A balanced scoreline gave Japan a 102-81 victory over the Philippines at the FIBA Asia Cup on Tuesday night (July 19th) in Jakarta.
In the qualifying game to determine the final team that will earn a place in the quarter-finals of the 16-nation tournament in the Indonesian capital, Japan had five double-digit scorers for three quarters and held a 14-point advantage in entering the last stanza.
In the quarter-finals, Iran takes on Jordan and Lebanon takes on China on Wednesday, July 20. On Thursday, Australia takes on Japan and South Korea takes on New Zealand.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday after a rest day on Friday, followed by the third place match and the final on Sunday.
Veteran point guard Yuki Togashi paced Japan with 18 points, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range, and dished out six assists. Luke Evans, a naturalized Japanese citizen, contributed 17 points and seven rebounds. Both Yudai Nishida and Yuta Watanabe scored 15 points. Watanabe also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Yutaro Suda collected 14 points.
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Author: Ed Odeven
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