Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe and the Japan national team clinched a spot at the 2024 Olympics in Paris with their 80-71 win over Cape Verde in the FIBA World Cup Saturday morning. Japan finished with the best record of the FIBA Asia teams in the tournament (China, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and the Philippines) with three wins and took the automatic berth for the continent.

Japan won qualification for the Olympics for the first time since 1976. It automatically qualified as hosts in 2020 (the Olympics were played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Watanabe and Japan are hosts for the FIBA World Cup and got to celebrate in front of fans. Here was their reaction after the victory:

Watanabe, who is the only NBA player on Japan's roster, played all 40 minutes in Saturday's game and finished with five points on 2-of-11 shooting, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Watanabe and Japan did not advance out of group play into the second round of the World Cup, so their run is over.

Watanabe exceeded 20 points three times in the FIBA World Cup. He played the tournament through an apparent ankle injury he suffered in a game against Angola this past month.

Watanabe, who signed a two-year deal with the Suns in free agency, will turn his attention to the team's preparation for the season. Phoenix's first preseason game is Oct. 8 against the Detroit Pistons.

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Watanabe is expected to be a top bench piece for the Suns. He shot 44.1 percent from 3-point range this past season with the Brooklyn Nets and shot over 50 percent on corner threes.

Watanabe was teammates with Suns forward Kevin Durant in Brooklyn before he was traded. Durant assisted Watanabe 14 times this past season and praised his game.

“He's going to be one of those people that's highly, if we (the Nets) don't lock him down, a lot of people are going to want him,” Durant said.

Phoenix could fill its roster with only minimum contracts since it has four players on max deals: Durant; guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who was acquired from the Washington Wizards via trade; and center Deandre Ayton.