KYODO NEWS - Sep 1, 2019 - 20:41 | Sports, All

[Getty/Kyodo]

SHANGHAI - Japan received a brutal reality check in its opening game of the basketball World Cup on Sunday when an experienced and balanced Turkey team demonstrated how to win at the highest level.

Turkey's 86-67 Group E-opening win was not without positives for Japan, but it was immediately clear at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center that the Akatsuki Five's lack of all-around depth and overmatched defense would prove insurmountable issues.

"They played better basketball than us for 40 minutes," said Japan's Yuta Watanabe. "Turkey are a really good team, they did their job, we couldn't do our job."

"This is a good learning experience for us. We are young so we just have to learn from it and we just have to keep going."

(Rui Hachimura)

After finishing the first quarter in a 16-point hole, Japan closed the deficit to 12 by the half, but that was where the resistance ended, with Turkey building a 21-point buffer late in the third quarter that snuffed out any hope of a comeback.

"In the first quarter they played very good defense, they scouted and their execution was very aggressive," said Japan coach Julio Lamas.

"(They are) very physical and they make us take bad shots and they score in fast-break to complete the bad situation for us."

(Yuta Watanabe)

Finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds, Rui Hachimura showed some flashes of the ability that made him the ninth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, including one highlight second-quarter fast-break dunk over Ersan Ilyasova, but he was largely kept quiet by Turkey's physical defense that forced him to operate from the perimeter, where he is least effective.

The Washington Wizards' 21-year-old draftee shot just 3-for-10 from the floor but did get to the line 10 times, where he shot a heartening 90 percent.

Japan's other current NBA player, Watanabe, had less of an impact, the 24-year-old Memphis Grizzlies swingman finishing with 11 points on 12 shots.

He said Turkey's physicality also got him out of his game.

"I knew that they were going to play physical defense and I knew they were going to deny hard," he said.

(Nick Fazekas)

(Melih Mahmutoglu)[Getty/Kyodo]

U.S.-born big man Nick Fazekas was his reliable self on the offensive end for Japan, going for 15 points, but his lack of mobility on defense did not help his team's cause, especially when he was forced to defend switches in the pick and roll.

Melih Mahmutoglu was Turkey's best, finishing with 17 points on 70 percent shooting, while NBA veteran Ilyasova went 5-for-9 from deep to also score 17 points.

Next up, Japan plays the Czech Republic which has the daunting task of trying to beat the United States later on Sunday.

"We will try to compete against the Czech Republic and use the experience of these games," said Lamas.

"I think (the Turkey defeat) is important for us to learn to be ready for the day after tomorrow because the Czech Republic is big, too, and very strong in defense and rebounds."

The game against the Czechs on Tuesday is a must-win for Japan with the team's final group game against the likely untouchable Americans on Friday.

(Japan National Team)