Belgium women's basketball team beat Japan 89-85 in a friendly match on Saturday afternoon. The game finished at the Stade de France with a four-point margin. Both sides came in with mixed recent form, and the result settles nothing in any standings — this was a one-off encounter. The hosts found a way back into it after Japan had built an early cushion.
These two sides know each other well by now. They had met just two days earlier in a 78-77 victory for Japan. That game was tighter still, decided by a single point. Saturday's version gave Belgium something to build on, though neither manager would call it a statement win. And here's the thing — friendlies like this rarely tell you much about what comes next.
Belgium arrived in decent rhythm. They had beaten Nigeria 90-55 and held Italy to 62-60 in earlier fixtures. But they also dropped a heavy 95-67 defeat to Spain and lost narrowly to Italy again, 64-63. The form is patchy, but the home crowd was on their side. They were dominant in the air from set plays, which is always a weapon against teams that struggle on the boards.
Japan came with a sharper run. They had won two straight against South Korea, 78-77 and 77-59, before those losses to Belgium and a couple of WNBA defeats. The American league games — 86-60 to Phoenix and 94-78 to Las Vegas — showed the gap against top opposition. By then they had adjusted to the pace, and it showed in the final quarter where they tried to pull away.
Belgium held on for the win, and that matters for confidence more than anything else. The scoreline doesn't suggest dominance — just a team that kept its nerve when it counted. Japan will look at the final minutes and wish they had been sharper on defence. One mistake ends it, and Belgium avoided theirs.