Japanese men compete but lose final warm-up in Paris

Japan lost 119-100 to world number 4 Serbia in men’s basketball on Sunday. The women’s team also lost 75-65 to Belgium in the last practice games before the Olympic Games in Paris.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura scored a game-high 29 points and former National Basketball Association player Yuta Watanabe returned from a left calf injury to start and score 10 points in a promising game for the 26th-ranked Japanese in Belgrade against a medal contender from Paris.

Japan’s Rui Hachimura (R) scores against Serbia during a men’s basketball warm-up match in Paris in Belgrade on July 21, 2024. (Kyodo)

“It was a big step forward. It was not a bad game to play against a strong team,” Japan head coach Tom Hovasse said after playing against Serbia, the runner-up at last summer’s World Cup, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

“We wanted to win, but at least we scored 100 points. Our offense was pretty good.”

Watanabe made two 3-pointers in 15 minutes of action, easing concerns about his fitness. Things are also looking better for Hachimura, who was sometimes out of sync with his teammates in Friday’s 104-83 loss to Germany in Berlin.

Japan’s Yuta Watanabe (12) plays against Serbia during a men’s basketball warm-up game for the Paris Olympics in Belgrade on July 21, 2024. (Kyodo)

“I feel really good. I can go into the Olympics with confidence,” Watanabe said.

The Japanese women, who won silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and are currently ranked ninth in the world, lost to sixth-seeded Belgians in Lens, France. The teams will meet again on August 4 in their final Olympic group stage match.

A 26-11 deficit in the first quarter weighed heavily on Japan, which again shot poorly from beyond the three-point line, 9 of 38, just as it did in its 75-62 loss to France on Friday.

“Our players get tense when they try to shoot,” said head coach Toru Onzuka.

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