Rui Hachimura scores 22 points! Japan men's basketball beats South Korea 88-68, a team that previously beat China twice.

On August 16, Beijing time, two Asian powerhouses played a friendly match. Japan's full-strength team dominated, winning 88-68 over South Korea with a 20-point margin. The victory was brutal. NBA star Rui Hachimura scored 22 points effortlessly.

To prepare for the World Cup qualifiers, last night two major rivals of the Chinese men's basketball team, South Korea and Japan, played a friendly. Both fielded mainly their main lineups, attracting huge attention. Japan even unusually sent two NBA stars, Rui Hachimura and Yuki Kawamura, along with naturalized player Josh Hawkinson. The game was of high quality, and it was worth seeing what the full-strength Japanese team could do.

After the game started, both teams were conservative in the first quarter, leading to a tight score. South Korea kept close, trailing by only three points after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Japan stepped up. Rui Hachimura led the attack, and they outscored South Korea 28-12, taking a big lead. At halftime, the gap was 19 points. In the third quarter, Japan continued their strong play, controlling the game with inside-outside play, winning the quarter 28-19, extending the lead to 28 points. The fourth quarter became garbage time. Japan slowed down, and South Korea tried to cut the deficit to save face, but still lost by 22 points.

It must be said that this full-strength Japanese team is incredibly strong, now in a class of its own in Asia. Beating this South Korean team by 20 points is no joke, especially since South Korea had beaten China twice in the World Cup qualifiers. This shows how big the gap is between China and Japan. If this Japanese team played against China, we would lose even more badly.

By: Sports Novel