Kosuke Takeuchi scored 20 points and Yusuke Okada contributed 18 as Japan earned an 86-59 win Friday over the United Arab Emirates in the 9-12 classification round of the FIBA Asia Championship in Tianjin, China.
Japan, which led 34-33 at halftime, scored 31 fourth-quarter points to put the game out of reach. Okada made 6 of 12 3-point shots in the runaway win.
Japan (2-4) will face Kazakhstan for ninth place on Saturday. Japan placed eighth overall — its worst-ever tournament showing — at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Tokushima.
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