On August 27, Beijing time, in the second round of Group E of the Men's Basketball World Cup, Japan defeated Finland 98-88, and Japan achieved a reversal with up to 18 points behind. In this group, Germany won 2 games to qualify early, Australia and Japan both won 1-1, and Finland finished bottom of the game after 2 defeats. Japan won the Asian team's first victory in this World Cup, ending an eight-game losing streak for Asian teams.
Japan's Yuki Kawamura 25 points and 9 assists, Hogginson 28 points and 19 rebounds, Keisei Tominaga 17 points and 3 steals, 17 points than Ishima Shin; Finland's Jan Tunen had 13 points, five assists and three steals, Markkanen had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Shoni had 12 points and five assists.
In the first quarter, Mark Shoni hit a long-range shot from the outside, and Markkanen easily broke through and scored; Racecourse made a dunk and Watanabe scored on a jumper to give Finland a narrow 5-4 lead. Hogginson scored 2+1 with a strong attack, scored 4 points than Ishima Shin, and Yuki Kawamura scored a layup, and Japan played well on the court, opening the court score 15-7. Madsen hit a long-range shot from the top of the front, and Murphy and Markkanen hit the basket to help Finland catch up; Shin Hieshima broke through for a layup and Kawamura hit a jumper from the free throw line, giving Japan a 22-15 lead to end the quarter.
In the second quarter, Markkanen and Valtonen hit the basket back-to-back as Finland rallied on the court to close the score to 24-25. Keisei Tominaga hit a three-point shot from the outside; Both Little and Murphy shot from the outside as Finland turned the tide to take a 30-28 lead. Jan Tunen scored the ball with a layup on his back, as did Makshonen and Kamhoya, Markkanen countered with a chop and Camhonen's long-range shot from outside to help Finland open the game. At half-time, Finland led 36-26.
In the third quarter of the game, Markkanenri scored 5 consecutive points on a sudden outside shot, and Mark Shonee's mid-range and long-range jump shot was also hit in succession; Hogginson made a fast-break layup, Isuki Kawamura made a sudden combination of shots on the court, and Shin Hieshima also fired from the outside to catch up, and Finland still maintained the advantage at 56-47. Valtonen hit a long-range shot from the outside, Toconen scored on a basket, and then Markkanen made another dunk to extend Finland's advantage 63-49. Little scored fast-breaking, with layups from Mark Shoni and Kamhoya; Keisei Tominaga and Yu Baba both shot from a distance and were in pursuit. Finland led 73-63 in the quarter.
In the final quarter, Tominaga hit a long shot, Hogginson hit a basket, Kawamura shot and scored from the outside, and then Hogginson successfully ate cakes under the basket, and Japan closed the score to 76-78 after playing a 13-5 attack. Kawamura made a 2+1 basket, and then he stepped back and hit a three-pointer, giving Japan an 82-78 lead. Kawamura's long-range shot and Hogginson scored another layup, giving Japan an 89-80 lead. Sarin scored two consecutive 3-pointers from outside to still help Finland survive. Kawamura hit a key 3-pointer, and Tominaga scored a layup to give Japan a 10-point advantage at 96-86. In the following matches, Japan firmly maintained their advantage on the field and won the game smoothly.
Starting lineup
Finland: Jantunin, Markkanen, Makshoni, Kamhoya, Sarin
Japan Team: Shuta Hara, Yuda Maba, Hawkinson, Yuta Watanabe, Yuki Tomiken