Japan’s men’s national team was left with a bitter pill to swallow after a 104-87 loss against New Zealand on Wednesday in a warm-up game at Culttz Kawasaki for the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China.
The Akatsuki Five had defeated the same opponent 99-89 in Chiba on Monday.
Ethan Rusbatch scored a team-high 16 points for New Zealand and four other players finished in double digits for the Tall Blacks, who punched their World Cup ticket with a 10-2 record during the Asian qualifiers.