Olympic Roundup: Belgium Overwhelms Japan to Reach the Basketball Quarterfinals

From Olympic runner-up in 2021 to a winless record at the Paris 2024 Games. The Japan women's basketball team has experienced success and major disappointment in back-to-back Olympiads.

On Sunday, August 4, Belgium cruised past Japan, winning 85-58 in the teams' final Group C group phase match at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France.

Belgium captain Emma Messeman scored a game-high 30 points. Saki Hayashi led Japan with 13 points.  

Belgium Takes a Commanding Lead in First Half

Japan trailed 39-23 at halftime, and the deficit was 61-39 entering the fourth quarter.

An announced crowd of 25,134 spectators attended the game, which featured Messeman making 14 of 21 shots from the floor and pulling down 11 rebounds.

Messeman was fired up by the enthusiastic support of the Belgium fans at the arena. In particular, cheers at the end of the game resonated with her.

"Standing in the middle with all these people around you, I can’t describe it," Meesseman said, according to The Associated Press. "That’s the thing I will remember of this Olympics already. Of that last minute."

While the Belgian squad experienced the joy of victory, it was another disappointing result for the Japanese women. Coach Toru Onzuka's squad lost its Olympic opener 102-76 to the United States in a rematch of the Tokyo 2020 final on July 29, followed by a 75-64 loss to Germany on August 1.

In Sunday's match, Evelyn Mawuli was Japan's only other double-digit scorer. She had 12 points.

Relying on its superior size, Belgium outscored Japan 48-16 in the paint.

Japan shot 19-for-61 (31%) in the loss. Playmaker Rui Machida, who shined as the top passer at the Tokyo Olympics with a tourney-best 12.5 assists per game, was held to five points and four assists against Belgium. Machida also had three turnovers.

Post-Game Reactions from Onzuka, Takada

After the game, Onzuka said Belgium overpowered his team.

"We couldn't find a way to attack, and we couldn't find a way to recover when things didn't go our way," Onzuka was quoted as saying by Jiji Press.

Starting center Maki Takada also acknowledged the team was outplayed by Belgium.

"We were beaten by a team that we had prepared well for," said Takada, who made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, according to Jiji Press. "They were better than us."

Track and Field

Olympic Debutant Muratake Wins 110-Meter Hurdles Heat

Competing in his first race at the Paris Olympics, Japan's Rachid Muratake won a men's 110-meter hurdles first-round race on Sunday, August 4 at the Stade de France.

Muratake was clocked in 13.22 seconds. Spain's Enrique Llopis was the runner-up. 

There were five first-round heats. Grant Holloway of the United States won the final heat with the day's best time (13.01). Holloway was the silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. Jamaica's Hansle Parchment, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, was among the qualifiers for the semifinals on Wednesday, running his heat in 13.43.

Muratake, 22, placed 30th in the 110 hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He missed the world championships in 2023 due to a left hamstring injury.

In his first Olympic race, Muratake had a clear objective.

"I ran with the aim of coming in first, and I was able to confirm my movements. It went as expected," he was quoted as saying by Sankei Sports.

Muratake's father, a former long jumper, is from Togo. His mother is Japanese. He was born in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, and attended Juntendo University.

Looking ahead, Muratake has greater ambitions for the semifinals. "If I improve my condition, I think I can achieve a good record," he said, according to the sports newspaper.

Also for Japan, Shunsuke Izumiya qualified for the semifinals, clocking 13.27 seconds in the fourth heat.

Olympic Medal Table

As of 12:30 AM JST on Monday, August 5, Japan's Olympic athletes and teams had earned a total of 22 medals (eight gold, five silver and nine bronze).

Check out the latest medal standings and additional details on the Paris Games official website.

Briefly…

After picking up its first Olympic victory since 2012 in women's hockey on Thursday, August 1 (1-0 over France), Japan finished with a 1-4 record in Pool B. As a result, it will not advance to the eight-team quarterfinals.

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.