This is the first ever victory against an European team in Japan’s basketball history.
What a game👏
SuperVaderMinion
Kawamura went absolutely ballistic in the 4th quarter, it looked like the rim was an ocean.
SiakamsWager
Kawamura is him
cilinderman
Comeback of the tournament so far.
supotnak
Crazy Comeback
Sleepwitheyeclosed
Put some respeck on Yuki KAWAMURA’s name😂 my boy cooking like crazy in the last half quarter. Consecutive filthy crossover moves and deep threes against defenders who are like a foot taller
evoken_
KAWAMURA IS THE NAME
tanskuu
I dont wanna take nothing from japan. They played amazing + crowd was nuts, but this truly a embarrassing loss for finland. Im curious if our coach gets to keep his job after this loss.
cheese_burger1
**KAWAMURA!**
sewsgup
how does Olympics qualification work for Asian teams?
is Australia included? or is it top 2 finishers from E/S/SE Asia?
this win might be huge for Japan’s Olympic qualification status right?
fedexxgirl
ice in his veins
minaismybias
Kawamura and Hawkinson > Shaq and Kobe
silentorange813
First ever victory for Japan in an international competition like this. I think they were 0-6 until today. This is something we’ve waited for since the manga Slam Dunk came out.
StonedEdge
CLUTCH DADDY KAWAMURA!
MyManD
I really hope Kawamura gets his name out there from this. He was both Japan’s top league’s MVP as well as ROTY last year. That was an insane feat, and now he’s getting to show the world why.
ManInAHook
One of the worst showings ever in basketball by Finland. 15 point lead and lets start throwing stupid fucking threes and play like nothing matters. As a Finnish person this was bad from the players and staff. Edon Maxhuni shouldn’t be near a basketball court
Babarotary
Kawamura was cooking in the 4th but shoutout to Hawkinson with the 28 pts 19 reb game.
randodna
Japan’s always so fun to watch. Lots of movement, lots of pace, lots of entertaining basketball when they get going.
SincereFan
This is a good game, I am sorry for anybody who didn’t watch this one and are basketball/WC fans. This is one of the greatest Fiba games I have ever seen and one of the most enjoyable games I have watched in a long time. Japan kept adjusting on the fly while Finland tried everything to keep their lead. Japan kept finding the very small holes in the defense at the exact right times. This is pure just oncourt dominance as a 5 man and Finland wasn’t bad or dropping the ball they just got dominated by a team that took all the momentum and would not miss. In the video games there was a team wide on fire button, in which everybody is in the zone, well I saw it live today. Just crazy how they all just popped off and wouldn’t miss from Tominaga and Hawk doing many individual plays.
Hawk was doing a fantastic job on Lauri and at holding the paint and switches as a defensive anchor, he set some hard screens and was a reliable PNR target at any point, he also was bringing the ball up the court some times and was facilitating and calling plays. Tominaga was unstoppable on all ends of the court and he alone shifted the entire momentum with so many clutch tough shots and clutch defensive stops. Both of them imo convinced me this game that they could be in the NBA. I honestly think they are worth a shot, over some of the 8-10 man on some teams. Both still relatively young, Tominaga being 22, and having so much skills offensively and defensively while showing alot of stamina and passing ability makes him an enticing pickup. Tominaga was flying at some points to gobble up the rebound. I really would take the shot on Tominaga and Hawk if I was an NBA GM and I think Kawamura also can be on a gleague squad to see what he can do and might make the main squad pretty soon with the way he was playing during the clutch ending moments. Japan is a huge dark horse now, and I am a big fan now. Australia has new Orlando Magic player Joe Ingles but I am all-ing for Japan being the 2nd team after Germany to advance. This squad can cause havoc in the next stages.
cTheDeezy
Congratulations to Japan on most likely qualifying for the olympics.
Embriash
Tom Hovasse, Japan’s coach, is the same coach behind that historic run by the women’s team in Tokyo where they won the silver medal, defeating Belgium and France in its way. He will be a legend for Japanese basketball, if he’s not already.
zuruka1
I didn’t think Finland would miss Koponen that much, but turns out even in his twilight year he is still quite important.
Miro Little has been disappointing, he showed some promises last year in Eurobasket, but seems he hasn’t gotten any better since then.
Also, is Shawn Huff retired? Wouldn’t surprise me if he did, given his age.
JohnLemonnn69
Japan deserves to advance to the Olympics over the Philippines
SincereFan
Tominaga (22 years old), Kawamura (22 also), and Hawk ( I think 28) all need a callup to the NBA/gleague. Tominaga imo could be special. The best player on all ends during the comeback stages, just was locking up his defender, making right reads in passing lanes, flying (honestly just got so much bounce) to gobble the rebounds, and making many clutch stops and pokes and this is not mentioning him looking like Steph with the amount of tough shots and offball movement he was doing. I truly think he needs a shot if he wants it at the NBA. He seems like he will fit in perfectly, and his athleticism could make him special.
ButtVader
Free Lauri
datemaki
K A W A M U R A
SincereFan
All yall talking about Kawamura but Tominaga or Hawk are the real mvp.
spacefish420
Damn bro I turned the game off in the third quarter assuming Finlands lead was big enough…
soapsoupsin
I went to a sports bar for the first time here in Japan to watch this match. The place went absolutely ballistic🔥🔥🔥
drtij_dzienz
Very nice, Lauri. Now let’s see Rui’s statline.
HamTemptation
Congratulations, Japan. Nothing short of a deserved victory. Goddamn how we choked, though.
Previous_Breakfast99
Imagine losing against an Asian country🤦♂️
Sibs-Johannes-Teline
I want to curl into a ball and hibernate for a week or two
needlethatsings
Between this, the FIFA world cup, and their men’s volleyball team placing 3rd (!) in the VNL, sports teams from Japan are looking kinda nice rn
larrylegend1990
Crazy how the two guys who are 5’8 and below played really well.
I think one of them is the Nebraska player they call the Japanese Steph Curry
datemaki
shout out to JAPANESE CURRY too!
Flovust
I dont really follow int play whyd rui not play for japan?
surely with 16-10 points left to be scored and nearly 4min left this cannot be considered “a dagger”????
ForCrying0utLoud
The Feeling of Not Losing II OST
Someone from Japan entered the zone in the 4th and his name is KAWAMURA
CarsonnWellss
Lol a white guy named josh won this game for Japan. Kinda take away from international comp for all teams who have naturalized players tbh. That’s what makes international football/basketball tournaments so amazing
Edit: not saying that it’s bad bc hawk is white but in regards to the Philippines for example all of their players At least have a parent that is Filipino. Hawk is literally just a dude who’s lived in Japan for 5 years
41 Comments
Amazing victory
This is the first ever victory against an European team in Japan’s basketball history.
What a game👏
Kawamura went absolutely ballistic in the 4th quarter, it looked like the rim was an ocean.
Kawamura is him
Comeback of the tournament so far.
Crazy Comeback
Put some respeck on Yuki KAWAMURA’s name😂 my boy cooking like crazy in the last half quarter. Consecutive filthy crossover moves and deep threes against defenders who are like a foot taller
KAWAMURA IS THE NAME
I dont wanna take nothing from japan. They played amazing + crowd was nuts, but this truly a embarrassing loss for finland. Im curious if our coach gets to keep his job after this loss.
**KAWAMURA!**
how does Olympics qualification work for Asian teams?
is Australia included? or is it top 2 finishers from E/S/SE Asia?
this win might be huge for Japan’s Olympic qualification status right?
ice in his veins
Kawamura and Hawkinson > Shaq and Kobe
First ever victory for Japan in an international competition like this. I think they were 0-6 until today. This is something we’ve waited for since the manga Slam Dunk came out.
CLUTCH DADDY KAWAMURA!
I really hope Kawamura gets his name out there from this. He was both Japan’s top league’s MVP as well as ROTY last year. That was an insane feat, and now he’s getting to show the world why.
One of the worst showings ever in basketball by Finland. 15 point lead and lets start throwing stupid fucking threes and play like nothing matters. As a Finnish person this was bad from the players and staff. Edon Maxhuni shouldn’t be near a basketball court
Kawamura was cooking in the 4th but shoutout to Hawkinson with the 28 pts 19 reb game.
Japan’s always so fun to watch. Lots of movement, lots of pace, lots of entertaining basketball when they get going.
This is a good game, I am sorry for anybody who didn’t watch this one and are basketball/WC fans. This is one of the greatest Fiba games I have ever seen and one of the most enjoyable games I have watched in a long time. Japan kept adjusting on the fly while Finland tried everything to keep their lead. Japan kept finding the very small holes in the defense at the exact right times. This is pure just oncourt dominance as a 5 man and Finland wasn’t bad or dropping the ball they just got dominated by a team that took all the momentum and would not miss. In the video games there was a team wide on fire button, in which everybody is in the zone, well I saw it live today. Just crazy how they all just popped off and wouldn’t miss from Tominaga and Hawk doing many individual plays.
Hawk was doing a fantastic job on Lauri and at holding the paint and switches as a defensive anchor, he set some hard screens and was a reliable PNR target at any point, he also was bringing the ball up the court some times and was facilitating and calling plays. Tominaga was unstoppable on all ends of the court and he alone shifted the entire momentum with so many clutch tough shots and clutch defensive stops. Both of them imo convinced me this game that they could be in the NBA. I honestly think they are worth a shot, over some of the 8-10 man on some teams. Both still relatively young, Tominaga being 22, and having so much skills offensively and defensively while showing alot of stamina and passing ability makes him an enticing pickup. Tominaga was flying at some points to gobble up the rebound. I really would take the shot on Tominaga and Hawk if I was an NBA GM and I think Kawamura also can be on a gleague squad to see what he can do and might make the main squad pretty soon with the way he was playing during the clutch ending moments. Japan is a huge dark horse now, and I am a big fan now. Australia has new Orlando Magic player Joe Ingles but I am all-ing for Japan being the 2nd team after Germany to advance. This squad can cause havoc in the next stages.
Congratulations to Japan on most likely qualifying for the olympics.
Tom Hovasse, Japan’s coach, is the same coach behind that historic run by the women’s team in Tokyo where they won the silver medal, defeating Belgium and France in its way. He will be a legend for Japanese basketball, if he’s not already.
I didn’t think Finland would miss Koponen that much, but turns out even in his twilight year he is still quite important.
Miro Little has been disappointing, he showed some promises last year in Eurobasket, but seems he hasn’t gotten any better since then.
Also, is Shawn Huff retired? Wouldn’t surprise me if he did, given his age.
Japan deserves to advance to the Olympics over the Philippines
Tominaga (22 years old), Kawamura (22 also), and Hawk ( I think 28) all need a callup to the NBA/gleague. Tominaga imo could be special. The best player on all ends during the comeback stages, just was locking up his defender, making right reads in passing lanes, flying (honestly just got so much bounce) to gobble the rebounds, and making many clutch stops and pokes and this is not mentioning him looking like Steph with the amount of tough shots and offball movement he was doing. I truly think he needs a shot if he wants it at the NBA. He seems like he will fit in perfectly, and his athleticism could make him special.
Free Lauri
K A W A M U R A
All yall talking about Kawamura but Tominaga or Hawk are the real mvp.
Damn bro I turned the game off in the third quarter assuming Finlands lead was big enough…
I went to a sports bar for the first time here in Japan to watch this match. The place went absolutely ballistic🔥🔥🔥
Very nice, Lauri. Now let’s see Rui’s statline.
Congratulations, Japan. Nothing short of a deserved victory. Goddamn how we choked, though.
Imagine losing against an Asian country🤦♂️
I want to curl into a ball and hibernate for a week or two
Between this, the FIFA world cup, and their men’s volleyball team placing 3rd (!) in the VNL, sports teams from Japan are looking kinda nice rn
Crazy how the two guys who are 5’8 and below played really well.
I think one of them is the Nebraska player they call the Japanese Steph Curry
shout out to JAPANESE CURRY too!
I dont really follow int play whyd rui not play for japan?
[_Japan took the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Kawamura, who made it 82-78 with 3:51 left with a dagger 3._](https://olympics.com/en/news/fiba-world-cup-2023-okinawa-japan-beat-finland-resullt-stats)
surely with 16-10 points left to be scored and nearly 4min left this cannot be considered “a dagger”????
The Feeling of Not Losing II OST
Someone from Japan entered the zone in the 4th and his name is KAWAMURA
Lol a white guy named josh won this game for Japan. Kinda take away from international comp for all teams who have naturalized players tbh. That’s what makes international football/basketball tournaments so amazing
Edit: not saying that it’s bad bc hawk is white but in regards to the Philippines for example all of their players At least have a parent that is Filipino. Hawk is literally just a dude who’s lived in Japan for 5 years