Japanese Women’s Basketball vs Belgian Women’s Basketball Preview: Who Will Be the Beneficiary of a Draw Between Two Strong Teams?

On August 4, in the third round of the group stage at the Paris Olympics, the Japanese women’s basketball team will meet the Belgian women’s basketball team in a contest for third place in Group C.

In the previous two group stage matches, both Japan and Belgium had lost both of their games. The defending Olympic silver medalist Japan, with losses totaling 37 points, ranked last in the group. Belgium, which was once considered a favorite for a medal, lost its two games by a total of 27 points and ended up in third place in the group.

In Belgium’s last match against the United States, they lost 74-87, with Meesman scoring 24 points on 19 shots, De Leye scoring 16 points, and Van Luu scoring 11 points but only making one of her ten three-point attempts. After two matches, only Meesman showed relatively stable performance, averaging 24.5 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks, with a shooting accuracy of 61.8%. Van Luu averaged 14.5 points, Linssen averaged 10 points, and De Leye averaged 9.5 points, but all three had shooting accuracies below 43%.

Japan lost their last match 64-75 to the German women’s basketball team, which made its Olympic debut. Japan had three players scoring double digits, with Misaki 15 points and 5 rebounds, Saho 13 points and 4 assists, and Sakura 11 points and 5 rebounds and 3 assists. After two matches, Japan had two players averaging double digits, with Misaki averaging 19.5 points and 3 rebounds, Saho averaging 12.5 points and 4 assists, and Sakura averaging 8.5 points.

Historically, Japan has won 5 out of 7 matches against Belgium, holding an advantage. However, in their most recent encounter, 13 days ago, Belgium defeated Japan 75-65.

According to the rules, in addition to the top two teams from groups A, B, and C, the two teams with the best records among the third-place teams will also advance to the quarterfinals. China’s women’s basketball team in group A is currently in third place with a record of 1 win and 2 losses, with a net score of -1. Since Belgium’s and Japan’s matches will take place after the matches in group B, and given the chaotic situation in group B, either Belgium or Japan needs to have a better net score than China to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. This means Japan needs to win by 37 points over Belgium, or Belgium needs to win by 27 points over Japan.

Given that both teams are roughly evenly matched, it’s challenging to achieve such a large margin of victory. If the game becomes closely contested, it could result in a situation where neither team can secure a decisive win, benefiting a third party.

Belgium’s 12-player roster includes: Klassen, Antonia De Leye, Ine Joris, Kayla Linssen, Maxella Lysova-Mbakata, Bakayi Masi, Billy Masi, Emma Meesman, Bessy Munanga, Elisa Ramet, Laure Reysimont, Julie Van Luu.

Japan’s 12-player roster includes: Magawa Stephanie, Misaki, Yuka Yoshida, Rui Tomoyose, Miho Nishimura, Sakura, Magawa Evelyn, Saho, Asahi, Yuki, Natsuki, Ayaka.

>> For more predictions on this game, please click here.