Japan's men’s and women’s basketball teams will face a stiff challenge during the preliminary round of this summer Tokyo Games after being given a tough road during the draw for the Olympic tournaments on Tuesday.
The host country’s male squad was placed into Group C along with Spain and Argentina, the finalists of the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. The final spot in the group will be filled by the winner of one of the four qualifying tournaments taking place in four nations from June 29 to July 4. The Group C qualifier will come from the tournament being held in Kaunas, Lithuania.
“We’ll be taking on the two finalists of the World Cup, and it says it all,” men’s team head coach Julio Lamas told an online news conference following the draw. “They play collectively at a high level and have players that possess individual skills. As for Spain, besides winning the gold medal at the World Cup, they’ve won medals at consecutive Olympics in the past.”