LILLE (France) - Japan basketball have once again turned heads at the global stage, this time with their inspiring play throughout the Group Phase of the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024.
Though they were not able to come away with their first win in the competition since 1972, they generated some buzz with how competitive they were against the likes of FIBA Basketball World Cup champions Germany, hosts France and South American powerhouse Brazil.
Fans should have seen this coming, as Japan showed glimpses of their potential at World Cup 2023 when they beat Finland, Venezuela and Cape Verde.
Yet, it was still a surprise to see Japan do what they did in Lille.
Brazil, whom Japan have not played against in a FIBA competition since 1972, however, were less surprised. Not only because they were able to scout Japan beforehand, but because they had someone who has been able to experience the development first-hand over this past year: Leo Meindl.
The 31-year-old forward played in Japan's B.LEAGUE in the 2023-24 season, suiting up for the perennial contenders Alvark Tokyo. In Tokyo, he played alongside the likes of Kai Toews and Hirotaka Yoshii whom he faced on the opposite side of the court today.
Japan basketball fans were even joking on social media among themselves, hoping that Meindl would be so used to playing with the B.LEAGUE players that he might pass to them by mistake in this game.
He knew coming in how far AkatsukI Japan have come.
"Talking about Japan, we know they are improving every year," said Meindl after Brazil's 102-84 win. It was a big enough victory to clinch Brazil a spot in the Quarter-Finals after the results of the other games that followed.
"They are investing a lot over there and [everyone has great] work ethic over there. That's why they are here and they are playing like they are playing right now."
Many times during the B.LEAGUE season, Meindl played against Yuki Kawamura who plays for the Yokohama B-Corsairs. So he was well aware that the diminutive guard could go off for 21 points and 10 assists on four made three-pointers as he did against Brazil in this game.
But he also acknowledges that it's not only Kawamura that has been impressive about this team.
"I'm talking about every player on their team, because we know that the Japanese players, they have the ability to shoot whenever they want and the range is really big so we were prepared for that," said Meindl, backed up by the fact that Japan knocked down 16 three-pointers.
There's still room for Japan basketball to improve on a winless campaign. But now, the world of basketball knows better what this national team program is capable of.
But for Meindl, who has already re-signed to continue playing for Alvark Tokyo in the B.LEAGUE, already knew better to expect that.
FIBA