STAFF REPORT
South Korea eliminated the Japan men's basketball team from the FIBA Asia Championship on Friday, handing Thomas Wisman's squad an 86-67 quartefinals defeat in Wuhan, China.
Kosuke Takeuchi led Japan with 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting and a game-high 13 rebounds. The rest of Japan's players combined to shoot 10-for-34 from inside the 3-point arc. Tomoo Amino and Keijuro Matsui each scored 10 points. Matsui, the former Columbia University guard, was 3-for-5 on 3-point shots. Takuya Kawamura, who has led the JBL in scoring in each of the past three seasons, was held to three points on 1-for-8 shooting.
South Korea led 45-20 late in the second quarter, the largest margin in the contest. Japan cut it to 61-52 late in the third quarter, but trailed for the entire game.