The co-hosts of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Japan, secured their second consecutive Olympic men's basketball tournament berth by defeating Cape Verde 80-71 in Okinawa on Saturday, September 2nd.

After failing to make a single field goal during Thursday's game against Venezuela, Josh Hawkinson made a strong comeback and showcased his dominance by playing the entire 40 minutes and recording an impressive 29 points and seven rebounds.

Tominaga Keisei, coming off the bench, played a pivotal role by scoring 22 points, which included successfully making six three-pointers out of eight attempts.

Japan entered the match with the awareness that a win would secure them the top position among Asian teams in the tournament and secure the exclusive Paris 2024 qualifying spot available for Asia.

Behind by two points at the end of the first quarter, the Akatsuki came to life in the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 33-18, which gave them a halftime lead of 50-37.

They increased their lead to 18 points as they entered the final period, and despite only scoring seven points in the last 10 minutes, they successfully fended off the African side to secure their ticket to the Games once again.

After winning, Coach Tom Hovasse said: I think we showed the world what we can do. Now we're on everybody's radar, we're on everybody's maps. That's a big step. These are the moments where you really get a chance to prove yourself, but also improve yourself. That's the mindset all of our guys have. We've got some young guys that really stepped up.”