Japan vs Venezuela Basketball Preview: Prediction, odds, and more for the FIBA World Cup 2023

After getting eliminated in the group stage, Japan will continue their FIBA World Cup run in the classification rounds. They posted a record of 1-2 through their first three games.

Japan's first matchup came against Germany, where they lost in a blowout. They managed to pick up a win against Finland before suffering a 109-89 defeat at the hands of Australia.

Next up for the Japanese is a matchup with Venezuela. The two teams will square off on August 31 at 7:10 AM Eastern Time.

Venezuela also struggled in the group stage, posting a 0-3 record. Their first loss came at the hands of Luka Doncic and Slovenia. After that, they dropped games to Cape Verde and Georgia.

Japan's FIBA World Cup Roster

• Yuki Togashi
• Yuki Kawamura
• Makoto Hiejima
• Yuta Watanabe
• Yudai Baba
• Yudai Nishida
• Joshua Hawkinson
• Keisei Tominaga
• Shuta Hara
• Soichiro Inoue
• Hirotaka Yoshii
• Koya Kawamata

Venezuela's World Cup Roster

• Gregory Vargas
• Garly Sojo
• Jhornan Zamora
• David Cubillan
• Pedro Chourio
• Miguel Ruiz
• Windi Graterol
• Heissler Guillent
• Yohanner Sifontes
• Michael Carrera
• Joe Materan
• Nestore Colmenares

Japan vs. Venezuela Prediction

Even though they didn't have a much better record than Venezuela, Japan is the favorite heading into this matchup. Part of why they were knocked out in the group stage is because they played two top teams in Germany and Slovenia.

The Japanese also have more NBA talent and one of the top overall performers in the FIBA World Cup (more on this below). Due to this, they should be able to get a win in their first classification rounds game.

Players to Watch

One of the key players to watch in this game is the only person on an NBA roster - Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe. In the group stage, he averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Watanabe managed to score 20+ points in two of the three first-round matchups.

Another standout performer for Japan in the group stage was Joshua Hawkinson. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 23.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in three games.

After a slow start, Hawkinson hit his stride in the second and third games. In 38 minutes against Finland, he posted 28 points and 19 rebounds. The 23-year-old followed that up by going for 33 points and seven rebounds in a loss to Josh Giddey and Australia.