Japan's men's national basketball team, the Akatsuki Five, rode solid defense to a 79-72 come-from-behind win over New Zealand in their World Cup warm-up game Wednesday.
Keisei Tominaga led Japan with 13 points as four of coach Tom Hovasse's team scored in double digits at Gunma Prefecture's Open House Arena Ota.
Trailing 29-17 after the first quarter, Japan, ranked 36th in the world, began turning up the heat defensively on their 26th-ranked opponents, and finished with 25 points from turnovers to New Zealand's seven.
"We weren't very good at the start, but from the second quarter our defense did a good job of taking the ball away," Hovasse said.
The Tall Blacks' Finn Delany led all scorers with 16 points.
Japan will play World Cup Group E games against Australia, Germany and Finland in Okinawa. The World Cup, being co-hosted with the Philippines and Indonesia, will run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10.
