MADRID (Kyodo) Japan saw its hopes of earning a berth in the Beijing Olympic women's basketball tournament dashed Saturday after a 66-58 loss to Cuba in the final world qualifying tournament.
Point guard Yuko Aizawa came off the bench to help Japan pull within 59-58 with about three minutes remaining in the game, but Cuba took advantage of sloppy play by Japan and went on to set up a meeting with Brazil on Sunday for the one last Olympic spot.