Australia vs. Japan FIBA World Cup 2023: Date, time, where to watch, live stream details, and more

Round 1 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is nearing its conclusion with some teams having already punched their tickets to the next round.

In Group E, featuring Germany, Australia, Japan and Finland, the Germans (2-0) have already qualified for Round 2. Meanwhile, the Finnish (0-2) have already been eliminated. That leaves one more spot in the second round up for grabs in Group E between the Aussies (1-1) and the Japanese (1-1). This makes Tuesday’s (August 29) matchup between the two sides an extremely pivotal one.

Tuesday’s game will take place at the Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan, and will kick off at 20:10 local time (GMT+9). It can be streamed live on Courtside1891 and ONE SPORTS +.

How have Australia and Japan fared at the FIBA World Cup 2023 so far?

Japanese forward Yuta Watanabe

While Australia and Japan both have a 1-1 record thus far, their respective first two games have had very different outcomes.

Australia won their first matchup against Finland comfortably, 98-72, led by 25 points and eight rebounds from veteran point guard Patty Mills.

The Aussies then suffered a tough three-point loss in their second game against Germany, falling 85-82. This came after they gave up 30 points and eight assists to German point guard Dennis Schroder.

Meanwhile, Japan, fell 81-63 to Germany in their opening matchup after surrendering 25 points and nine rebounds to German big man Moritz Wagner.

However, the Japanese bounced back in their second game against Finland, rallying from 18 points down to secure a historic 98-88 victory. The hosts were led by big man Joshua Hawkinson, who finished with 28 points and 19 rebounds.

Per CNN, the win marked their first-ever victory against a European opponent in the World Cup and their first World Cup victory since 2006 (Panama).

As for Tuesday’s upcoming matchup between Australia and Japan, the former are seen as the favorites to secure the win. As per Opta, the Boomers have “not lost consecutive games in the preliminary round of the FIBA World Cup since 2006 (three defeats in a row).”

In addition, they “have won their five games played against teams from Asia in the preliminary round of the competition by an average margin of 21 points.”

Meanwhile, according to Opta, the odds are stacked against the Japanese as they will be trying “to win consecutive games for the first time ever in the competition.”

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