Japan head into Quarter-Finals on winning note following defeat of France

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Japan snapped a two-game losing streak by beating France, 79-71, to finish their Group A campaign on a winning note.

The result saw the Asian champions improve to 3-2 in Group A, the same record as both France and Turkey. As a result of the three-way tie - and the fact that no one team beat the other two - Les Bleues finished second by virtue of having the best point differential of the three, with the Turks in third and the Asian champions fourth. They all join group winners Australia into the Quarter-Finals of the competition, which will be played in Carrioca Arena 1 on Tuesday.

Japan led for most of the night and it was a case of two players succeeding one another in leading the way offensively. Sanae Motokawa had 14 of her 17 points in the first half - at the end of which her team led 40-32 - before Rui Machida poured in 15 of her game-high 24 points after the break.

France led 19-17 to end the first quarter before Japan outscored them 23-13 in the second to go into halftime up 40-32.

The French tied the game at 40 early in the third quarter but that was short-lived as Japan regained the lead and did not relinquish it the rest of the way. 

Turning Point: Isabelle Yacoubou got France within 60-54 but Machida then hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds of the third quarter to push the advantage back up to 9.   

Stats Don't Lie: Japan scored 22 points off of France's 25 turnovers.

Hero: Yoshida's 24 points came on 10-of-15 shooting. She also finished with 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 rebounds. Motokawa made the most of her playing time with her 17 points scored in just 21 minutes. 

Bottom Line: Japan will take confidence boost heading into the Quarter-Finals on the back of a win against a team of France's calibre.

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FIBA