Japan Rallies Past Venezuela in the 4th Quarter for a Dramatic Basketball World Cup Win

Guards Kawamura, Hiejima Help Elevate Japan

Like Hiejima, Kawamura provided a big offensive spark in the fourth quarter, when he scored nine of his 19 points. His speedy forays through traffic and sharp passes produced numerous scoring chances for his teammates, too. He had a game-high 11 assists.

"Even though it was a difficult ranking match," Kawamura was quoted as saying by NHK, "I am highly motivated to reach our goal of being number one in Asia."

Asked about Hiejima's clutch shooting performance, Hovasse noted that he brings valuable experience to the court whenever he plays.

"He's a veteran player and he doesn't just look at what's in front of him ― he looks at the bigger picture," the coach said. "And he knows that we weren't scoring, and he just tries to make things happen."

Hovasse added, "All credit to him, he really woke our team up and got the momentum on our side. It was fantastic."

For Hiejima, mission accomplished against Venezuela.

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook.[Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.