Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe and Japan were knocked out of contention from the FIBA World Cup Tuesday with a loss to Australia. But he and the national team still have something to play for.

Watanabe and Japan defeated Venezuela Thursday morning, 86-77, to keep their chances of advancing to the 2024 Olympics in Paris alive. Watanabe finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds and two blocks for Japan, which went on a 26-9 run late in the game to finish a comeback win.

Japan can advance to the Olympics if it has the best record out of the FIBA Asia teams in the World Cup. The others — China, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and the Philippines — currently have a worse record than Japan, which is the only country in that bunch to have two World Cup wins.

Watanabe and Japan can lock a spot in the Olympics if they win Saturday's game against Cape Verde.

Watanabe has starred in international play. He exceeded 20 points for the third time in the FIBA World Cup and also had two blocks for the third time.

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In four combined World Cup games, Watanabe has averaged 17.3 points on 48.1 percent shooting (34.5 percent from 3-point range), 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Watanabe signed a two-year contract with the Suns in free agency and figures to be an important piece. He is known as a prolific 3-point shooter and in 2022-23 shot 44.4 percent from distance, including over 50 percent in the corner.

Watanabe played with Suns forward Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets this past season. He was assisted by Durant 14 times.

Watanabe is expected to be a key bench piece for the Suns. He is showing in international play he can be a player that can help a team contending for a championship.