone delivered 10 points apiece.
Turning point: Japan scored eight straight to open the game and they were seemingly just laying the foundation of the one-sided affair that's to come.
After Lee Minji scored on a layup, the trio of Sone, Matsumoto, and Tanaka helped out in putting together a huge 17-0 attack for a 25-2 lead before the first quarter ended.
Their lead rose to as high 25 at one point, although Korea tried to gather some steam for a fightback. They managed to get within 12, 61-49, during the final frame, but Tanaka was there to arrest their attempt by firing 5 straight points.
Stats don't lie: Playing a major factor in Japan's wire-to-wire win was the way they took care of the ball, as the team committed only 9 turnovers.
FIBA