Japan women host Tall Ferns in Olympic warmup double

TOKYO (Japan) - The silver medalists at the Tokyo Games, Japan, have announced a couple of friendlies against New Zealand as part of their preparations for the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024.

Japan will square off against the Tall Ferns in the Mitsui Fudosan Cup 2024 (Tokyo Tournament) on July 4 and July 6 at the Ariake Arena in Koto City, Tokyo.

Japan's Mai Yamamoto was named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 in Sydney

The two national teams know each other well, with Japan having beaten New Zealand, 88-52, in last year's FIBA Asia Cup Semi-Finals in Sydney.

The Japanese then fell to China in a 73-71 thriller in the Final, while Australia rolled to a 81-59 triumph over the Kiwis in the Third-Place Game.

Japan are No. 9 in the Women's FIBA World Ranking, Presented by Nike, while New Zealand are No. 26.

New Zealand will use the games as part of their preparations for the FIBA Women's World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Mexico August 19-25.

FIBA