Keisei Tominaga scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half as Japan earned a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics with an 80-71 win over Cape Verde Saturday morning in the FIBA World Cup.
Tominaga went 8-of-11 from the field, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range and added two assists in just 18 minutes of action off the bench, as Japan concluded its tournament run with a 3-2 record and earned the Olympic bid as the highest finishing team from Asia in the World Cup.
Tominaga entered the game with Japan trailing 19-14 in the final minute of the first quarter and led Japan on its comeback. He had 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including a trip of 3-pointers as Japan outscored Cape Verde 33-18 in the second quarter. After Cape Verde pulled within 33-28 with 5:10 left in the half, Tominaga hit a trio of 3-pointers in a 11-2 run over the next 1:10 to give Japan its largest lead at the time at 44-31.
Cape Verde was within 59-47 midway through the third quarter before Tominaga keyed another run. The Husker guard had two assists and pair of 3-pointers – his fifth and sixth of the night – in a 14-3 run that stretched the lead to 73-53 with 2:00 left in the third quarter. Japan would see its 20-point lead cut to 74-70 with under a minute remaining before holding on for the win.
Tominaga finished his tournament run averaging 11.4 points per game on 45 percent shooting, including 37.5 percent from 3-point range. He also added 1.4 assists, 1.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game as Japan’s three victories were its most ever in a single FIBA World Cup.
