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OLYMPICS / Basketball

Akatsuki Japan believes it can ‘surprise the world’ in Paris

Mai Yamamoto drives to the basket during an Olympic tune-up game against New Zealand in Tokyo on July 4.

Mai Yamamoto drives to the basket during an Olympic tune-up game against New Zealand in Tokyo on July 4. | Jiji

By Jason Coskrey
Staff writer

Jul 22, 2024

Toru Onzuka believes his team can “surprise the world” at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A deep run by the Japanese women’s basketball team would — on paper — be a surprise. The team is ninth in the world rankings — the same place it finished at the most recent World Cup — and will play in the toughest group in the tournament.

This team, however, is taking something into the Olympics no Japanese basketball team has before: the confidence and experience that comes with stunning the world once already.

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