Star point guard Yuki Togashi scored a team-high 12 points, including a key jumper in the final minute, to help Japan take the East Asia Basketball Association Championship group-stage opener with a 78-72 win over South Korea at Nagano Mashima General Sports Arena on Saturday.
South Korea forward Jeon Jun-beom drained a 3-pointer to cut his team's deficit to just one point with 1:32 left.
But Togashi, a 167-cm player for the B. League's Chiba Jets, sank a long jump shot on an isolation play with 41 seconds left to give the Akatsuki Five a 75-72 lead. After that, fellow guards Ryoma Hashimoto and Daiki Tanaka added three points combined on free throws to seal the win.