Spain's superior teamwork produced glorious results at FIBA World Cup
Maybe 13 is a lucky number after all. Thirteen years after an inspired Spain, playing without injured star Pau Gasol (left foot) in the final, routed Greece to claim the FIBA World Championship crown at Saitama Super Arena, the national team achieved global glory again. Fittingly, ...
Yuta Watanabe shifts focus to upcoming NBA season
Just over 14, 15 hours after his return from China, Yuta Watanabe was back at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Wednesday, where the Japan men’s national team had landed on its return from the FIBA World Cup the previous night. And he was already "in an ...
Japan's shortcomings laid bare at FIBA World Cup
High hopes turned into devastation — and misery. With an 80-65 loss to Montenegro on Monday, the Japan men's basketball team concluded its campaign at the 2019 FIBA World Cup with a disastrous 0-5 record, the worst-ever outcome for the team in the sport's extravaganza. Considering ...
Japan ends World Cup journey with disappointing loss to Montenegro
The squad dubbed the best-ever in its history will exit China with nothing to celebrate. Japan's men's basketball team fell 80-65 to Montenegro in its final game at the 2019 FIBA World Cup on Monday, failing to post a single victory in five games at ...
Japan looking to end FIBA World Cup on high note
The Japan men's national team is wounded both physically and mentally. Which makes posting its first win at the FIBA World Cup appear to be a daunting task, especially considering the absence of star player Rui Hachimura. Japan will face Montenegro in its final World ...
New Zealand cruises past winless Japan
Despite playing without two key members, the Japan men's national squad expected to have a tough contest against another competitive team. But probably not this tough. The team remains winless at the FIBA World Cup after a crushing 111-81 defeat to New Zealand in a ...
Spain finishes strong against Italy to reach FIBA World Cup quarterfinals
Spain produced a devastating late burst to seal a 67-60 victory over Italy and squeeze into the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals on Friday — and take strongly fancied Serbia with it. Also into the last eight in China are surprise package Poland and Argentina ...
Rui Hachimura to sit out remainder of FIBA World Cup
Star forward Rui Hachimura will not play in Japan's consolation games against New Zealand and Montenegro in order to rest his weary body, the Japan Basketball Association announced on Friday. A decision was made regarding Hachimura after discussions between the JBA and the Washington Wizards, ...
Serbia celebrated its third successive World Cup win after a majestic performance by guard Bogdan Bogdanovic helped lead it to a 92-77 win over Italy, while Argentina overpowered Russia 69-61 on Wednesday. Spain, the 2006 champion, made it three wins out of three with a ...
Naturalized Japan big man Nick Fazekas looking forward to playing against U.S.
As a naturalized Japanese citizen, Nick Fazekas described it "a crazy ride" to be facing his native country on the sport's premier stage. That's what will happen on Thursday night, when Japan meets the United States in a Group E match at the FIBA World ...
Japan eager to show improvement on hardwood
Most of the players on Japan's roster for the current FIBA World Cup didn't make the trip to Belgrade three years ago for the Olympic Qualification Tournament ahead of the 2016 Rio Games. Despite not being part of that team, which looked helpless in an ...
Japan eliminated from World Cup contention after loss to Czech Republic
The Japan men’s national team played a lot better than on Sunday, but it wasn’t good enough to post its first victory at the FIBA World Cup on Tuesday. The Czech Republic defeated Japan 89-76 at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The Asian squad (0-2) is now ...
