Hero Hiejima heats up, Japan one step closer to Paris

OKINAWA (Japan) – Makoto Hiejima took matters into his own hands as Japan came back from behind once more and frustrated Venezuela this time, 86-77, to climb up the classification ladder in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Thursday night at the Okinawa Arena.

The national team veteran fired 17 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter alone, helping his side overcome a 15-point deficit early in the said period en route to a win so crucial as they moved closer to punching a ticket to the prestigious Paris 2024 Olympics.

Showing that same heart they displayed against Finland in the First Round lit up the sold-out crowd of 7,374, and the ever-supportive fans will definitely troop to the venue once more when the Akatsuki Japan try to secure their Olympic bid against Cape Verde on Saturday at 16:10 local time.

Turning point: Hiejima only had six points in the first three quarters but became more assertive offensively in the deciding chapter, scoring the last eight of a fiery 15-2 scoring spree to trim down a wide 68-53 deficit to only a field goal with 4:25 remaining.

Hiejima scores 8 consecutive points to keep Japan in the game! 🙌#FIBAWC x #WinForJapan 🇯🇵 I #AkatsukiJapan pic.twitter.com/hzmFma9PPk

Hiejima would eventually give the home team the lead, 76-74, following a three-point play conversion. They would never fall behind again as Yuki Kawamura and Yudai Baba closed it out, making Japan the only team in this year’s World Cup to post multiple wins despite losing at halftime.

Reigning B.League MVP Kawamura finished with 19 points and 11 assists, becoming the first player to tally a double-double in points and assists for Japan in a World Cup game.

Player of the Game: Hiejima nailed six three-pointers, the most ever by a Japanese player in a World Cup game. The 33-year-old shooting guard shot 67-percent from the floor overall, and also chalked with two rebounds and a pair of steals in 22 minutes of action.

It’s worth mentioning, too, that more than half of Japan’s 33 points in the fourth quarter came from Hiejima, who’s now averaging 11.0 points in the ongoing World Cup.

Bottomline: Simply put, Japan would need to beat the Blue Sharks on Saturday to clinch the a berth in Paris. If they do, it would be their second consecutive Olympic appearance.

They said: “That took a lot of guts for the players to continue doing what we’re doing. It wasn’t working for two and a half, three quarters. Yuta started getting hot which kinda spread their defsne a little bit, and Mako came in and just started lighting it up. Once you have two players in the system that get hot, it really opens up the floor. And from there, Kawamura was able to attack the paint. We got them in foul trouble, and the fans were just amazing. Without them I don’t think we’ll win either one of these games. Great win for Japan basketball.” – Tom Hovasse, Head Coach, Japan

“That was a great win. Venezuela is a talented team, they have a lot of guys with many experience. That was a tough game but we didn’t give up. We fought for 40 minutes and got the win. I’m proud of us.” – Yuta Watanabe, Japan

“We dominated the game for 35 minutes. We held them down defensively. But in the last five minutes, we stopped playing defense. We couldn’t close the game out.” – Fernando Duro, Head Coach, Venezuela

Press conference: