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Friday's slate of international friendly action featured a meeting between Team Germany vs. Japan ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The game served as a preview of an upcoming game scheduled for Jul. 27, with Team Germany vs. Japan tipping off in the Group Phase round of the Olympics on the opening day of the basketball competition.
Germany will be entering the Summer Olympics as the reigning FIBA World champions, defeating Serbia in the championship game last year. The team has looked to pick up where they left off, going 2-1 so far through their international friendly games leading up to Friday's clash with Japan.
In the first quarter, Germany jumped out to a big lead thanks to Franz Wagner and Andreas Obst, giving the team a 27-16 lead. In the second, Germany continued to build on their lead, outscoring Japan 29-15 to give the reigning FIBA champs a 56-31 lead.
In the third, Japan began to find its rhythm, attempting a late-game comeback fueled by Rui Hachimura, Yuki Togashi, and Makoto Hiejima. While they were facing a significant deficit, the team narrowly lost the quarter 25-29 before carrying momentum into the fourth, where they outscored Germany 27-19.
Final Score: Germany def. Japan 104-83
Below, you can see the full box score for the game.
Team Germany
Team Japan
Looking at how both teams have played leading up to Friday's Germany vs. Japan international friendly
Heading into Friday's Germany vs. Japan game, Germany had gone 2-1 in international friendly games, winning back-to-back against France, who defeated Germany 90-66 in their first meeting on Jul. 6 and the Netherlands on Saturday.
On the flip side, Japan has struggled to find its rhythm through the international friendly stage leading up to the Olympics. In late June, the team lost 90-89 to Australia before playing to a 95-95 draw the following day.
Then, on Jul. 5, Japan dropped a one-point loss to South Korea before losing a rematch by one point just two days later. With Friday's loss to Germany, Japan is now 0-3-1 in international friendly games.
Looking at the 2024 Paris Olympic basketball schedule for Germany and Japan
When Olympic Basketball tips off on Jul. 27, Germany vs. Japan will be the second game following the opening game between Spain and Australia.
Germany and Japan will compete in Group B alongside France and Brazil. The schedules for both teams can be viewed below.
Team Germany
- Jul. 27 vs. Japan
- Jul. 30 vs. Brail
- Aug. 2 vs. France
Team Japan
- Jul. 27 vs. Germany
- Jul. 30 vs. France
- Aug. 2 vs. Brazil
