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Japan is one victory away from getting back to the Olympics. Makoto Hiejima scored 23 points, Yuta Watanabe added 21 and Japan roared back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Venezuela 86-77 on Thursday in a classification round game at the Basketball World Cup in Okinawa, Japan. Yuki Kawamura scored 19 for Japan (2-2), which would clinch a berth in the Paris Olympics with a victory over Cape Verde on Saturday. Garlo Sojo led Venezuela (0-4) with 20 points, and Nestor Colmenares added 17. A win Saturday would give Japan its second consecutive Olympic berth. The team played in the Tokyo […]