Basketball at Tokyo Olympics: Slovenia vs Japan Predictions, Previews and Line ups – 29th July, 2021
Follow Us
Japan Basketball team
Watch Slovenia vs Japan predictions ahead of their fixture. Luka Doncic and the Slovenian men’s national basketball team will take on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics hosts Japan in a men’s basketball Group C match on Thursday. Slovenia are coming off a monster victory over Argentina. Doncic and co. routed the Argentinians in an 18-point blowout. Luka Doncic has already made it clear he wants to take his country to the gold medal. The world’s first-ranked USA appear to be in shambles after losing three of their last four international games.
On the other side of the floor, Japan‘s opening game did not go as planned, as they lost by 11 points to Spain. Spain outscored Japan 30-14 in the second quarter, and that practically won the Spaniards the game, as the host country had to play from behind the entire time. Thus, both Slovenia and Japan need a victory in their second group-stage game to stay in medal contention.
Slovenia vs Japan Team Preview
Argentina’s coach called Doncic the best player in the world, and many believe an Olympic medal could be on the anvil for Slovenia. Alongside Luka Doncic, Mike Tobey had 11 points on 5-8 shooting along with 14 rebounds. Klemen Prepelic had key contributions as well, going off for 22 points on 6-8 shooting, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. Moreover, Vlatko Cancar had 12 points, five assist and two steals in 26 minutes. Slovenia have a potential into medal tally.
The top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams from the three groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. If Japan lose another game, they will move to the cusp of elimination. Japan’s last podium finish in international basketball was a third-place finish at the 2017 EABA Championship for Men, which was their first medal in 20 years at a FIBA event. Yudai Baba got 30 minutes of playing time, and scored seven points on 2-3 shooting. Moreover, Gavin Earl Edwards scored eight points on seven shot attempts while Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe were the standouts.
Slovenia vs Japan Line ups and Starting 5s
The Slovenia’s starters will be Luka Doncic, Jaka Blazic, Zoran Dragic, Vlatko Cancar and Mike Tobey. Their bench strength will go for Luka Rupnik, Aleksej Nikolic, Klemen Prepelic, Edo Muric, Grefor Hrovat, Ziga Dimec and Jakob Cebasek.
The Japanese starting 5 will be Daiki Tanaka, Ydai Baba, Yuta Watanabe, Rui Hachimura and Gavin Edwards. Their rotational players will be Yuki Togashi, Makoto Heijima, Leo Vendrame, Kosuke Kanamaru, Avi Schafar, Hugh Watanabe and Tenketsu Harimoto.
Slovenia vs Japan Predictions
This matchup is expected to pique the interest of basketball fans around the world. Luka Doncic has become a worldwide phenomenon and widely regarded the next face of the NBA. Meanwhile, Japan feature two talented NBA players in Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe. The host country will try their best to avoid losing another group-stage match, or else they might find themselves eliminated. Moreover, Slovenia’s next group-stage game will be against second-ranked Spain. So winning this game against Japan would be the ideal scenario for Slovenia ahead of their clash against Spain.
Stay Updated!
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)