Japan, representing Asia in the men’s basketball competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, has been eliminated from the group stage after three straight losses without a win.

Japan, ranked 26th in the world, fell 84-102 to No. 12 Brazil in the third game of Group B at the Paris Olympics on Sunday at Pierre Morua Arena in Lille, France.

After suffering a 20-point loss to Germany, 77-97, in the first game of the tournament, Japan battled host France to overtime behind Victor Wembanyama in the second game before falling 90-94. They finished last in their group, falling to Brazil 메이저사이트 in their final game.

Men’s basketball at the Paris Games will feature 12 nations in three groups of four teams. The first- and second-place finishers in each group will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the two best-performing teams in the third place group will also join the quarterfinals as wild cards.

In Group B, Germany and France won back-to-back matches to secure their spot in the quarterfinals, while Japan could have qualified in third place if they had beaten Brazil on the day. However, their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals were dashed when they failed to beat Brazil as well.

Japan was without Rui Hachimura, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), due to a sore calf. Hachimura has been an integral part of Japan’s offense, scoring 24 points in their second group game against France before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

Without Hachimura, Japan was no match for Brazil. In the first quarter alone, they gave up five three-pointers to Brazil and fell behind by more than 10 points, 20-31. They were unable to close the gap after that, and the 11-point deficit continued into the second quarter.

Japan rallied in the third quarter with 3-pointers from 5-foot-9 guard Yuki Kawamura and U.S.-born Japanese naturalized player Josh Hawkinson to pull within one point, 76-77, early in the fourth quarter.

But then Brazil’s free throws exploded, while Japan’s shots missed the rim. In no time at all, the lead was back to more than 10 points, and the game was still in the balance.

Brazil was dominant from beyond the arc, shooting 28 three-pointers, making 17 of them. They were also outrebounded 49-34.

Brazil was led by Bruno Cavoclo, who played in the NBA in the 2010s, who completely dominated the court with 33 points and 17 rebounds. Japan was led by naturalized player Hawkinson with 26 points (5 3-pointers) and 10 rebounds and Kawamura with 21 points (4 3-pointers) and 10 assists.