Asian 3×3 Champions Mongolia bowed to Japan’s archery basketball.
Behind an epic display of archery basketball, including eight two-pointers, Japan defeated 2023 3×3 Asia Cup champion Mongolia 21-8 to advance from Group D of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 Men’s Preliminary Round in Vienna, Austria, today.
Drawn in Group D with the Netherlands, Switzerland and Hungary, Japan and Mongolia are two of Asia’s most dominant teams but have struggled to find their stride at the 3×3 World Cup. Japan and Mongolia both won against Hungary, but fell short against the Netherlands and Switzerland.
With a 1-2 record, the two teams met in the final match of the preliminary round. The winner of the matchup would punch their ticket to the final tournament, which was open to the top three teams in the group.
Mongolia won the 3×3 Asia Cup for the first time in five years after defeating Australia at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 in March. Japan, who have a full roster of ace players including Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers Tomoya Ochiai, Thomas Early Kennedy and Ryuto Yasuoka. It was a matchup of two teams that was hard to predict.
But when the lid was lifted, the matchup went in the opposite direction. Japan’s “archery basketball” was outrageous.
Japan’s Thomas Early Kennedy has become a “crazy player. Thomas Early Kennedy has been Japan’s leading scorer with 21 points in the first three games.
Thomas Early Kennedy, a 36-year-old veteran, led Japan in archery basketball early on. Japan’s Thomas Early Kennedy hit a scary two-pointer early in the game.
Japan opened the game with a two-point shot against Mongolia. However, Thomas Early Kennedy responded with three consecutive two-pointers in the first 45 seconds of the game, followed by a fourth two-pointer from Thomas Early Kennedy to give Japan an 8-3 lead in the first minute of play.
Ryuto Yasuoka added to the two-point parade, and Japan took a 13-5 lead just over three minutes into the game after Yasuoka added two more two-pointers.
Japan, which had scored 12 of its team-high 13 points on two-pointers, completed a 10-point run at 15-5 when Tomoya Ochiai scored in transition.
Unable to recover from the unbelievable two-point barrage, Mongolia continued to struggle against Japan’s perimeter defense. They tried to find a solution under the basket midway through the game, but it wasn’t the offense that was the problem – the perimeter defense was stifling.
Ryuto Yasuoka hit his third two-pointer of the game with 4:30 left in the game, and Japan immediately followed it up with a steal by Thomas Early Kennedy for a 21-8 lead.
After a humiliating loss to 2023 3×3 Asia Cup champions Mongolia, Japan dramatically finished third in Pool D with a 2-2 record in qualifying to advance to the final.
Mongolia stuck to their style of play to the end, but their inability to change their defensive tactics quickly enough after seeing their opponent’s insane shooting touch proved to be their undoing, and they were eliminated after going 1-3 in qualifying.메이저사이트
Thomas Early Kennedy, who led Japan’s archery basketball team with 11 points against Mongolia, including five two-pointers in the first minute of play, made a strong impression and set up a tantalizing final tournament matchup against Brazil.
Thomas Early Kennedy is a naturalized Japanese citizen from Detroit who has been playing in Japan since 2011. Playing in Japan’s B League since 2011, this was the first 3×3 World Cup for Thomas Early Kennedy.