All hail the Akatsuki Five! In one of the most stunning upsets in recent memory, Yuta Watanabe and Japan upset the Lauri Markannen-led Finnish squad in the group stage of the FIBA World Cup. The win was the first time the Japanese national team beat a European team. After the game, the Suns forward took to X to express his gratitude towards the Japanese fanbase that supported them.

Translation via Google Translate: “The atmosphere yesterday was great 🙏 I'm really grateful to the people who bought tickets in a hurry and filled the seats. Of course, the people who originally had tickets, and the people who cheered us on even though there were a lot of vacant seats in the match against Germany. Please do the next race 🙏”

Japan is one of the hosts of the FIBA World Cup, along with the Philippines and Indonesia. Despite that, many really didn't expect the team to make it out of the group stage. After all, they were up against a rising Euro team in Finland, and two traditional powerhouses in Australia and Germany. With the win against Finland, though, Japan has a chance of making it to the Final 16.

Aside from the historical value of the win, a top-16 finish would also be incredible for Team Japan. The highest-seeded teams from each continent after the FIBA World Cup will be granted a spot in the Olympics. Currently, Japan has the inside track for this award: the Philippines, China, Lebanon, and Iran are still winless to this point. If all of these teams don't make it to the playoffs and Japan does, they'll automatically be qualified for the Olympics. If they do not qualify, though, all Asian teams will need to duke it out in the classification phase to see who advances to Paris in 2024.

It's not going to come easy for Japan, though. Their final game will be against Australia in a do-or-die game. On paper, the Boomers should be favored: they are taller, stronger, and faster than the Akatsuki Five. Upsets can and will happen, though. Does Japan have one more upset in them to send their country to the playoffs, and perhaps the Olympics?