MITO, IBARAKI PREF. ¨C Japan kept hitting shots from beyond the 3-point line and tamed Belgium 91-75 in the first game of their two-game exhibition series at Adastria Mito Arena on Friday night.

Newcomer Saki Hayashi knocked down five 3-pointers in a 19-point performance to lead the Akatsuki Five. Veteran forwards Yuki Miyazawa, who made four 3-pointers, and Moeko Nagaoka had 12 points apiece to spark Japan as well.

Speedy point guard Nako Motohashi also made solid contributions with 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

Japan¡¯s long-range shooting was sharp from the early going and it built a 56-38 halftime lead, then extended the advantage to 76-50 at the end of the third quarter. The Europeans bounced back in the final period, but it was a little too late.

¡°We played at our pace from the beginning and all our players played hard throughout the game,¡± Japan head coach Tom Hovasse said after the game.

For Japan, nine players made at least one 3-point shot. The team sank 18 shots from beyond the arc against Belgium, which advanced to the semifinals at last year¡¯s FIBA Women¡¯s World Cup.

¡°Our elder players were running hard from the beginning to give us the pace we played,¡± 24-year-old Hayashi said. ¡°It was huge for us to play with maximum energy for the entire 40 minutes.¡±

It was the first international game of the year for Japan, which set a lofty goal of capturing a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Japan, which is 10th in the world rankings, has been granted a spot at next year¡¯s Summer Games as the host nation.

The Akatsuki Five will look to defend their title at the FIBA Women¡¯s Asia Cup as the three-time reigning champion. The early autumn tourney will be played at a to-be-announced site.