Japan cruised to an 81-61 victory over Kazakhstan in Group F on Monday in the second round of Asian qualifying for next year's Basketball World Cup.
Japan, 38th in the men's world rankings, built a 45-27 halftime lead against 65th-ranked Kazakhstan in Astana en route to improving its win-loss record from the first round to 5-5.
Hirotaka Yoshii scored a game-high 15 points for Japan under head coach Tom Hovasse.
The 2023 FIBA World Cup will be co-hosted by Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines between August and September.
