In the waning seconds of the first of Japan’s two games against New Zealand in the Mitsui Fudosan Cup, which the team used as a warmup for the 2024 Olympics, Asami Yoshida gave the crowd a thrill with a behind-the-back pass to Evelyn Mawuli, who hit a jumper to finish off a 125-57 rout on Wednesday night. In the second game, on Saturday, Yoshida drove in and then fired a pinpoint pass to Yuki Miyazawa, who drained a buzzer-beating corner 3-pointer in a 92-50 victory.
With her uncanny court vision and passing ability, the veteran floor general has a game as colorful as her hair, which is platinum blonde these days but has also been dyed blue and pink this year.
She is back in the national team program for the first time in almost four years — after coming out of retirement for the second time — to provide veteran leadership and playmaking ability off the bench for Akatsuki Japan at the Paris Olympics, which begins later this month.