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Japan stages comeback win over Finland in men's Basketball World Cup

Japan has pulled off a come-from-behind victory over Finland in the first round of the men's Basketball World Cup. Japan ranks 36th in the world, with Finland at 24th.

The thirty-two teams in the event are vying for slots in the Paris Olympics.

Japan faced Finland in a Group E game in the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa on Sunday, after losing its first match to Germany.

 Japan took a 22-15 lead in the first quarter. Hiejima Makoto scored nine points in that quarter alone.

But in the next quarter, Finland players leveraged their height and took a 46-36 lead.

Finland extended its lead to 18 points in the third quarter, but Japan gradually narrowed the gap to 10.

In the fourth quarter, Kawamura Yuki made a game-tying shot with less than five minutes left. He went on to score a series of three-pointers.

Japan beat Finland 98-88.

This is Japan's first victory in 17 years in the history of the World Cup. It beat Panama in 2006 in the World Championships, which later became the World Cup.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230828_11/