Here’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on the key information about the FIBA Women’s Asian Cup 2025:
Japan‘s progress:
qualified for the Final Tournament: The Japanese women’s national team has advanced to the final tournament of the FIBA Women’s Asian Cup 2025.
Semi-final Victory: They defeated New Zealand 77-62 in the semi-finals.
Key to Victory: Japan showed their “Japanese personality” in the second half, utilizing their pace after a slow start.
Next Match: They will face the host country,China,on Saturday,July 19th,at 8:30 PM Japan time.
Team Strategy and Performance:
Head Coach’s Message: Coach Corey Gaines emphasized playing aggressively and focusing on their own game, not just reacting to the opponent.
Player Mindset Shift:
Konno Norica (#2): Acknowledged a lack of aggression in previous qualifying matches and actively changed her mindset, scoring 13 points (her first double-digit performance).
Tanaka Kokoro (#26): Found that scoring drew defenders, opening up opportunities for teammates. She achieved a career-high 17 points against Australia.
Reduced Turnovers:
Miyazawa Yuki (#52): Highlighted fewer turnovers (11) compared to previous games (over 16) as a reason for their win.
The two point guards, Tanaka and Konno, were praised for their aggressive play while minimizing turnovers.
Looking Ahead to the Semi-finals vs. China:
Anticipation: Coach Gaines is looking forward to competing against China in front of a large home crowd.
China’s Strengths: Konno described China as a fast-paced and physically strong team, anticipating a tough game.
Japan’s Plan: Konno stated Japan will focus on running well, playing good basketball, and returning to basics.
Goal: Japan aims for their third consecutive win against China.
Tournament Details:
Dates: July 13th to 20th, 2025
Venue: Shenzhen, China (Shenzhen Sports Center)
Participating Countries (with FIBA Rankings):
Group A: China (4), New Zealand (26), Korea (14), Indonesia (57)
Group B: Japan (9), Australia (2), philippines (44), Lebanon (54)
Japan’s Qualifying Results:
Japan 72-68 Lebanon
Japan 85-82 Philippines
Japan 67-79 Australia
Japan 77-62 New Zealand
Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, July 19th: Semi-finals and 5th place match
Sunday, July 20th: Finals and 3rd place match
Broadcast/Streaming: BS Fuji, CS Fuji TV NEXT/TWO, FOD, DAZN
Keywords:
The text explicitly mentions the following keywords as being written on the whiteboard by the coach:
Play aggressively
* Play on your own, not just to match your opponent