FIBA Basketball World Cup co-host Japan must raise its level of play against "difficult" Group E opponents Australia, Germany and Finland, men's national team head coach Tom Hovasse said following Saturday's draw for the tournament.
Japan, which hosted on its own in 2006, is co-hosting the Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 World Cup with the Philippines and Indonesia.
The 32 qualifying teams were divided into eight groups in the draw conducted by former Argentina star Luis Scola and German basketball icon Dirk Nowitzki at Manila's Araneta Coliseum.
"Our group is a difficult one with strong opponents," Hovasse said. "Once we go into training camp from June, I want to improve on what we've created so far and take our basketball up another level."
Japan is likely to lean heavily on its two NBA players, Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and Brooklyn Nets forward Yuta Watanabe, but could also look to sharp-shooting University of Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga for scoring punch.
All Group E and F games will take place at Okinawa Arena in Japan's southernmost prefecture, where Hovasse's world No. 36 team will open its campaign on Aug. 25 against an 11th-ranked Germany whose NBA contingent includes Hachimura's Lakers teammate Dennis Schroder.
"Germany has a good history and right now their team is quite strong," Hovasse said. "We're familiar with their main members, but we will do some scouting on the rest of the squad from now."
Japan has a day's rest before facing a Finland side expected to feature Utah Jazz NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen, then finishes the group stage on Aug. 29 against Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist and current No. 3 Australia, which has a wealth of NBA experience.
Watanabe told the Japan Basketball Association that Australia is "definitely the strongest" among Japan's opponents but echoed his manager's view that it will be a testing tournament for the co-host with Finland also ranked 24th.
"It's at a level where we need to give 100 percent in all the games to finally stand on the starting line," Watanabe said.
While Japan is determined to perform credibly as a host, Hovasse, who guided Japan's women to silver at the Tokyo Olympics, is looking beyond the tournament to next year's Paris Summer Games.
"Our goal for the tournament is to finish No. 1 among Asian teams," Hovasse said. "If we become No. 1 in Asia, we'll get our ticket to the Paris Olympics."
Group F in Okinawa will feature Slovenia, which finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, along with Cape Verde, Georgia and Venezuela.
Angola, the Dominican Republic and Italy have been drawn with primary host the Philippines in Group A in Manila, while reigning Olympic champion and perennial favorite the United States will play Jordan, Greece and New Zealand in Group C in the Philippine capital.
