SHENZHEN (China) - Japan kept their slate without a blemish following yet another dominant victory, this time against Indonesia, 80-29, in the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024, Tuesday at the Longhua Cultural and Sports Center.
Similar to their conquest of New Zealand 24 hours prior, the crew unleashed a fiery start into the match to set for the one-sided show, eventually improving their win-loss record to 2-0 and maintain the provisional lead in Group B.
Their rout of the Indonesians, which fell to 0-2, should serve as a solid warmup for their much-anticipated clash against China on Wednesday at 19:00 local time.
The hosts tote a 1-0 card after their own blowout of Indonesia on Monday and are set to face New Zealand later in the night. A win over the latter would make their rivalry affair all the more crucial, as the no. 1 seed of the pool would be on the line.
Game heroes: Kanon Suzuki led Japan with a game-high 21 points, just a few points short of outscoring the entire opposition. She shot 7-of-11 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line, and also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.
Uika Taniguchi was the only other double-digit scorer for the squad with 11 points and 6 boards, though all but two players brought at least 4 points in the win.
Turning point: Early on, the Japanese imposed their size against the smaller Indonesia, picking the latter's defense apart for a 15-1 start into the game.
The match would never be in doubt since as the Southeast Asian side just couldn't sustain their rhythm, especially offensively. They only got past the double-digit mark with 2:20 left in the second period after a triple by Nicole Sasongko.
Stats don't lie: Japan collected 14 steals in the win, marking the second game in a row that they had double-digit production in the said statistical department. They finished with a total of 20 steals against New Zealand.
FIBA