Nanako Todo is at the center of the communication circle.
Mai Yamamoto made six 3-point shots
Mitsui Fudosan Cup 2024 (Tokyo Tournament)”In front of 11,624 people, the largest in the history of the Japan Women’s International Heat, they beat the New Zealand Women’s National Team by 68 points, 125-57. Led by Mai Yamamoto’s 20 points, seven players scored double-digit points, and they outplayed their opponents with their defensive strength, forcing 35 turnovers.
They shot 55 3-point shots and made 25 (45.5%), with a big difference in fast break points 27-4, which is a concept.“A group of shooters who run and win”includes. He hit 70.4% of his 2-point shots, but only attempted 27, about half of his 3-point shots. Head coach Toru Onzuka“I’m not that worried about the balance between each of them.”say. Regarding offense“We were able to continue to attack as a team, and we have been able to perform well since the game against Australia, and we feel that we are getting in good shape.”The results were seen.
As a question,“I’m more concerned about how the offensive rebound goes in after a shot doesn’t go in, and the damage caused by delayed matchups. I want to focus on that as a key point of improvement.”There is clearly room for improvement.
Yamamoto, who scored a team-high 20 points,“I was able to make the shots because everyone made sure to get me open, but personally there were some shots I wanted to get right.”It seems he is not sure. This game is more about defense than offense,“There were some areas where we were able to defend well, but there were also areas where we were a bit too aggressive on our opponents and we weren’t able to do well.”However, they have not yet reached the pass mark and must continue to play the basketball that Japan is aiming for for 40 minutes.
In addition to protection, another theme of this game was communication. There is Nanako Tofuji“There weren’t a lot of glaring miscommunications, but we weren’t thorough in our defense in the first half when we were trying to be the best in the world. We were able to make adjustments in the second half, but I hope everyone on the field can perform at a high level.There seems to be room for growth in the team’s defense.
Todo, who was not selected to be part of the FIBA Olympic World Final Qualifiers in February of this year, used that frustration as fuel to show the results he worked hard for. Having been chosen as one of the 12 again, I no longer hesitate.“As a member of the team that was going to win the gold medal, I played with the intention of expressing myself in a positive way so that I could contribute to the victory of this team.”. He made five 3-point shots and scored 15 points.
The players were grateful to be able to play comfortably in a great atmosphere in a 10,000-capacity arena. There are only a few tickets left for Saturday, July 6, which will be the last warm-up game in Japan before the big summer stage where they will challenge themselves to be the best in the world.