With a significant pair of wins during the previous window of the Asian qualifiers in Toyama late last year, the Akatsuki Five got much closer to clinching a berth for this summer¡¯s FIBA World Cup finals in China.
But Julio Lamas, the Japan men¡¯s national team head coach, and his players won¡¯t take anything for granted in the upcoming final two games of the preliminaries.
Japan will take on Iran on Feb. 21 and Qatar on Feb. 24, both away.
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